Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Tuesday. North Penn advanced to the District 1 6A title game while Pennridge earned a trip to the state tournament. NP/PW photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko Photography & Kadi Schenk of KM Photography. Check back for a gallery of the game: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f63743818 (Hatboro-Horsham photo courtesy of Diane Waeltz/HH softball)
District 1 6A semifinal
#1 NORTH PENN 3, #12 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2 (10 innings)
Casey Sokol – a smile glued on her face – was still operating on adrenalin long after her sacrifice fly to right field allowed pinch runner Izzy Tubertini to slide safely into home with the game-winner.
“(I’m) excited, kind of nervous still actually – I’m still shaking a little bit,” Sokol said. “I was just thinking – make hard contact because I know I was getting under it all game. I was like, ‘If I can get under it and hit it hard, that’s all I need,’ so that’s what I did.
“She threw me outside, so I was like, ‘I’ll just take it that way hard, so she has time to tag up.’”
The game-winner was the first run the Knights scored since putting a pair across in the first inning, and they needed the international tiebreaker – which puts a runner on second base to open the inning – to do it. It was the Knights’ first runner in scoring position since the third inning, and they scored the game-winner without getting a hit.
Bella Nunn drew a one-out walk to put runners on first and second, and then came a wild pitch that allowed both runners to advance, setting the stage for Sokol’s heroics.
After breezing through their first two games of districts, the Knights had to earn this one. They managed just one hit off PW ace Molly Moore – a bloop single by Reyna Doherty in the eighth – after the third inning. Moore retired 16 in a row during one dazzling stretch.
“I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating – I’d say it’s fun,” Sokol said. “You’re not going to run rule everyone, and it’s fun to compete, it’s fun to go in extras.
“It’s not 13-0 – it’s ‘You’ve got to work for this, you’ve got to get a run.’”
The Colonials did something few teams have done this year – they scored two runs off Julia Shearer – the first in the second inning on a two-out RBI double to deep left by Caelin Kosvitch, and the second in the fourth when Moore – who ripped a leadoff double down the left field line – scored on a Sam Skivo’s fielder’s choice.
After that, Shearer was untouchable. She did not allow a hit the rest of the way, retiring 20 straight to close out the game. A change of strategy, according to the senior star, was the key.
“Before the game, our approach was hard stuff, hard stuff – swing and misses,” Shearer said. “Their two and three hitters were getting on top of my rise balls, so after that, we cut that completely out. I didn’t throw a single one after that. I started throwing my changeup.
“It was clutch because I have speed, and I mix it up and they don’t know when to swing. Adjusting throughout the game was definitely key. They didn’t really hit the changeup.”
Coach Rick Torresani took responsibility for his team’s game plan.
“I really sucked at pitch calling today, I really did,” the Knights’ coach said. “I felt we could use her speed and didn’t do what we normally do all season, which is throw a lot of changeups in there to mix it up.
“It wasn’t until the middle innings that I said – we’re stopping that and using a lot of changeups, and that’s what we did. They were just way ahead of it. I took full responsibility for that. Julia pitched a great game, and up until the middle innings, I didn’t call a good game.”
Take away the two doubles – the only hits Shearer allowed in 10 innings, and she was brilliant. She threw 135 pitches – 100 of those pitches were for strikes, but the Knights’ ace and her teammates were in unfamiliar territory in a 10-inning game.
“When it got to seven and eight (innings), I was like – this should make me tired, but I was more hyped up than anything,” Shearer said. “I think my adrenalin really was rushing. This has never happened before. I thought my arm would be tired, but the excitement won over everything.”
For the game, Shearer struck out 22 and walked none.
“We knew what we were getting from Julia,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “She’s a phenomenal pitcher, and once she started mixing her changeup in, we were in trouble. We knew that was coming. You know that comes every single game no matter who she’s playing, where she’s playing, what level she’s playing at – that’s coming.
“Molly has been phenomenal this postseason. She’s hitting spots, she’s keeping everybody off-balance, she’s jamming kids, she’s putting it right where we need it to be, and our defense has been phenomenal. We’ve been getting a lot of popups, and our outfield has been playing really well for the past four games in the playoffs.”
For the game, Moore allowed six hits – three in the first inning. She threw 118 pitches – 84 for strikes. She fanned only three and walked one but forced the Knights to hit her pitch, which resulted in one fly ball after another.
“In the beginning of the game, I was throwing close around the plate,” Moore said. “I was trying to get more of the called strikes, but they’re a good lineup, and they’re going to hit anything around the plate.
“Against a hard team like that, they’re going to put hard swings on the ball, so you have to move it around for them to do that.”
The Knights scored a pair of runs in the first. Shearer led off with a double, and Sarah Sabocsik followed with a bunt single. Annabelle Smink’s sac fly plated Shearer, and Brie Wilmot’s single pushed a second run across. That was the extent of the scoring for the Knights until the 10th inning.
