Tuesday
April 23, 2024 
The Faith Christian Lions softball program is well ahead of schedule.
The 2020 team was supposed to go to states and the 2021 team goals were just supposed to grow and get experience. But last Thursday, No. 1 Faith (8-10) beat No. 2 Morrisville 14-4 in the Class A District One title game to punch a ticket to PIAAs. Two days prior, the Lions walloped No. 4 Christian Academy 17-2 in the semifinals.
“(Morrisville) was the best game that we played start to finish all season,” praised Faith head coach Madeline Mulhall. “That’s how you want it to be. You don’t want to see them taper off or plateauing. They played their hearts out and made the plays that they needed to. Our pitcher, Olivia Michalski, threw a gem and offensively, it was gas pedal down until we got what we needed.”
The Lions did much of their offensive damage with two outs. “We had our nine-hole hitter, Devyn Walker, on two different occasions come up with two outs and no one on. She poked one through,” Mulhall pointed out. “That was the catalyst to get more runs on the board. I can’t ask for a better mentality than that. She had never played before this year, she came up with big moments and was super clutch. That kind of busted it open.
“Salma Lampack, our leadoff and catcher, had two home runs and a triple,” Mulhall continued. “Just missiles off of her bat. She comes up to the plate and I have no doubt she is going to hit a bomb.”
Faith won all three meetings against Bicentennial foe Morrisville. The Lions topped the Bulldogs 11-0 at home on April 20 behind Morgan Pepkowski’s standout pitching. Pepkowski was injured for the rematch two weeks later, but Faith played flawless defense and beat Morrisville in Lower Bucks by the same 14-4 score that would win them districts. “That was a good win for our girls to prove to themselves that we can still win these ballgames,” Mulhall said.
The Lions won districts in 2017 and 2018. Faith came within an eyelash of a three-peat in a 2-1 loss to powerhouse Bristol in the 2019 finals. Many Lions would have returned in 2020, but other events intervened.
“Last year would have been a powerhouse team and unfortunately we got that ripped away with COVID,” Mulhall pointed out. “I had just three girls who really understood the ins and outs and had played a high school softball game. Everyone else had a big heart and wanted to give everything to the team; they just didn’t have a ton of experience.”
Mulhall was a captain and starting infielder at Shippensburg. 2021 was her first season as a head coach. “For me, it was understanding that this year was going to be a big development year. Not ‘rebuilding.’ I don’t like that term,” Mulhall clarified. “Most of our team were freshmen or sophomores. No matter how the season unfolded, we wanted to see them get better every day: on offense, on defense, as teammates and in our walk with the Lord as well. To not get caught up in wins and losses but ‘Are we getting more prepared for the next game that we are playing?’
“We talked from Day One in our preseason meeting that everyone is developing this year, myself included,” Mulhall admitted. “I’m a firm believer that when you are given an opportunity to honor Him, you take full advantage of it.”
Faith developed well enough to earn a deep postseason run. The Lions will meet District 11 champion Tri-Valley (20-1) in the first round of states on June 7. “I’m excited to have a year like this under our belts and come back next season and get better every year,” Mulhall concluded.
Faith alum note: Emily Blake, the 2019 Bicentennial League MVP, had a 1.27 ERA in 10 appearances for Division II Cedarville this spring.
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