Check out the results for SOL softball teams in action. CB South/Tennent photos provide by Keith Clemens Photography, and Hatboro-Horsham/Wisshickon photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of action photos of photos games…CLICK HERE to go directly to the SOS Softball Gallery.
National Conference
NESHAMINY 1, PENNSBURY 0
In another classic battle of district and SOL heavyweights, it was the Redskins eking out the win with a run in the top of the seventh.
“Our goal going into the game was to play good defense and to swing at good pitches,” Redskin coach Dave Chichilitti said. “We played great defense, and they played great ‘D,’ and we knew that unfortunately someone was going to make a mistake and give the other team the game.”
Mistakes were few and far between in this one, but in the top of the seventh, it was a miscue that allowed the Redskins to push a run across. Devan Masciulli’s two-out single was followed by a double from Alexis Watkins, putting runners on second and third.
“Paige Metz has an 18-pitch at-bat,” Chichilitti said. “She hit everything with a foul ball – she hit people, she hit the pizza place, she hit four cars, and then she struck out. It was a dropped third strike.”
An overthrow to first allowed the go-ahead run to cross the plate. Amber Brugger did the rest, retiring the Falcons in the bottom of the inning.
“Our goal was to play great defense – we only had one error,” Chichilitti said. “We limited the damage and made the plays when we had to.”
Brugger earned the complete game shutout win, allowing five hits, striking out nine and walking one.
“She was amazing,” Chichilitti said. “In the first inning, Pennsbury had runners on second and third with no outs. We got a double play, and Amber got a huge strikeout.
“Every time Pennsbury got a runner in scoring position, she pitched us out of it.”
Alyssa Heilman pitched well enough to win on most nights, allowing seven hits while striking out eight and walking none.
Everyone was a winner on a night that saw all four teams raise money for a local family and made the presentations on Monday night.
Neshaminy (13-2, 9-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Wednesday. A win will guarantee the Redskins at least a share of the conference crown. Pennsbury (11-4, 7-2) will host Council Rock South on Wednesday. Neshaminy is ranked second in the latest District One 6A rankings while Pennsbury is fifth.
Neshaminy 000 000 1 1
Pennsbury 000 000 0 0
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 4, ABINGTON 0
Jenna Khantzian was all but untouchable in Monday’s complete game shutout win. The Virginia Tech-bound sophomore took a perfect game into the fifth inning when the Ghosts got their first and only hit of the game. She struck out 12 and did not walk a batter in an overpowering effort.
“She was just in full control,” coach John Engelhardt said. “She got behind 3-0 twice and worked back, and both of them were strikeouts.
“She just had really, really good command. She was hitting her spots. She threw really well inside today, and every single game she gives us an opportunity to win. I think it would have been cool to have a perfect game, but it was just a gem. You could tell that she was very confident, she was locked in. I’m not sure that she knew she had a perfect game going.”
The Indians played flawless defense behind their ace.
“That’s one of the things we’re trying to clean up,” Engelhardt said of his team’s defense. “We lost to South 8-5, and they didn’t have a single extra-base hit.
“She’s had a really, really strong year, but you don’t look at the box scores and say, ‘Wow, they have a kid that’s dominating.’ She is dominating, but we have to do a better job playing good, fundamental softball. That’s what we showed today.”
Khantzian, according to Engelhardt, helped her own cause in Monday’s win.
“Jenna fielded her position beautifully,” he said. “She had a couple balls back to her, and she did a really nice job.
“There’s no team in this district that’s going to come out and blow us out, unless we have self-inflicted wounds. Jenna gives us an opportunity to win every game. When we play good defense, it was pretty close to a perfect game, which would have been really special for her and for the girls. Our focus right now is good fundamental softball. That’s all we’re trying to do.”
The Indians broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the fourth and added a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Contributing RBIs for the Indians were Riley Sheehy, Abby Sieple and Sabrina Crane. Juliana Shields stole home.
Taylor Briggs led the Indians with a 3-for-4 day at the plate that included a double and two runs scored.
Council Rock North (10-4, 7-3 SOL) – ranked second in the latest District One power rankings – will host Neshaminy on Wednesday, and Abington (5-11, 2-8) will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday for a non-league game. Abington is 24th in what will be a 20-team field.
