Neshaminy edged Pennsbury 6-4 in a battle of two of the area’s premiere softball teams on Saturday. Visit the Photo Gallery to view softball action photos.
By Mary Jane Souder
LANGHORNE – Lauren Quense is a fierce competitor, but the Neshaminy senior just shook her head and laughed when the subject of Pennsbury’s four home runs came up during a post-game interview Saturday.
“I was feeling great because the vibe behind me was so supportive and so powerful,” Quense said. “My catcher, Sam Offenback, is awesome, and everyone kept me up. My team is 100 percent behind me every single game, every single pitch.
“Even if they hit a home run, who cares? We’ll come back.”
And come back the Redskins did in yet another epic battle between the area powers. On a day when the ball was jumping off the bat for both teams, the Falcons hit four home runs, but that hardly mattered to Quense and her teammates, who walked off with the big prize – a 6-4 win.
“It’s so much fun, and it’s such good competition,” Quense said. “It’s just a great game. It’s what you look forward to in your senior season.”
The game was played in front of packed sidelines, and fans got their money’s worth from the opening pitch.
“It’s awesome,” Neshaminy senior Diana LaPalombara said. “The atmosphere and all the hype for the game – people in school that don’t normally come to watch sports, they come to see us.
“Everyone’s so mentally focused on this game. We want it so bad.”
Things didn’t exactly start off on a promising note for the Redskins when Pennsbury leadoff batter Christina Bascara ripped a home run over the center field fence and then, two batters later, Mackenzie Obert duplicated that feat to spot the Falcons a quick 2-0 lead.
“Honestly, I was not faltering,” Neshaminy senior Julia McGovern said. “We just came out and we knew we could come back. We knew it was coming, we knew it was going to be a tough game.
“We went in the circle, and all of us were hitting hands and said, ‘It’s going to be one of those games. It’s going to be one of those games.’”
And it was ‘one of those games.’
LaPalombara proved as much when she led off the bottom of the first with a
solo home run of her own.
“When I hit it, I sprinted to first, and knowing it went over was the biggest relief,” LaPalombara said. “Everyone’s balls were flying out of here. Whether the wind took it or not – it was going.
“It was crazy to see all those balls flying in a game like this – in the toughest game. I was so surprised. When Julie (McGovern) almost hit one right after me, I started laughing because who would think this game would start off like this. No one ever thought that.”
Like McGovern, LaPalombara knew nothing was going to come easily from the outset.
“As soon as Christina hit that ball, we brought everybody in the infield together and said, ‘This is going to happen. It’s not going to be easy ground balls or strikeout after strikeout. It’s going to be a battle of the best, and it’s not going to be an easy one-two-three inning,’” LaPalombara said.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Redskins turned their 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead with a three-run uprising. Anna Luff got things started with a leadoff single. She was still on first with two outs when McGovern lined an RBI double to center that knotted the score. Quense helped her own cause with an RBI single, and Sam Offenback’s single to the right side put the Redskins on top 4-2.
But not for long.
In the top of the fourth, Michelle George – after showing bunt on the first two pitches – lined a solo home run over the right field fence to make it a 4-3 game.
“Pennsbury came out swinging the bats,” Neshaminy coach Dave Chichilitti said. “They came out early, and we were able to respond to that and fight back and get that lead.
“They battled back a second time and put us down. We could have quit again, but we continued to stay up, kept the intensity up and knew the game was going to come back to us. It was a game of peaks and valleys.”
One inning later, Bascara hit her second home run of the day, this one over the left field fence to knot the score 4-4.
“She’s tough,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said of Bascara. “Our kids really, really played well.
“You know what – they (the Redskins) responded. That could deflate a team – four home runs, but they battled back and got some timely hits. We were just trading punches, and our punches had nobody on base.”
The Redskins came back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. LaPalombara led off with an infield single to deep short and immediately stole second. McGovern followed with a single. LaPalombara raced home on Quense’s bloop single to right, and McGovern beat the throw to the plate on Offenback’s infield grounder. The Redskins had a 6-4 lead that would stand until the final out.
“It feels good,” McGovern said. “It feels like our hard work in the offseason paid off.
“Even when we’re down, we pick each other back up. We’re like a family, and I love my team.”
Quense echoed similar sentiments.
“It’s so great,” she said. “I have never been a part of something that is so together and everyone is so excited to be here. Every single day – it’s just a blast.
“You could see on our last play, our rightfielder went down, but she gave 120 percent. The whole team did that today at every point in the game. All I can do is thank my teammates and my coaches for being so supportive.”
The ending was devoid of any kind of celebration for the Redskins, who saw senior rightfielder Molly Garrigan go down hard after a collision with centerfielder Mackensie Compton, who came up with the catch for the game’s final out.
“We were talking – it’s kind of bittersweet,” McGovern said. “Do we cheer? Do we cry? We didn’t know what to do, but I hope she’s okay. I think a couple of us are going to the hospital.
EXTRA INNINGS: Quense allowed just five hits - Bascara accounted for three of them. LaPalombara, McGovern and Quense led the Redskins with three hits each. “Lauren pitched very well, and we hit the ball hard,” Chichiletti said. “We had timely hits when we needed them with runners in scoring position. They played a great game, and we played a great game. Everybody knew it was going to be a great game. We expect another great game on Bucks County Softball Night on May 15.” May 15 is the date of the rematch. It promises to be another classic.
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