Zoey Rogers in the middle of Delco’s day of comebacks

Garnet Valley’s Zoey Rogers throws a runner-out for Delaware County in the Carpenter Cup Classic against the Catholic League on Tuesday at FDR Park in Philadelphia. Delco eventually won 7-4. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)

PHILADELPHIA – Zoey Rogers is having a great time at the 19th annual Carpenter Cup softball tournament. It helps that Garnet Valley’s rising senior is completely locked in on the board.

Rogers, a shortstop, collected seven hits and led the Delaware County team to victories in all three pool games at FDR Park on Tuesday.

In Delco’s dramatic 5-4 victory over Delaware North, Rogers delivered the game-winning hit, an RBI triple in the top of the seventh inning. She went 4-for-4 with two runs scored in Delco’s subsequent 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Catholic League, then capped off her stellar Tuesday with a two-hit performance in a 5-3 decision against Lehigh Valley.

Rogers, who is enjoying her second straight year playing for Delco in the Carpenter Cup, is savoring the moment.

“It was a great experience. Even though this is my second year, it is still just as nerve-wracking as last year, but it is an honor to play alongside some great players,” she said. “Sharing the field with some of the best players is such an amazing experience. It’s a great time to play with people you played against in high school. It was fun. It’s a bit strange being coached by people you’ve played against because they know your weaknesses and strengths. But it adds to the great experience.”

The Carpenter Cup is a three-day showcase for aspiring college players, and Rogers understands the importance of performing well in front of college coaches. Needless to say, she turns heads.

“I’m just trying to tell myself to stay relaxed, which can be difficult because it’s such an important tournament,” she explained. ‘You have to stay loose. I also like building my team, trying to remain a leader and working with everyone on the team. If I can do that, good things will happen.”

Delco has shown his talent for rallying and came from behind in the first two games. Delco trailed Delaware North 4-1 and the Catholic League 3-1 in the late innings.

“It’s hard… you’re in a competition and it would be very easy for us to just quit,” she said. “We are a team coming together and we are all doing really well… we can come back. I think it says a lot about us as players because we won’t go down easily. We’ll stay in the game and keep pushing ourselves.”

With their success Tuesday, Delco advanced to the third and final day of the tournament Wednesday, marking the first time since 2021 that the program has made it past the pool round. Finishing with a 3-0 record, Delco is the top seed in its division and will play Delaware South on Wednesday at 9 a.m., the first of three potential single-elimination matches.

As for an overview of Tuesday’s games:

Delco 5, Delaware North 4 >> Delco rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the win.

The comeback began when Haverford’s Brenna Carfrey doubled to Radnor’s Abigail Krasowski, who had singled, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Interboro’s Mare Nagle was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Conestoga’s Janie Lofland. With two outs, Lofland delivered a two-run double to tie the game at 4-4.

The game-winning hit came from Rogers, who hit an RBI triple to give Delco a 5-4 lead. Kiera Norton then ended the game with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning.

Lehigh Valley 10, Catholic League 1 >> The Catholics were plagued by six errors. Cardinal O’Hara’s Hayden Sissons gave up seven runs, but none were earned due to sloppy defensive play. Sissons struckout four and gave up seven hits in four innings of work.

Delco 7, Catholic League 4 >> Delco scored three runs in the fifth, erasing a 3-1 deficit. Krasowski broke the game open with a bases-clearing triple.

Sun Valley’s Layla Murphy pitched six innings to get the win. She helped herself with two hits. Brennan Corr (Conestoga) added two hits, while Lofland and Nagle each had a hit and a run scored. Allison Daly had an RBI single.

Delco 5, Lehigh Valley 3 >> Delco scored two runs in the first inning on an error and never looked back. Lofland went 4-for-4, Krasowski hit a runscoring double and Nicole Semerjian (Marple Newtown) had two RBIs.

Carfrey, Daly and Kiera Norton all had one hit.

Catholic League 3, Delaware North 1 >> Ava Dill (O’Hara) scored a point and Colleen Lloyd (Carroll) scored once as the Catholics won their final game. Sissons threw four solid innings.