CR North Defeats District Champ Avon Grove in State Opener

Council Rock North, the fifth seed out of District One, sent District One champion Avon Grove home for the season in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA Class 6A Tournament.

#1-5 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 9, #1-1 AVON GROVE 5
Sabrina Crane didn’t waste time going into her home run trot when she smashed the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for a two-run home run in the third inning of Monday’s state opener.

“It felt really good,” the Indians’ center fielder said. “I was sprinting.

“I’m used to running it out, and I was also super excited. I just wanted to get back in the dugout and get everyone pumped up.”

Crane’s home run certainly did the trick. Nothing was the same for either time after Crane – with Lauren Begg, who had walked, on first – spotted the Indians an early 2-0 lead.

“I feel like our energy was up top, and we just needed to make contact to get us really going with our bats,” Crane said. “I was just looking for a strike.

“She was throwing good pitches the first time I went up, and I really wanted to hit them, but I got walked. I was just looking for my pitch. She gave it to me on the first one. I just took a swing at it. I figured I had nothing to lose, and I might as well give it all I’ve got, and it worked out in my favor.”

Crane’s two-run blast put the Indians in the unfamiliar position of playing with a lead after rallying for come-from-behind wins in consecutive playback games against Council Rock South and North Penn.

“Especially the last two games coming back in the seventh - it was a little too tight, so our goal was to get some (runs) early, and it just sparked us,” Crane said. “It was big for us, whether it was me that hit it or anybody. It really got us even more riled up.”

From the first pitch of the game, the Indians attacked Monday’s state opener, playing with a confidence that suggested they knew they could win.

“I was pretty nervous – not that I didn’t have confidence, but I knew we were going up against the district champion,” said Jenna Khantzian, who earned the complete game win. “I was confident, and I was really excited to see that we came out on top first and we kept it going.”

And keeping it going was the key.

The Indians weren’t content to sit on that 2-0 lead and added a pair in the fourth. Khantzian got things started with a base hit. The sophomore ace’s courtesy runner, Carly Yoder, moved up to second on Madison Tomlinson’s sacrifice bunt, and the Indians had a pair on board after Elena Calibeo legged out a bunt single.

Riley Sheehy’s single to center plated Yoder, and with runners on the corners, the Indians pulled off a successful double steal. With the throw going through to second, Sheehy stopped midway between first and second. Calibeo broke from third, the Red Devils threw home, but Calibeo beat the throw for a run that put the Indians on top 4-0.

In the fifth, Taylor Amazeen laced a one-out double to left center. A sacrifice fly by Khantzian, who helped her own cause with three RBIs, put the Indians on top 5-0.

In the sixth, Calibeo and Sheehy led off with back-to-back singles, and Calibeo raced home on Lauren Begg’s successfully executed suicide squeeze. Juliana Shields was safe on a fielder’s choice that pushed a run across, and with the bases loaded, Khantzian ripped a double to left center that plated a pair and put the Indians on top 9-0.

The Red Devils scored two in the sixth with Carly Raymond’s solo home run accounting for one of those runs. In the seventh, the Red Devils collected four hits and also benefitted from an Indian miscue to tack on three runs.

Avon Grove’s late runs only made the game seem closer than it was as the Indians advanced to the state quarterfinals, one of eight Class 6A teams in the still standing.

“I didn’t expect it, but we’ve been getting hot at the right time,” Crane said. “It just shows how much heart this team has. 

“It means so much to me, it means so much to TR (Taylor Amazeen), our other senior, that they’re playing for us and they’re giving 110 percent. I can’t tell you how many times they’ve dove (for a ball).

“Everybody is a little bit injured, but they still play through it. I’m definitely going to remember this for the rest of my life because this is a great season.”

All but lost in the shuffle of the Indians’ offensive output was the complete game effort of Khantzian, who took a shutout into the sixth inning and had retired eight in a row to that point. She allowed nine hits - with six of those coming in the last two innings – and three earned runs.

“Her composure is as good as any kid I’ve ever coached,” coach John Engelhardt said. “She turns anger into motivation.

“She comes out and competes. These kids know when she’s on the mound that we have an opportunity to win.

“This is the first time in a while that our bats came out and won the game for us. Usually we have to chip away late, and we’ll win 3-2 or 4-3.”

Or, in the case of the Indians’ previous two games, 4-3 (CR South) and 5-4 (North Penn). The Indians had much more breathing room on Monday, and the tone might well have been set with their standout defensive plays even before they put any runs on the board.

In the first inning, right fielder Riley Sheehy’s leaping grab of a screaming line drive robbed Allyson Wallauer of extra bases with a runner on board.

“Riley is a fantastic outfielder and so is Sabrina Crane – those plays stop momentum,” Engelhardt said.

Sheehy opened the second inning with a running catch in right, and in the fifth inning, second baseman Tomlinson made a nifty play on a ball hit up the middle.

“’I’m just really proud of everyone how we’ve been stopping the ball, getting routine outs and making awesome plays at the same time,” Crane said.

The Indians pounded out 14 hits with Sheehy’s 3-for-5 effort leading the way. She also had an RBI. Khantzian was 2-for-2 with three RBIs in a productive day at the plate. Begg (2-for-4, RBI), Amazeen (2-for-4) and Calibeo (2-for-4) also had multiple hits.

Council Rock North (18-6, 8-4 SOL) will face District 2 champion Hazleton in a second round game on Thursday. Hazleton defeated Coatesville 7-1 on Monday.

Council Rock North     002 214 0   9-14-3
Avon Grove     000 002 3   5-9-0

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