Lindquist would have a record better than 8-6, which West Deptford had as of Tuesday, if she had better batting support, according to Eagles coach Mandy Schramm.
"We don't score [many] runs behind her," Schramm said. "She's doing well, but her record doesn't show it.
"To beat Gloucester Catholic, we'll have to manufacture some runs."
Olivia Lawrence, a senior who catches Merryman, said the Rams would have to put the ball in play to beat West Deptford.
Merryman is 9-4.
Dragons' downturn. No. 1 Kingsway justified its ranking this season with its pitching, defense, and hitting. So when the Dragons lost back-to-back games to Cumberland and Delsea on May 3 and 5, fans were perplexed.
"I want to believe that we were a very tired group of young athletes whose bats and arms needed a rest," Kingsway coach Tony Barchuk said in an e-mail. "We played a lot of games in a short number of days against some good teams."
Barchuk was vindicated when Kingsway won its next two games by shutout, 6-0 over West Deptford and 16-0 over Woodstown.
Eastern's hitters a hit. When Eastern lost to Cherokee, 2-1, on April 15, Vikings coach Jamie McGroarty said the middle of the batting order wasn't producing.
That problem dissolved over the next eight games, during which Eastern went undefeated. Against Cherry Hill West on May 8, Eastern pounded 11 hits in a 7-1 Olympic Conference interdivisional win.
After the victory, McGroarty indicated that he was pleased with the way the hitting had come around, especially Steph "Wolfy" Wolfrom, who usually bats fifth.
"Ever since Cherokee, she's been in a nice groove," McGroarty said. "Hopefully it continues."
Eastern's overall record was 12-2 as of Tuesday.
Pressure pitcher. Sterling pitcher Sarah Almasy had a 4-0 lead over Haddon Heights in an important Colonial Conference game Friday. Suddenly, the Garnets had runners at first and third base with one out in the top of the fourth.
Almasy didn't flinch. The senior got the next two batters to hit infield pop-ups to end the inning. The senior said her screwball and change-up, thrown to the inside, were getting batters to swing at the ball.
"That was huge, and you see Sarah - she has a fiery personality," said Kylie O'Donnell, Sterling's centerfielder. "She gets angry at herself, but she's one of those people that can fuel it, and she really comes up under the pressure."
Sterling won, 4-1, and tied Haddon Heights for the conference lead at 10-2.
Friday the 13th. No kidding, this is the cutoff date for postseason tournament seedings. All teams, regardless of record, are eligible. A maximum of 16 teams per group will compete.
Contact staff writer Bill Iezzi at 856-779-3826 or biezzi@phillynews.com.
