(Photos by Zamani Feelings & Grayson Rupp)
BY JEREMY GOODE
PHILA.-- Charles Warren is vocal. It makes sense. He is the head coach of the Penn Charter softball team and is always relaying advice to his players while coaching third base when his team is up to bat.
After every pitch.
Sure, many coaches talk to their players in-game. But the amount of information Warren conveys in such a positive way, yet in so little time, is quite remarkable, and it is different from most programs.
“I try to put myself in their shoes as a former player, you know what adjustments they need to make,” Warren said. “Every time you’re in the box, it’s a battle. If you can make the adjustments better than the pitcher, I think that is when you come out on top.”
The message could be brief, just 15 to 20 words telling the batter to protect the edges or leave pitches at their head alone. Sometimes, the message will be in the form of several sentences, causing the batter to step out of the box and face Warren for a few moments.
Regardless of the advice and how much advice is given, Warren’s in-game coaching shows the nonstop preparation that goes into actively coaching his team. Penn Charter does not practice to send its players out to wing it on their own. Instead the idea is nonstop coaching, every pitch in a positive way, that has Warren putting his softball team in the best position he can.
That type of coaching was fully on display on Fri., May 2, as Penn Charter hosted another top team in the Inter-Ac conference, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Penn Charter earned a hard-fought win, 4-3, keeping alive the hope that they can win the conference.
Penn Charter head coach Charles Warren. (Photo by Zamani Feelings)
“I was coached by a lot of old school coaches, so I understand that mentality,” Warren said. “But I get this new school flare, so-to-speak. I just bring who I am to the game and my energy as a player shows as a coach. And that’s exactly how I was as a player; nice and loud.”
With the no-playoff system that the Inter-Ac has in place for their athletics, Penn Charter will need to continue to win conference games as they wrap up their season and to get some help from other teams. Penn Charter has a loss to SCHA and Episcopal Academy earlier in the season, so they will need other schools to steal wins off those teams.
With this game against SCHA carrying a lot of weight, Penn Charter delivered.
Game Highlights by Jeremy Goode for PSD
Penn Charter sent Ryan Hatty, who will be pitching at Niagara University next year, to the circle. She dealt. She kept SCHA scoreless in the first four innings.
In the meantime, Penn Charter gave Hatty run support and a lead early on. After scoring a run in the second, Maddie Bergmann, a senior heading to St. Joseph’s University next year, extended the Penn Charter led to 3-0 after a two-run home run to left field.
“In that moment, my team needed it,” Bergmann said. “It felt good for me, but it felt better for my team.”
The run support was crucial, as it gave more breathing room for Hatty to pitch six scoreless innings. It was not just the offensive support, but also the defense behind Hatty that she also appreciated.
Maddie Bergmann on Penn Charter's Run Support Against Good SCHA Pitching
SCHA turned to one of their ace pitchers, Samantha Snyder, so the early production by Penn Charter’s bats was more than welcome.
“Today, we came out strong,” Hatty said. “Our bats were hot… defensively, everything was good. So having that run support gave us a little bit of time to relax but also kept our foot on the gas.”
SCHA’s Morgan Risnychok responded in the fifth inning, tying the game at three. But Hatty would buckle down after that, not giving up another run.
With a tie game in the bottom of the sixth, Bergmann led off the inning with a single. Hatty smoked a double the opposite way down the third base line, advancing Bergmann to third. Lauren Gedraitis hit a dribbler down the third base line, as Bergmann slid under the tag and scored the eventual winning run.
Ryan Hatty on Her Complete Game Win
After loading the bases in the top of the seventh with two outs, Hatty was able to end the game with a strikeout.
“Being able to push through and block everything out has been a skill I’ve obtained over the years just from being a pitcher,” Hatty said. “You’re so used to a lot of the pressure being on you.”
Penn Charter moves on with three more league games, including one at Episcopal, a team they lost to a few weeks ago at home, 2-0.
For Penn Charter to have any league championship hopes, they must at least win out, while also getting help from other teams.
Regardless, they are still going to play their game and keep spirits up with the constant vocal support from Warren, as well as from the teammates in the dugout and on the field.
“I think we’ve arrived. We’ve been at the party, at the door, just have not busted in,” Warren said. “When you win, you show the opposing team, ‘hey, they’re here, and they’re for real.’”
Right now, Penn Charter is dangerous. They were shorthanded the first time they played SCHA. And they were in the game in which they lost to Episcopal. It might be just a matter of staying healthy and finishing the job.
PC head coach Charles Warren keeping communication line open with his team. (Photo/ Zamani Feelings)
“We’ve been working and adapting to the pitching of the Inter-Ac,” Bergmann said. “It has been a long time coming and we’ve worked for this and we’re here. It feels good.”
