CB East, North Penn and Souderton were winners in District One AAAA softball action Wednesday. Check back for Keith Clemens’ photo gallery of the North Penn/CB South game.
#7 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 5, #10 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 0
Theresa Haug and Kayla Ventura once again worked their magic in the circle, combining for a two-hit shutout. Haug did not allow a hit in three shutout innings, fanning two and walking none. Ventura allowed two hits in four innings, striking out three and walking one.
“When Theresa and Kayla are on, they’re really good at shutting people down,” coach Paul Knapp said. “These were some pretty decent hitters.
“We got a good scouting report, and we kind of knew where to pitch their strong hitters. That helped us. Overall, they were well prepared. They knew this was going to be a tough game. Downingtown West played a solid game. It was just the fact – we could hit their pitcher, and they couldn’t hit us.”
The Patriots put an unearned run on the board in the third, and they scored four more in the fourth, staging an impressive two-out rally.
Alyssa Catron was hit by a pitch, and Ventura followed with a single. An RBI single to right by Nicole Tracy plated Catron, and when Giuliana Ruscio was safe on an error, another run crossed the play. Hailey Aspinwall’s two-run double put the Patriots on top 5-0.
“They came out ready to go,” said Knapp, whose team scrimmaged Souderton on Monday. “I told them – ‘You can’t wake up in the fourth or fifth inning. You have to be on it from the start.’
“They answered the bell. They came out ready to go. It usually takes us once through the lineup to figure out what a pitcher is throwing, what the umpire’s strike zone is. They were focused in today, and in the fourth inning had a good rally.”
Aspinwall (2-for-4, double, two RBIs) and Ventura (2-for-2) were the lone players to collect multiple hits.
“It was a tough game, but they play with confidence, and that’s a big thing,” Knapp said. “They’re not cocky, but they’re confident, and they’re very much a team.
“We don’t have any real superstar standouts, but they all mesh well together. They’re a good team, and they support each other. They were all at the fence cheering from the start, and that’s a good sign for them.”
Central Bucks East (16-5, 10-4 SOL) will be on the road at second-seeded Avon Grove for a quarterfinal game on Friday.
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#21 NORTH PENN 1, #12 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
Bri Battavio had 48 hours to think about the back-to-back walks she’d issued just before Monday’s opening round game was suspended because of a torrential downpour. The Maidens’ junior hurler returned to the circle on Wednesday – retired the first two batters she faced – and did not walk a batter the rest of the way, allowing just four hits and tossing a four-hit gem to lead the Maidens.
“Bri and I were talking the last two nights, and we kept thinking, ‘First and second, one out. First and second, one out,’” coach Rick Torresani said. “She came out and got a fly ball and strikeout (to end the second), and that set the tone.
“She knew right then and there she had her stuff, and from then on in, she pitched a great game.”
The game was scheduled to resume on Tuesday, but a fire at North Penn pushed the game back an additional day.
“It was tough,” Torresani said. “Getting there and waiting (Monday) and then playing an inning and a half. Getting all psyched up to go and play them yesterday.
“Coming back today – to be honest with you, they had a chip on their shoulder because they were hearing from everyone they didn’t belong in the playoffs. They just wanted to prove to everybody in this game and hopefully tomorrow’s game that they belong.”
The Maidens plated the only run Battavio would need in the fourth. Kariam Bou drew a leadoff walk, and a double by Jovanna Alfonsi put runners on second and third. It looked as though the Titans might escape unscathed when right fielder Alexis McConomy turned a line drive off the bat of Britney Moyer into a double play.
“Their right fielder made a tremendous catch,” Torresani said.
Elia Namey delivered a clutch two-out single to plate the only run Battavio would need. In the bottom of the fifth, the Maidens came up big defensively when – with Titan runners on first and second – Alex DeLeon singled to center. Center fielder Courtney Neal gunned down the Titan runner attempting to score from second at the plate.
“That was huge,” Torresani said.
The win was the Maidens’ third of the season over the Titans.
“We had our all-league meeting last night, and (Dan Hayes) said to me, ‘It’s tough to beat a team three times in a row,’” Torresani said. “I said to him, ‘There’s an old Italian saying – two plus one equals three.’
“We were laughing about it. Both teams played really well. I felt bad because I’m coaching three of those kids in Carpenter Cup, and they’re such good kids.”
The Maidens managed just three hits off the duo of Kylie Kenney and McConomy.
“I told the girls – it’s playoff softball,” Torresani said. “You get the timely hit, it’s going to give you the victory. It was a great game.”
