Upper Perkiomen's softball team has returned to the field this season with more confidence that has paid off early in the season.

            "Over the winter months, the girls did all the right things." head coach

did all the right things," head Dean Sullivan said.

            The Indians started the season with five consecutive victories. The offense is averaging more than nine runs a game on 13 hits. The defense has improved significantly. And a trio of pitchers – Taylor Lindsay, Karlee Fretz and Emily Moll – has dominated.

            "With a deeper bench, we're set up pretty good," Sullivan said.

Upper Perkiomen's opponents would probably agree.  On March 30, the team with eight returning starters rolled to an 11-0, six-inning victory over visiting Pottsgrove in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

            "We work well together," said Lindsay, a junior.

            The team opened the scoring with three runs in the second inning. Sarah Heidler and Alyssa Sullivan paced a 16-hit barrage with three hits each. Fretz and Morgan Lindsay, a freshman, each delivered two hits and two RBIs. Alexa Banner, Moll and Heidler each scored twice.

            Taylor Lindsay delivered a homerun, leading off the third inning for the Indians (3-0 PAC, 5-0 overall), who scored in every inning but the first. Olivia Young, Moll and Heidler each delivered RBI hits with two outs.

            "All of us can hit," Taylor Lindsay said.

            A three-year starter, Taylor Lindsay registered eight strikeouts and allowed one hit to earn the mound victory. She overwhelmed the Falcons on the mound, retiring the first 13 hitters she faced. However, a double error by an Upper Perkiomen infielder on a line drive with one out in the fifth inning spoiled the perfect game. The pitcher allowed her only hit with two outs in the sixth inning.

            "That's the way Taylor pitches every time out," Sullivan said.

            Taylor Lindsay credited the contribution of Morgan Lindsay, a freshman, behind the plate as a factor for team's early success.

            "We finally have a catcher," Taylor Lindsay said of her younger sister. "I trust her to call the right pitches."

            According to Dean Sullivan, Upper Perkiomen's strong pitching has minimized the team's defensive opportunities.

            "At times last year, we had a few innings where we would implode because of too many errors," the coach said. "This year, the defense is much better."

            On Monday, the team needed extra innings to defeat Pope John Paul II. Morgan Lindsay drove in the decisive run in the top of the 11^th inning in a 6-4 victory. Morgan Lindsay smacked a double, triple and finished with four hits for the Indians, who scored twice in the 11^th to snap a 4-4 tie.

            Aylssa Sullivan contributed two hits and drove in two runs for Upper Perkiomen, which scored twice in the 10^th inning to snap a 2-2 tie. Heidler, Fretz and Young each added two hits. Taylor Lindsay earned the mound win by registering 10 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of relief.

            The coach Sullivan believes his team can contend for the conference's Frontier Division title.

            "These girls are not scared of everyone," he said following the Pottsgrove win. "They are ready to take on any team."