Council Rock North 000 111 1 4
Abington 000 000 0 0
Continental Conference
WILLIAM TENNENT 6, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3
Reilly Dougherty found herself facing the ultimate test. With no outs, the bases loaded and her team clinging to a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh, the senior hurler found herself staring at arguably the conference’s most dangerous hitter in Taylor Marinelli.
Dougherty didn’t flinch, retiring Marinelli on a line drive to short. She fanned the next batter she faced and collected the final out on a harmless fly ball to center. The Panthers had played the role of giant killer, and Dougherty had escaped a bases-loaded jam for the second time in the game.
“That was huge,” Tennent coach Deanna Myers said. “My pitcher pitched seven full innings tonight. She only had two walks, she got us popups when we needed them, she got us ground balls when we needed them. She just did a great job today. I’m so proud of her.
“It was an adrenaline rush watching the girls do so great against such a great team. CB South is a top team, and for us to come out and beat them was huge.
“The girls were just smiling. They were so happy. I’ve never seen them like they were today. It was a great win, it was a great game. I couldn’t be more proud of my girls tonight.”
Dougherty wasn’t the only hero for the Panthers. With the score deadlocked 3-3, the Panthers scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Caitlin Mitros got things started with a double up the middle, and sophomore Brianna Koonce drove her in to give the Panthers a lead they would not lose. The Panthers tacked on two more runs when junior Katie Heim came off the bench to deliver a two-run single that put the Panthers on top 6-3.
“She came up clutch,” Myers said of Heim.
Earlier, the Panthers found themselves staring at a 3-1 hole heading into the bottom of the fourth when a Koonce double to left center set the stage for freshman Hannah Reimel’s first career home run – a blast to left field that knotted the score 3-3.
“This is something for the girls to be very, very proud of,” Myers said. “I said – we need to keep this momentum and keep it into the rest of the week. This is huge week for us. This could turn things around.
“I also told them we have to take it one game at a time.”
For the Titans, Alexa Ortman contributed a 3-for-3 effort with two runs scored, and Alex Deleon was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Katie Hines was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles.
The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Titans, whose last loss came on April 12 (5-4 to Archbishop Wood).
“They beat us fair and square,” South coach Kevin Rosini said. “They took it to us. We had a couple different leads, and they just kept fighting back.
“We’ll bounce back. We have another game tomorrow. I told them after the game, ‘This is one out of 20 for us. We have to play every game the same. We can’t get too high, we can’t get too low.”
Rosini and Myers are hardly strangers – he coached Myers when she was in seventh grade. That team was undefeated.
“I’m happy for Deanna,” Rosini said. “She’s working really hard.”
“He’s been nothing but supportive,” Myers said of Rosini. “He’s offered so much help to me because he knows this is my first season as a head coach.
“As soon as he found out I was hired, he said, ‘Anything you need, any help, questions, just come to me, and I will answer them.’ He’s great. It doesn’t get much better than playing against someone you played for.”
William Tennent (5-9, 3-6 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Tuesday, and Central Bucks South (12-4, 9-1) will be on the road at Nazareth Academy for a non-league game on Tuesday. The Titans were eighth in the latest District One 6A power rankings. William Tennent was 27th.
Central Bucks South 200 100 0 3
William Tennent 010 203 x 6
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 (10 innings)
It took 10 innings and a West miscue, but the Patriots eked out a 3-2 win in Monday’s battle against their neighboring rival. With the international tiebreaker in effect, coach Karl Knapp put pinch runner Amanda Plocharski on second base to open the 10th inning. The Bucks elected to go to first on Hailey Aspinwall’s sacrifice bunt, and an error on the play allowed Plocharski to race home with the game winner.
For the Patriots – 22nd in the latest District One power rankings, it was a must-win.
“We have to really win out to get in the playoffs,” said Knapp, whose team has just two games remaining. “There’s no choice left.”
Giuliana Ruscio earned the complete game win, allowing eight hits and two runs in 10 innings while striking out two and walking one.
“She did a good job,” Knapp said. “She’s been throwing well.
“We had some errors in the game. We didn’t play a real clean game.”
Agelina Sherba absorbed the loss.
Cemtral Bucks East (10-7, 7-3 SOL) will host William Tennent on Wednesday, and Central Bucks West (4-10, 2-8) will host Pennridge on Wednesday.
