Neshaminy defeated North Penn to earn a spot in Friday’s PIAA Class AAAA state final. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
WARMINSTER – The play was a routine one for pitcher Lauren Quense.
The Neshaminy senior fielded Meghan Curley’s sharp grounder back to the circle, turned and threw to first base for the final out of Tuesday’s PIAA Class AAAA semifinal game against North Penn. Quense allowed herself a smile before disappearing in a sea of blue as she was surrounded by jubilant teammates.
“Seeing that grounder come to Lauren – I did not doubt one bit that she was going to make that last out considering she pitched a (heck) of a game,” senior Diana LaPalombara said. “The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘This is what we have been working for.’ It’s awesome to see your hard work pay off.”
The Redskins, thanks to their 3-2 win over the Maidens, had earned a coveted berth in Friday’s state title game at Penn State University.
“That’s awesome,” Quense said. “That’s always a good thing, right?
“We worked for this all year. There were obstacles in our way, and we overcame them, and this is the last one.”
For the seniors, it was the culmination of a goal since they fell in the state semifinal game two years ago.
“It’s kind of unreal,” senior Julia McGovern said. “We worked so hard, and finally we did it. We’re going.
“You don’t know how to feel in that moment. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ The things we’ve accomplished have been amazing, and it’s so unbelievable to be a part of it.”
Playing a starring role in the Redskins’ win was sophomore Sam Offenback, who was sidelined early in the playoffs while she battled tonsillitis and mononucleosis. She has returned in the role of designated player.
“Of course, it’s tough,” Offenback said. “Especially going to practices and just sitting there and not being able to do anything and literally seeing all my best friends, my family out there doing their thing, and I was just sitting there watching.
“In the beginning it was definitely rough – just focusing on my swing and getting stronger and getting back to fundamentals.”
Offenback was in the middle of a first inning rally that saw the Redskins plate a pair of runs. Quense got things started with a one-out single up the middle, and the Redskins had a pair on board after McGovern was hit by a pitch.
A wind-blown double to right field by Sara Snider-Leonhauser put the Redskins on the scoreboard, and when Offenback singled to left, the Redskins led 2-0, making Chichilitti’s decision to be the visiting team look like a stroke of genius.
“I won the coin toss and selected to be visitors because I wanted to score first,” the Redskins’ coach said. “When you score first and have the pitcher I do, it allows everybody else to be that much more relaxed.
“That was the goal – to come out and score first. If you looked at all the games in the tournament – I can guarantee you, except for maybe one or two, the team that scored first is usually the team that wins.”
While the first inning rally was a boost to the Redskins, it had the opposite effect on the Maidens.
“The first inning was the big inning,” North Penn coach Rick Torresani said. “I knew if we could hold them down that inning, we would be fine.”
In the fourth inning, the Maidens loaded the bases with two outs after Melissa Fasick singled, Alexa Gable doubled and Morgan Wiernusz drew a walk. The inning ended when third baseman Selina Alicea fielded Becky Christoffers’ hard grounder and tug the bag for the inning’s final out.
“Selina made an excellent play with the bases loaded,” Chichilitti said. “She knocked it down and was able to regain herself, grab the ball and tag third. That saved a run and got us out of the inning. It was an incredible play.”
The Redskins tacked on an insurance run in the fifth, staging a two-out rally that started when McGovern reached base on a walk. Snider-Leonhauser grounded a single to right, and then Offenback delivered a single to right that plated a run that turned out to be the game winner.
“She’s back,” Chichilitti said of Offenback. “She led the team in batting average the last two years, and you don’t forget how to hit. She was sick and struggled a little bit. We continued to stay with her.
“She kept a positive attitude, she didn’t let it get to her mind, and we knew eventually she would break out and help us. We needed her today, and she came through in spades.”
Offenback, who drew a walk in the third inning, reached base safely on all three trips to the plate.
“We played her before, so I knew what she was going to throw,” Offenback said of Maiden pitcher Jackie Bilotti. “I got up there with runners in scoring position, and I did whatever I could to get those runners in.
“I feel a lot better than I did. That definitely took the energy out of me. With a team like this, you can’t be down and negative around them. I would seriously feel so sluggish, and I would get around them and I would be ecstatic.”
The Maidens refused to go down quietly. With one out in the sixth, Meghan Curley lined a single to right, and one out later, Gable, Wiernusz (RBI) and Christoffers (RBI) collected consecutive singles, making it a 3-2 game with Maiden runners still on the corners.
That’s when leftfielder Carly Coleman delivered the defensive play of the game with a diving catch of Erin Maher’s fly ball to shallow left.
“Carly’s catch is huge,” Chichilitti said. “I don’t know if it’s fair or foul, but whatever it is, it gets us out of the inning and keeps us ahead a run going into the seventh.
“I think our defense is what propelled us over the top in this game.”
“That was huge,” Torresani said. “When we had the girls on base, Erin had a chance, but the girl made a great catch in left field.”
Quense was quick to tip her hat to Coleman.
“If that gets down, it’s a whole different game,” the senior pitcher said. “I knew she was going to get it the whole way. I just wanted her to make it spectacular.
“She works very hard, and for her to get that was very important. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
With one out in the seventh, Michelle Holweger singled to right, but Quense closed it out on a comebacker to the mound.
“I take my hat off to them,” Chichilitti said. “Even when they were down, they continued to fight us throughout the whole game.”
Quense, on the heels of Thursday’s perfect game against Daniel Boone, allowed nine hits.
“Hey, they’re a good team,” she said. “You have to give credit to them. Hats off. That’s why they made it this far.”
“She still pitched great,” Chichilitti said. “I knew their hitters were going to put the ball in play.
“She didn’t have a ton of strikeouts the last time, and we knew we were going to have to play great defense, and we did when we needed to most.”
The Maidens – led by the two-hit efforts of Gable and Christoffers - held a 9-6 advantage in hits.
“There’s not much you can say,” Torresani said. “That’s a quality pitcher, but we had our chances. We couldn’t get that clutch hit we have been getting.
“I figured if we would score four runs we win the game. That’s what we needed, and we didn’t get it. This team doesn’t back down. All year we hear about Neshaminy and Pennsbury. We figured we would come out today and give them a battle and see what happens, and we did.”
Quense fanned five and walked one while Bilotti struck out two and walked three.
“Jackie did great,” Torresani said. “She’s not an overpowering pitcher. She’s got to mix her speeds up, and she has to hit her spots.
“For the majority of the game, that’s what she did. What are you going to do? It’s the game of softball. It could go either way. It’s didn’t go our way today.”
The win vaulted the Redskins into Friday’s state title game at Penn State University at 12:30 p.m. They will face a Canon-McMillan squad that defeated Pennsbury 3-1.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Offenback said. “We have been together for so long. They’re like a family to me.
“Literally, we’re together 24-7. We’re probably going to all go home and eat together We’re never apart from each other.”
EXTRA INNINGS: While the Maidens’ seven, eight and nine hitters were a combined 5-for-8, their top four hitters were 2-for-15. Bilotti was equally effective with the top of the Redskins order as Neshaminy’s one, two and three batters were a combined 1-for-9. Snider-Leonhauser and Offenback led the Redskins with two hits each…Tuesday’s game featured several wind-blown basehits and made every fly ball an adventure. “I would definitely take the wind over the drizzly rain any day, but both teams had to account for the wind,” LaPalombara said. “It wasn’t going to be an easy game. We knew that from the start that we were going to have to fight until that last inning, that last out.”
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