Four SOL softball teams advanced to Wednesday’s second round. To view photos of the North Penn/CR South, CB South/OJR, Hatboro-Horsham/Perk Valley and CR North/Haverford games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
The SOL has four teams still standing after Monday’s District One AAAA opening round. Ninth-seeded North Penn edged 24th-seeded Council Rock South 5-4, 13th-seeded Council Rock North eked out a 3-2 win over Haverford, the 20th seed, and 15th-seeded Central Bucks South downed #18th-seeded Owen J. Roberts 10-8. In a slugfest, Hatboro-Horsham outlasted Perkiomen Valley 16-12. Cheltenham, the tournament’s 19th seed, was upended by 14th-seeded West Chester East 7-1.
#9 NORTH PENN 5, #24 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4
Alyssa Shoulberg had herself a day out of the nine hole. Twice she delivered two-out hits with runners in scoring position, driving in three runs which included the game winner in the bottom of the sixth to break a 4-4 tie.
“She’s had some great games but not consistently,” coach Rick Torresani said. “Today she said, ‘Coach we’re not losing,’ and she came out and got the kids cheering in the beginning and then gets two huge hits. They were shots. Unbelievable. She’s just a great kid.”
Teammate Jackie Bilotti smacked a pair of solo home runs and, for good measure, earned the win in the circle.
“Jackie’s just been on the ball,” Torresani said. “She’s batting around .450 for us – she’s been hitting the ball.
“She did a lot of work in the winter, lifting weights, and now she’s coming out and hitting the ball hard.”
For the Golden Hawks – the last team to receive an invite to the tournament, competing in districts was a new experience.
“They got here – they didn’t know you did the National Anthem, they didn’t know their names were announced,” Rock South coach Greg Heydet Sr. said. “This was awesome. Now they know what it is when you get here. I expect a lot of things next year.”
Heydet had high expectations in his initial season at the helm, and the Golden Hawks surprised even themselves by earning a berth in districts. They proved they belonged in Monday’s game.
Bilotti spotted the Maidens a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the third inning, but the Golden Hawks scored four in the top of the fourth to go on top 4-1. After Melanie Wilkinson was safe on an error, Becca Dougherty doubled to left center. A run crossed the plate on Mikayla Becker’s RBI single to right, and junior Jackie Schneider emptied the bases with a home run over the left field fence.
The Maidens got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning when – after back-to-back walks – Shoulberg roped a two-out double to right center.
“With two outs, your goal is just to get a hit and bring in the girls, and that’s what I tried to do,” she said. “When I came in and it was 4-1, I said, ‘No, we’re not losing this game.’ We decided to come back.”
A Billoti solo shot in the fifth knotted the score.
“I definitely thought they were popups,” Bilotti said of her home runs. “I think the wind really helped.
“Alyssa had some solid hits in the gap. Mine – I was just hoping for a gapper.”
She did much better than that, and in the sixth, Shoulberg connected for a two-out line single that plated Meghan Curley – who had singled – with the game winner.
“It was a great game,” Torresani said. “They came out and wanted to prove a point that they belonged, and they sure as heck proved that they belonged.
“I’m glad they got in. I have to give them a lot of credit. Knowing him (Heydet) from when he pitched – he was a great pitcher, and seeing him now turning that over to the kids and showing them how to play the game the right way – that’s what he’s doing.”
For the Golden Hawks, there were no tears after Monday’s season ending loss.
“It was not a game to be disappointed in at all, not at all,” senior Amber Galasso said. “It’s a game to be proud of.”
“I can’t say that it’s not upsetting to lose,” Dougherty said. “But we came out, we performed, and we really showed North Penn what we could do. No regrets about it.”
It was a far cry from the emotions the players were feeling after their 9-3 loss to Council Rock North in their regular season finale.
“After that North game, I was not satisfied at all,” Galasso said. “I was very upset, I was disappointed.
“After this – this was a good way to end a season if you’re going to end it on a loss. This is a good way to go out – in the playoffs in a good, hard-fought game.”
This year’s team – anchored by six seniors – has paved the way for a young Golden Hawk squad.
“We’re leading the underclassmen to next year’s playoffs,” senior Sydney Brown said. “We’re setting them up.”
“I’m excited to see how they do next year, knowing what it took to get this far,” Galasso said.
“I’m proud to be part of the senior class that got it started,” senior Samantha Kronenbitter said.
“We made softball not a joke any more,” senior Courtney Testa said.
And as endings go, this one was not bad for a Golden Hawk squad making its first playoff appearance in memory.
While the Golden Hawks (8-11, 6-8 SOL) see their season come to an end, the Maidens (14-6, 10-4) will travel to Central Bucks East for a second round game.
“We’ve seen them twice, but they’ve also seen us twice,” Bilotti said. “We’re really pumped up to play them.”
Council Rock South 000 400 0-4
North Penn 001 211 x-5
#13 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, #20 HAVERFORD 2
“Seven for our Seniors”
That’s been the motto of the Indians this season. A goal from the outset was to advance to playoffs – to get those extra innings for the seniors. The Indians accomplished that goal and assured their seniors at least seven more innings, thanks to Monday’s opening round win.
“The seniors came in the huddle, and they just thanked the underclassmen,” coach Hollie Woodard said. They pretty much made it possible for them to get their next seven innings.
“It was neat to see the older girls passing the torch to the younger girls.”
Monday’s win was anything but easy. The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the second when Hannah Mumber, who had singled, scored on a double off the fence by Kali Segal. That lead disappeared when the Fords plated two in the third inning, benefitting from a controversial out-of-play call for the second.