Central Bucks West 000 002 000 0 2-8-1
Central Bucks East 000 002 000 1 3-7-3
PENNRIDGE 5, SOUDERTON 1
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. It turned out to be their last hurrah as the visiting Rams scored four runs in the second. In the second, Logan Scott and Samantha Harty each contributed RBI singles. Kylie Watson’s double also plated a run, and Grace McGinley picked up an RBI on a ground out as the Rams opened up a 4-1 lead. For good measure, they added a single run in the fifth.
Kailyn Bell and Meghan Bauer once again proved to be a winning combination in the circle. Bell, who earned the win, allowed three hits and one run in four innings, striking out three and walking one. Bauer allowed five hits in three shutout innings to close out the game.
Watson (2-for-4, double, RBI, run), Harty (2-for-4, RBI), Mary Cate Lavush (2-for-4, RBI, run), Scott (2-for-3, double, RBI, run) and McGinley (2-for-3, RBI) all had multi-hit performances for the Rams.
Alex Scheeler had a big day at the plate for the Indians, finishing 3-for-3 with a double. Ali Gould was 2-for-3, and Naila Neely was 1-for-3. Jordyn Peacock contributed two sacrifice bunts. Jess Lepore walked and scored the Indians’ lone run.
Scheeler absorbed the loss, allowing 11 hits while striking out eight.
Pennridge (6-8, 3-6 SOL) – ranked 26th in the latest District One 6A rankings – will host Abington on Tuesday in a non-league game, and Souderton (2-12, 0-8) will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Pennridge 040 010 0 5-10-2
Souderton 100 000 0 1-7-2
American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4, UPPER DUBLIN 2
Injuries have forced coach Dana Moyer to shuffle her deck. She came up with a winning hand on Monday.
“We’ve had a ton of injuries,” said the PW coach, whose latest casualty was her starting third baseman. “We don’t have a back-up third baseman, so I moved my starting center fielder (Jennifer Byrne) – who sometimes plays second base – to third base, and she killed it.
“She didn’t have a ton of plays, but she was fast, she was on quick bunts, and my pitcher threw beautifully today. She threw one of the best games she’s ever pitched.”
Sophomore Kayla Yeager scattered seven hits in the complete game win, allowing two runs (one earned run) while fanning four and walking one.
“Her pitches were spotted where they needed to be, barring two pitches maybe,” Moyer said. “The defense play immaculately.
“Ragan Ebersole played shortstop like I’ve never seen her play. She was all over the place and made some really phenomenal plays in the field – balls that I thought were through the middle, and somehow she got to them, set her feet and made the throw to first. That happened on a couple of different occasions today.”
If the Colonials needed a confidence boost, they got it when freshman Kamryn Kropinski led off the game with a triple and scored on an RBI groundout by Jennifer Byrne.
“Obviously, for them to see – hey, we can do this, let’s do this,” Moyer said. “They all know that we’re down a few players.
“Josie Tassoni, my regular catcher, has a fractured finger, and she’s probably out the rest of the season, so I had to move my regular first baseman (Gianna Fazio) to catch. They all know they were playing out of (position). I just told them, ‘Go have fun. Play ball – they don’t call it work ball, so go out, play and have fun.’”
In the absence of Tassoni, Moyer assigned the task of directing the defense to Ebersole.
“Jumping out and getting that first run, they were like, ‘Okay, we can feel good,’ but playing Heather (Boyer’s) team, I know one run is not going to do it,” Moyer said. “You just have to keep pounding away.”
The Colonials tacked on three more runs in the second. Emma Carney hit a two-out, two-run double.
“She been coming up clutch,” Moyer said.
Also in the second, Kropinski had a sacrifice fly in an inning that also included a single by Sydney Melillo and a walk.
The Colonials managed just two hits after the second, but those four runs were more than enough for Yeager, who allowed a pair of late runs.
The Flying Cardinals got on the scoreboard in the sixth on Brianna Parker’s two-out RBI single that plated Sarah Sharp, who had singled. In the seventh, Rebecca Matricardi hit a one-out pinch single, and Sarah Tannenbaum’s RBI double accounted for the Cardinals’ final run.
“This is huge,” Moyer said. “Now they see that they can do it.
“We have some tough games coming up still, but for them to see they can be competitive, especially after we lost that close game to Upper Dublin (6-5) with a full squad the last time.