Shearer collected two of the Knights’ six hits off Moore – one of those an infield single. The Colonials had 16 putouts on fly balls.
“I think she was throwing rise balls, and we weren’t staying back on the ball,” Shearer said of Moore. “We were swinging too fast, we got under the ball, and we popped it up.
“Honestly, a lot of times we made good contact and just got robbed in the outfield because they knew where to play us.”
Torrresani tipped his hat to Moore and the Colonials.
“Outstanding, outstanding – the whole team,” the Knights’ coach said. “They made every play. They didn’t commit one error. We hit some long fly balls that they caught. They made some great catches, and she pitched in the strike zone.
“We got a couple hard hits like Gianna (Cimino’s) to the fence and Sophia (Orth’s) to the fence, but they were playing deep and then we just kept popping up. She kept throwing that pitch and we kept popping up. It was a great game. They’re well-coached, their kids are playing really well. They’re going to do some damage.”
With the win, the Knights will have an opportunity to defend a district crown they own.
“That’s so important,” Sokol said. “Last year, it was so fun, and just being with this team longer – I love this team so much. Just to play in the district championship with them means the world to me.”
“We went last year, and it was so much fun,” Shearer said of the district title game. “We’re going to play in a great atmosphere at Spring-Ford. I’m really excited for that.
“Having a game like this that’s so intense so much fun to play. We really all come together as a team to get hyped up.”
North Penn (23-0, 16-0 SOL) will face #10 Haverford in Thursday’s District 1 6A semifinal at Spring-Ford High School. Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-7, 12-4) will travel to #6 Downingtown East for the third place game on Thursday.
“The talk in the circle (after the game) wasn’t a negative one,” Moore said. “We all really wanted to win this game, but we did what we could. We played the hardest we could, and we’re hoping to see them in states.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 001 100 000 0 2-2-0
North Penn 200 000 000 1 3-6-1
District 1 6A playback
#13 PENNRIDGE 8, #8 RIDLEY 6 (9 innings)
It took nine innings, and it wasn’t easy, but the Rams punched their ticket to the state tournament.
“Our AD told us this is the first time Pennridge has qualified for States since 1988,” coach Wendy Iadonisi said. “I’m honored to have this group of young ladies. I feel like this senior group has had such a non-traditional high school career that a trip to the state tournament is something that was meant to be.”
The Rams – who took a one-run lead in the top of the seventh only to see the Green Raiders knot the score – scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to win it. Jadyn Gulbinski was safe on an error to open the inning, and Ryleigh Lilly – who had a huge day at the plate – followed with a single. Gulbinski was erased on a fielder’s choice , but Grace Helbling drew a walk to load the bases. Reagan Bauman drove in a run that turned out to be the game-winner with a ground single to left, and Averi Dockery followed with a single that plated an insurance run.
“Going into the ninth with the meat of our order coming up, we were confident we could get something going,” Iadonisi said. “A few things went our way with Jadyn and Ryleigh leading off the inning, then Grace, Reagan and Averi came through in the clutch to get two runs across.”
Dockery – who threw the final 5 2/3 innings to notch the win – retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game. Helbling started the game and threw 3 1/3 innings.
“The decision to switch Grace and Averi in the circle was mainly to break up their lineup a little and mess up some of their momentum,” Iadonisi said. “Averi had pitched against them last year in the first round of districts, and I think she felt she had some unfinished business which may have given her some additional incentive.”
The game was tightly contested from the outset. Lilly led off the top of the first and nailed the first pitch of the game for a solo home run.
“Ryleigh Lilly had a great day at the plate,” Iadonisi said. “Her leadoff home run in the first set her tempo for the day. We had an opportunity to bunt her in the ninth but let her swing away because she was making great contact all day and it paid off. She connected for an infield single to give us two runners with no outs.”
Olivia Crognale followed with a single, and with two outs, Dockery lined a single to center to plate a run, spotting the Rams a 2-0 lead.
The Green Raiders answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Pennridge evened the score in the third inning when Lilly led off with a single and scored on Helbling’s one-out double to center field.
Again, Ridley had an answer, scoring a pair in the bottom of the inning to go on top 5-3. In the top of the sixth, Ashleigh Kenworthy had a one-out single, and Clara Barron followed with a two-run home run to center field, knotting the score 5-5.
“I think one of the biggest plays for us in the game was in the sixth when Clara Barron came up huge with a two-run home run to tie the game at 5,” Iadonisi said. “Ridley kept answering back when we would put runs on the board, and I’m so proud of how we continued to fight. We had some timely hits late in the game where Ridley seemed to have them earlier in the game.”
The Rams used doubles by Lilly and – with two outs – Bauman to score a run in the top of the seventh only to see the Green Raiders even the score.