Central Bucks South (7-7 SOL) closed out its season with a 13-8 record. North Penn (11-10, 7-7) will travel to Quakertown for a second round game on Thursday.
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#4 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 8, #13 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1
Nicole Rounsavill – part of a senior class that had played for three coaches in three years – will take her talents to Colgate University next year. The senior standout has plenty of softball still to play, but Rounsavill wasn’t quite ready to close the book on this chapter.
“It’s tough,” she said, acknowledging it’s her teammates she will miss most. “It’s a great bunch of girls.
“Every single one of them shows so much heart – they did through the whole season, and I’m so proud of them.”
Coach John Engelhardt pointed to Rounsavill and fellow seniors Amanda Camp, Hannah Stalker and Kalli Segal as the cornerstone of a program on the rise.
“This is a life lesson,” the Indians’ first-year coach said. “You’re not always going to win, but the four seniors will go on. Two of them will play college ball, and they will be better from this. What I told our seniors – because they’re going to be a tough bunch to replace – is that they laid the foundation.
“They bought in. I had no softball experience coming in, and I’m their third coach in three years. They bought in from day one. In the regular season, we went 15-4 – two losses by one run and another by two, so we competed in every game.”
With one out in the top of the first, Lauren Begg collected a slap single to left, and Rounsavill lined a single off the glove of leaping shortstop Ana Bruni. The Indians came up empty, but they served notice they would be heard from.
Or at least so it seemed.
After the Indians were retired in order in the second, the Vikings went on the offensive. Five hits and a walk later, they led 6-0 with Bruni’s inside the park three-run homer putting an exclamation point on the onslaught.
“When you spot them six, it’s tough,” Engelhardt said. “It takes the wind out of your sails.
“You know what – I have to give my girls credit. We’ve never lost an inning on the dugout, and that’s something I take pride in. These girls are always up cheering each other on. I’m proud of that.”
The Indians battled gamely and put their only run on the board in the fifth. Segal lined a double into the left center field gap, and pinch runner Juliana Shields raced home on Madison Tomlinson’s single to right.
That would be the extent of the Indians’ offense. They collected six hits off winning pitcher Abby Wild – two each by Rounsavill and Begg. Camp absorbed the loss. Jenna Khantzian allowed four hits and one run in three innings.
“We came out and we were ready to go,” Engelhardt said. “They beat us. Wild pitched a great game. Sometimes you have to tip your cap and say, ‘You know what –you beat us today,’ and that’s what they did.”
Rounsavill, for one, is looking forward to following the fortunes of a young Indian squad.
“They have such a bright future, and I think they know that,” the senior captain said. “But they also know they have to work hard the next few years to be great. I know they can be great. In my opinion, we already are. I’m excited to see what happens in the future.”
Council Rock (12-2 SOL) closed out its year with a 16-5 record.
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#19 WEST CHESTER EAST 2, #3 NESHAMINY 0
The Redskins saw a postseason of great promise come to a premature end in Wednesday’s second round. The 19th-seeded Vikings – fresh off a win over Hatboro-Horsham 24 hours earlier – managed just two hits but benefitted from an error to plate a pair of unearned runs in the third inning.
That proved to more than enough on a day that saw the Redskins collect five hits and no runs off winning hurler Kristen Fuertes.
“We hit her – just right at their fielders, who made all the plays,” coach Dave Chichilitti said.
Neshaminy (14-0 SOL) closed out its season with a 17-3 record.
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#8 SOUDERTON 10, #9 SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 0 (5 innings)
Senior Angie Carty brought a dramatic end to Wednesday’s second round game, delivering a walk-off grand slam.While Carty – who finished the game a perfect 3-for-3 – stole the spotlight at the plate, senior pitcher Melissa Gould was baffling the Cougar hitters, limiting the visitors to just three hits while striking one and walking none.
Gould found herself thrust into the role of starter when sophomore ace Alex Scheeler suffered a concussion last week. She notched a win over Christopher Dock in the Indians' Senior Day gaame in her only other varsity start.
"She places the ball really well," coach Steph Rummel said. "They put it in play and we made the outs behind her."
Carty was just a triple shy of the cycle with a single, double and home run to go along with a walk in four productive trips to the plate. Dayna Shelly also was 3-for-3 with three singles while Jen Klepfer was 2-for-3 to round out Souderton's multi-hit performances.
"I was very happy with their bats – they came out hitting the ball hard and doing what they needed to do in order to score runs," Rummel said.
Souderton (13-6, 9-5 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Upper Darby on Friday for a quarterfinal game.
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