PIAA Class 6A Softball: Reed, Owen J. Roberts silence Haverford in semifinals
ROYERSFORD - The old butcher boy play proved to be the difference Monday afternoon, breaking open a pitchers' duel and helping send Owen J. Roberts to its first PIAA championship game.
A controversial play in some circles because it forces fielders to charge expecting a bunt before the hitter pulls back and swings, the slug bunt can look like pure genius when it works. For OJR No. 9 hitter Leah Cashman, it worked brilliantly at the right moment, leading OJR to a 3-0 win at Spring-Ford High School.
The Wildcats knew opportunities against Haverford ace Alli Daly would be scarce.
Daly and OJR standout Maddie Reed had squared off two weeks earlier in the District 1 semifinals, when the Wildcats used a three-run homer from Bella Winnick in the first inning to catapult them to the win. Other than that swing, Daly kept OJR quiet.
The rematch had similar vibes … until the bottom of the fifth. Addyson Cashman led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Devon King. Leah Cashman showed bunt before pulling back and slashing a flare over everyone, the ball dropping in front of charging fielders and rolling on the dirt between second and short.
"We really work on execution," Leah Cashman said. "I knew when my coach gave me that call, I had to get it done. I had to execute."
Cashman wasn't a newbie to the play.
"I did it in our previous game against Williamsport," she said. "So, my coach just told me to do it the same way I did it in that game. It worked out."
Addyson Cashman scored easily to give the Wildcats the lead. OJR added another run later in the inning to put away the District 1 third-place finisher.
The Wildcats (28-1) had not even reached a PIAA semifinal since 2008. They will face Hempfield Area for the Class 6A championship Friday at Nittany Lion Softball Park.
"We just didn't give up," said Reed, who fired a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. "Our team has a lot of grit. Alli is a very good pitcher, and she got us to pop up a lot. Even in the last game we played against them, we scored three runs in the first inning and then she held us the rest of the game. She's a very good pitcher who keeps the scoring low. I know they are a good-hitting team, too. I always say this, but it's true: just one pitch at a time. I just want to give 100 percent into what's in front of me and not what's behind me. That was kind of how I looked at it."
It was a tough ending to an outstanding season for Haverford (21-7).
The Fords were the last Delco team standing, hoping to make their second trip to Penn State, and first since 2022. Springfield's 2014 state title remains the only softball state championship won by a Delaware County program.
The decisive fifth inning came with some frustration for Daly. Earlier in the at-bat, Cashman had popped up after Daly was called for an illegal pitch, negating the out and offering new life to Cashman.
"They said I didn't present the ball or came off too quickly. I don't know. I was just really upset because it gets called that one time," Daly said. "They wouldn't have had anyone score, and there would have been two outs."
Then came the butcher boy.
Lucy Ardizzi knew OJR had tricks in its bag but still found herself shaking her head at how perfectly the play unfolded.
"In that situation you don't know what to do," Ardizzi said. "I have enough range that I can cover it if it's hit on the ground or something, unless it goes straight up the middle, and that's exactly what happened. What are you going to do? They are genuinely a very scrappy team. Props to them for being able to execute it, but it's definitely something we don't know to practice for."
Following Cashman's RBI hit, Audrey Vermillion hit a grounder back to Daly, who bobbled it and then lost her grip while attempting a throw to first. Leah Cashman never stopped running and came all the way around from second to score, making it 2-0.
Needing just six outs to clinch a berth to the state final, Reed wasn't relaxing, even with a seemingly insurmountable two-run advantage.
"After we got that first run, the thought slips into your head, but you can't let it consume you. You have to focus on what's in front of you," she said. "The game of softball can be crazy, and a lot of stuff can happen. You have to take it one pitch at a time."
The Wildcats added a third run in the sixth. Reed reached on an error to start the inning and eventually scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Bella Winnick.
Against a pitcher of Reed's caliber, three runs felt enormous for Haverford.
"We're all happy we made it this far," Daly said. "The most that could have happened was we would have one more game, so we are happy how far we came. It could have ended way earlier than it did."
The afternoon was every bit the pitchers' duel everyone expected. Daly escaped a jam in the first after OJR put two runners in scoring position with one out. She responded by getting Emma Brotherton to line out to second and Winnick to bounce a grounder back to the circle.
Reed was dominant. She carried a perfect game into the fifth before Daly broke it up with a bunt single. Reed answered by striking out Gia Torres and Ryan Capello before retiring Kelly Shindler on a popup.
Ardizzi lined a two-out single up the middle in the sixth and stole second but was stranded. In the seventh, Torres blooped a two-out single to give the Fords a glimmer of hope. Alas, Reed ended it by striking out Capello.
The loss closed the book on a memorable season for Haverford and a senior class led by Daly and Ardizzi.
They enjoyed one more team huddle, one more embrace and one more tradition
"We do this thing on the way home. Whenever we win, we play ‘Sweet Caroline,'" Daly said. "Even though we lost, we're going to have our last ‘Sweet Caroline' together as a team."
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 11:57 PM.