Lilly’s 4-for-5 effort out of the leadoff spot included a double, home run, one RBI and four runs scored. Helbling (2-for-4, 2 2B, 1RBI), Bauman (2-for-5, 2B, 2R), Dockery (2-for-5, 2RBIs) and Kenworthy (2-for-5, 1R) all had multi-hit games.
Dockery allowed three hits and one run in 5.2 innings while striking out 10 and walking none.
Pennridge (16-8, 10-6 SOL) will travel to #3 Garnet Valley for Thursday’s fifth place game.
Pennridge 201 002 102 8-14-0
Ridley 302 000 100 6-9-2
#3 GARNET VALLEY 4, #18 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2
A three-run sixth inning erased a 2-1 South lead in Tuesday’s playback game and brought an end to the season for a young Titans’ squad with just three seniors on its roster.
Despite the ending, the season was anything but a disappointment for a South squad that advanced to the quarterfinals and handed previously unbeaten and second-seeded Quakertown its first and only loss of the season.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” South coach Kevin Rosini said. “We got into the playoffs, which was goal number one.
“We’ve been on the road for three weeks. We won our first playoff game and then beat the number two team in Quakertown on the road. We had a lead at Haverford, we had a lead today. We’re a young group, a lot of first-year players. I thought we acquitted ourselves very well. I’m very proud of how they fought all the way through.”
The Titans were the very definition of road warriors.
“It’s hard – our last seven games were all on the road, the last three of the regular season and all four playoff games, so for us to kind of bond together, play as well as we did the past three weeks or so – even our two losses in the playoffs were close games,” Rosini said. “I’m disappointed we lost today – I thought we had a legitimate shot at winning, but when you look overall at the way our season went, I know the coaches and I are super proud of the kids and how hard they worked and made noise in the playoffs, which is something we were hoping to do and we did. I couldn’t ask for more.”
The Titans got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the second when Steph Bendzlowicz, who singled, scored on Hollie Schaub’s two-out double to center field.
Ella Wheeler’s inside the park home run to lead off the fourth inning gave the Titans a 2-0 lead. The Jaguars made it a 2-1 game in the fifth inning, plating a run without collecting a hit. They added three runs in the sixth for the 4-2 final.
The Titans held a 4-3 advantage in hits. Schaub’s 2-for-3 days at the plate, which included a double and RBI, led the Titans.
Maddy Borowski allowed just three hits and two earned runs in six innings. She struck out eight and walked four.
Rosini bids farewell to Borowski, Nora Sidorski and Gabby DeVito.
“We’ll miss them,” the Titans’ coach said. “We have a lot of people coming back. We got good playoff experience – we had four games of playoff experience, which is really going to help us. I feel really good about the group coming back next season.”
Central Bucks South closed out its season with a 13-11 record, 8-8 in the SOL.
Central Bucks South 010 100 0 2-4-1
Garnet Valley 000 013 x 4-3-1
District 1 5A third place
#7 HATBORO-HORSHAM 15, #1 UPPER DUBLIN 9
Tess Kearney had herself a day.
The senior slugger led the Hatters’ 15-hit attack with a 4-for-5 effort that included a double and home run as well as three RBIs and four runs scored.
“Tess Kearney had a great day,” Hatters’ coach Jen Tooley said. “Going into the game, she had 98 career hits, and going 4-for-5 today, she has 102 hits.
“She’s been having a great season both offensively and defensively. She plays center field, and she’s like a general out there and covers a lot of ground.”
The game was tightly contested for five innings, but the Hatters – who took a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning – erupted for four runs in the sixth and seven more in the seventh to open up a 15-2 lead. The Cardinals answered with seven in their half of the inning, benefitting from a pair of Hatter miscues.
Highlights of the four-run sixth inning were doubles by Alyssa Tooley, Abby Waeltz (RBI) and Amya Lundy (RBI). Kearney had the big blow – a two-run home run that put the Hatters on top 8-2.
Lundy finished the day 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Tooley was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Waeltz was 2-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored. Maddie Karpovich 2-for-4 with a
double, two RBIs and a run scored, and Bella Karpovich was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored.
“Bella Karpowich had two hits, and she’s really coming into her own at the tail end of the season, which is awesome,” Tooley said. “She’s a freshman, and she’s always there as a consistent pitcher for us too.”
Tooley notched the complete game win, allowing just two earned runs while striking out seven and walking five.
For the Cardinals, Bella Fiore was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, and Lizzie Tambourino was 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Kaitlyn Small was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and Kaitlyn Zacharia was 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored.
Kyla Garrison, who absorbed the loss, recorded her 200th strikeout in just 23 games during a standout freshman season.
Hatboro-Horsham (15-9, 11-5 SOL) will be the number three seed out of District 1 and will face the District 3 champion in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 5A Tournament, and Upper Dublin, the four seed, will face the District 12 champion in an opening round game.
Hatboro-Horsham 022 004 7 15-15-4
Upper Dublin 002 000 7 9-11-2
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