In the bottom of the inning, Bailey Bigler, who surprised the Fords with a bunt, paid the price for her infield single when she was injured in a collision with the second baseman covering the bag. She left the game and did not return.
Nicole Rounsavill drew a base on balls, and after back-to-back fielder’s choice plays, Mumber delivered an RBI double that plated Marketa Kruse.
In the third inning, freshman Sabrina Crane, who replaced Bigler in the lineup, led off the inning with a triple to deep right center and circled the bases when the throw to third sailed out of play.
“It was great – it was a shot,” Woodard said.
Sophomore Amanda Camp turned in another workmanlike effort in the circle, allowing six hits – three by Fords’ leadoff batter Sammi Donato – while fanning three and walking none. Donato tripled with two outs in the seventh, but Camp put the finishing touches on the win with a three-pitch strikeout for the final out.
“She did a great job,” Woodard said. “Once again – just ground balls. She’s doing great.”
The win vaulted the Indians (12-7, 8-6) into the second round where they will face fourth-seeded Spring Ford.
“This whole season we’ve been talking about how challenging our league is,” Woodard said. “We wanted to have all the teams from the Suburban One League get past the first round, and it showed we had some strength.
“More importantly, I think it was important to get it out of the way because there were a lot of nerves. In the first inning, we had a lot of bobbles. It just wasn’t clean softball. I’m hoping we get the nerves out of the way and can play a little bit cleaner in the next round.”
Haverford 002 000 0-2
Council Rock North 011 010 x-3
#15 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 10, #18 OWEN J ROBERTS 8
The Titans managed just one hit off Wildcat starter Kylie Glenn through four innings, and things didn’t exactly look promising as they found themselves staring at a 3-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
“Taylor Marinelli had a hit in the first, and that was our only hit through four,” Hayes said. “We just couldn’t do anything with her. She didn’t have speed. She moved the ball around a little bit, but not a good change-up. We just weren’t hitting. It was unbelievable.”
The Titans finally got on the scoreboard in a fifth inning that featured singles by Maddie Bieber, Hailey Warner and Lauren McCarthy (RBI).
In the sixth, the Titans’ bats came to life. Maddie Decker walked to open the frame, and Taylor Risich followed with a single. One out later, Julia Formicola stepped into the batter’s box and emptied the bases with at three-run home run to put the Titans on top 4-3, and they weren’t finished yet.
Warner and McCarthy followed with back-to-back singles, and when Morgan Seader turned her sacrifice bunt into a single, the Titans had the bases loaded. A single by Hope Darreff plated a run, and Marinelli followed with an RBI single. With the bases still loaded, Decker delivered a grand slam.
“I thought the way it was going it would be a 3-0 or 3-1 final score,” Hayes said. “Then that sixth inning happened – it was incredible. You talk about hitting being contagious.
“Everybody that came up just didn’t want to make an out. It was really something.”
The Titans needed every one of those runs as the Wildcats answered with a five-run outburst in the seventh to make things more interesting. They benefitted from three hits, two walks and a costly error.
“They fielded the ball well,” Hayes said. “We hit the ball hard early, and they fielded everything. We just couldn’t get onto their pitcher at all early in the game. It was really frustrating.
“I was pleased we ended up winning. I kind of thought we were a better team overall.”
On Wednesday, the Titans (11-8, 9-5 SOL) will make the long trek to Avon Grove to face the second-seeded Red Devils.
Owen J Roberts 001 110 5-8
Central Bucks South 000 019 x-10
#21 HATBORO-HORSHAM 16, #12 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 12
Joe DiFilippo has been coaching softball for a long time. The veteran coach can’t remember anything quite like Monday’s slugfest at Perk Valley that saw the two teams combine for 28 runs and 27 hits.
“Even right now, I can’t believe that game,” DiFillipo said several hours after the final out had been recorded. “It was 16-8 going into the last inning, and they scored four runs. We couldn't get three outs.
“It was incredible. Balls were just dropping in. Little bloopers over second. It was unbelievable. I don’t remember the last time I ever was in a game like that. It was like slow pitch.”
The Vikings led 6-2 after two innings, but that was hardly cause for concern on this day. The Hatters got two runs back in the third and then took a 7-6 lead with a three-run fourth that was highlighted by a bases-clearing, three-run double by Jayne Black.
“She came up with the bases loaded and hit one over their rightfielder’s head,” DiFilippo said. “That started it all, and then it was just one after another.”
The Vikings tied the score with a single run in the fifth, and the Hatters all but put the game away with a nine-run sixth to go on top 16-7. The Vikings scored one run in the sixth and four more in the seventh to make things interesting.
“You just have to focus on the positives and move on,” DiFilippo said.
Senior Meg Hallock led the Hatters’ hit parade with a 4-for-5 day at the plate that included an RBI and three runs scored. Dee Moyer, who was on base all five trips to the plate out of the nine hole, was 3-for-4 with two walks and five runs scored. Jen Cader was 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs and one run scored. Daria Edwards was 1-for-2 with a triple, three walks and three runs scored.
“Honestly, it was nice to have Dee Moyer back,” DiFilippo said. “She was on base five times and scored five runs.”
Kaeli Simmons, according to DiFlippo, earned both the win and the save.
“I took Lexi Campbell, who started, out and put Kaeli in for three innings,” he said. “We went ahead, and it was 16-8.”
Simmons was lifted in favor of Campbell to start the seventh, but after the Vikings scored four runs, DiFilippo called on Simmons to record the last out. She did.
The Hatters will travel to Pennsbury for a matchup against the fifth-seeded Falcons in a second round game Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 202 309 0-16
Perkiomen Valley 060 011 4-12
#14 WEST CHESTER EAST 7, #17 CHELTENHAM 1
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