“I think it’s a huge morale booster especially going into these last few games. It was fun to coach them today, it was fun to watch them today. Just this team overall, they’re phenomenal. They’re great kids, and they work really hard to win for each other.”
Fazio’s 2-for-4 effort at the plate led the Colonials. For the Flying Cardinals, Tannenbaum was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI. Brianna Parker was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-6, 6-5 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Wednesday, and Upper Dublin (9-6, 7-3) will travel to Springfield Township on Wednesday. Upper Dublin was 23rd in the latest District One 6A power rankings. Twenty teams will earn playoff berths.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 130 000 0 4-7-1
Upper Dublin 000 001 1 2-8-1
UPPER MORELAND 12, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 0
Jenna Sadowski allowed a leadoff single and was all but perfect the rest of the way, tossing a complete game one-hit shutout. She struck out 10 and walked none in a glittering performance. The Spartans had just three base runners, two reached base via errors.
“She was in control,” coach Scott Ludlow said of Sadowski.
The Golden Bears scored four runs in the first and never looked back.
Kayla Sawick’s 3-for-4 effort included an RBI and run scored. Brianna Hughes delivered the game’s big blow – a grand slam in the seventh inning. She finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs. Brianna Byard was 3-for-5 with a double, and Chloe Tice was 2-for-5 with a triple.
Upper Moreland (8-6, 7-4 SOL) will be on the road at St. Basil Academy for a non-league game on Tuesday, and Springfield Township (1-11, 1-10) will host Upper Dublin on Wednesday. Upper Moreland is 11th in the latest District One 5A power rankings with 16 teams making the tournament. Springfield Township is fourth in the four-team 3A field.
Upper Moreland 400 030 5 12
Springfield Township 000 000 0 0
HATBORO-HORSHAM 17, WISSAHICKON 0 (4 innings)
The Hatters scored early and often on their way to the abbreviated win, plating two runs in the first and adding six more in the second.
Pitchers Mickaela Fedele and Grace Daniels combined for the no-hitter with Fedele needing just 31 pitches to throw three shutout innings, striking out three and walking none. Daniels struck out the side in a scoreless fourth.
Rachel Carney (3-for-3, double, RBI, four runs) and Brittany Hubler (3-for-4, 2 triples, home run, 5 RBIs, one run) had monster days at the plate for the Hatters. Also contributing multiple hits were Kyleigh Dinnien (2-for-3, 3 RBIs, 3 runs), Brynn Griffith (2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), Alicia Tauber (2-for-2, 2 doubles, RBI, run) and Logan Cummings (2-for-3, 2 runs). Kylie Flagler added a double, and Antoinette Spinosa had one RBI.
Hatboro-Horsham (12-3, 7-2 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (3-13, 3-8) will travel to Cheltenham on Wednesday. Hatboro-Horsham is sixth in the latest power rankings.
Hatboro-Horsham 265 4 17-17-1
Wissahickon 000 0 0-0-2
QUAKERTOWN 10, CHELTENHAM 0
The visiting Panthers scored four runs in both the first and second innings, seizing early control and never letting go.
Tara Baglivo was a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Lauren Beal (2-for-4, home run, four RBIs, two runs), Halle Frederick (2-for-3, RBI, run) and Brianna Leftkoski (2-for-2, run) also had multi-hits.
Tori Caputo allowed one hit in two shutout innings, and freshman Sierra Gill gave up one hit in three shutout innings.
Quakertown (13-3, 10-1 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Wednesday, and Cheltenham (1-12, 1-9) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday. Quakertown is 11th in the most recent District One 6A rankings.
Quakertown 441 10 10-13-0
Cheltenham 000 00 0-2-1
Non-league
BRISTOL 7, HARRY S TRUMAN 3
The Warriors scored four runs in the bottom of the first, and the Tigers never could dig their way out of the early hole in a non-league battle that is part of the annual softball night in Bristol Borough.
Sarah Soltis was 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Tigers’ seven-hit attack. Also contributing one RBI each were Vanessa Tancini and Kailea Heston. Steph Wolf and Tori Baskin each added a double.
Harry S Truman (4-12, 3-7 SOL) will host Abington Wednesday.
Harry S Truman 001 001 1 3-7-0
Bristol 400 120 x 7-8-1
About the Author
