Central Bucks South edged Council Rock North 1-0 to capture the District One 6A title Thursday. It is the program’s first district crown since 2010. Neshaminy won to clinch its first state berth in four years. North Penn also was a winner.
#1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1, #1-19 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
Kylie Kenney doesn’t show a whole lot of emotion in the circle. A walk or a strikeout elicits the same response – none at all, but when the Titans’ junior pitcher found the corner of the plate for a called third strike to close out Thursday’s district title game, she could celebrate at last.
“When I’m on the mound, I chill – whatever happens happens, but when I got that last strikeout, I was crazy,” Kenney said. “I was so full of emotions, and I had to go to Maddie (McShane) because she caught the last pitch.
“(It feels) amazing because we’ve lost in the first (or second) round all the years that I’ve played so to win districts and have a spot in states is the most amazing feeling,”
Thursday’s win was Kenney’s third shutout in four district games, equaling her total for the entire regular season.
“It’s crazy,” Kenney said. “I definitely did not expect that going into the playoffs, for sure.
“I have the best defense behind me. They saved a couple of close ones near the fence today. I’m thankful for that. Yeah, we don’t get the hits that we want to all the time, but I know our defense will cover it up, and that’s how we win the games.”
Kenney allowed four hits while striking out six and walking two
“It’s crazy – no matter how loud the other team’s cheering, she always seems so calm,” South sophomore Tara Tumasz said of Kenney. “Nothing really seems like it fazes her.”
Nothing fazed Tumasz either when she stepped into the box with teammate Rebecca Brennan on third base and two outs in the third inning of a scoreless game. The sophomore first baseman hit a sharp grounder through the left side, and Brennan – who had walked to lead off the inning – raced home with the game’s only run.
“I usually seem to do pretty well under pressure,” Tumasz said. “It just feels pretty good getting it done for the seniors and juniors.”
Tumasz’s recent success – this was her second game-winning hit in as many contests – is the result of hard work, according to her coach.
“She struggled at the beginning of the season a little bit, but she kept fighting through and she’s worked hard and made adjustments at the plate,” South coach Kevin Rosini said. “Kudos to her – the last two games she’s gotten our game winner. She’s just done a really nice job, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
On the other side of the diamond, Rock North pitcher Lauren Begg pitched well enough to win on most days, also allowing just four hits while striking out a pair and walking three.
“It happens,” Begg said. “We had a great run though. It’s really great to be the 19th seed and make it to the (district) championship game.”
The Indians had their share of base runners – twice they ran themselves out of an inning when they were doubled up for leaving the base too soon on fly ball outs to the outfield. Taylor Briggs had the hardest hit ball of the game, hitting it to the deepest part of the park – straightaway center field – where Alexa Ortman caught it at the fence to close out the sixth inning.
With one out in the seventh, Abby Seiple and Elena Calibeo collected back-to-back singles, but with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run at first, Kenney struck out the next two batters she faced to close out the game.
“No matter how much pressure is on her – it was the top of the seventh with two (on), and I was nervous just catching her,” catcher Maddie McShane said. “She just looked calm and collected and just kept throwing strikes.”
“It’s something she does – she really only focuses on the batter that’s in front of her,” senior Alex DeLeon said. “She doesn’t focus if there’s runners on third with no outs or if the bases are loaded and we have two outs and she really needs to get that batter out. She literally focuses on her zone and pitches her game.”
Thursday’s 1-0 win was the third in four district games by that identical score.
“She’s unbelievable,” Rosini said of Kenney. “She’s such a solid pitcher. It doesn’t matter what happens – she finds a way.
“She relies on her talent, she relies on her instincts. She’s such a good pitcher, and she’s such a good competitor. She’s a fighter and that means a lot. You can be a great pitcher and still not get the outs, but she’s a fighter and that’s what makes her so good. She’s amazing.”
Begg had high praise for her counterpart.
“She just hits her spots really well,” the Indians’ pitcher said of Kenney. “She has a ton of great really moving pitches, so in those situations, sometimes it’s hard to get the bat on the ball.”
Each team committed just one error in a contest that looked the part of a district title game.
“CB South is fantastic – Kylie Kenney is awesome,” Rock North coach John Engelhardt said. “They play great defense. We didn’t catch a break, and in this format, you have to be perfect. We tip our hats to CB South. They played awesome.”
Central Bucks South (20-3, 9-3 SOL) will face Neshaminy in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament. Council Rock North (16-8, 7-5) will face District 11 runner-up Nazareth in Monday’s opening round.
Council Rock North 000 000 0 0-4-1
Central Bucks South 001 000 x 1-4-1
Council Rock North (0) – Riley Sheehy cf 3-0-0-0; Lauren Begg p 3-0-0-0; Taylor Briggs 3b 2-0-0-0; Juliana Shields ss 3-0-0-0; Abby Seiple 1b 3-0-1-0; Carly Yoder pr 0-0-0-0; Elena Calibeo lf 3-0-1-0; Jenna Khantzian dp 3-0-1-0; Rachel Lorence pr 0-0-0-0; Madison Tomlinson 2b 3-0-0-0; Marissa Haynes rf 3-0-0-0; Kayla Schram c 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 26-0-4-0.
Central Bucks South (1) – Alexa Ortman cf 1-0-0-0; Tara Tumasz 1b 2-0-1-1; Maddie Rowley rf 3-0-0-0; Alex DeLeon ss 3-0-0-0; Katie Hines 2b 2-0-1-0; Maddie McShane c 3-0-0-0; Ally McDaid 0-0-0-0; Nicole Pilla dp 3-0-1-0; Rebecca Brennan 3b 2-1-1-0; Olivia Robinson lf 0-0-0-0; Kylie Kenney p 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 19-1-4-1.
E-CB South 1, CR North 1.
IP H R ER BB SO
Kylie Kenney (W) 7 4 0 0 2 6
Lauren Begg (L) 6 4 1 1 3 2
District One 6A (Third Place)
#1-4 NORTH PENN 5, #1-15 GARNET VALLEY 3
Amanda Greaney had herself a day in Thursday’s third place game, ripping a three-run home run to highlight a four-run fourth and driving in the game’s first run with an RBI double.
“She’s been on a tear,” coach Rick Torresani said. “She just tied the record for home runs in a season at North Penn with seven, and she’s up to 24 RBIs. She’s been instrumental in everything we’ve done in our playoff run.”
Greaney set the tone in the bottom of the first after Victoria Juckniewitz reached base on a single, delivering an RBI double to put the Knights on the board.
In the third, Greaney delivered her three-run blast, and Emily Groarke also contributed an RBI single that plated Courtney Neal, who was hit by a pitch. The Jaguars scored three in the top of the sixth to pull to within two, but that’s as close as they would get.
Juckniewitz was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Greaney was 2-for-2 with a home run, double and four RBIs.
Freshman Mady Volpe earned the complete game win, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out nine and walking three.
North Penn (19-5, 9-3 SOL) will play District 12’s top-seeded team, St. Hubert’s, in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament.
“We’re playing in states – let’s see what happens,” Torresani said. “Hopefully all the District One teams that are in it will fare well. We know one’s getting knocked out in the first round, but hopefully, the others will do all right.”
Garnet Valley 000 003 0 3
North Penn 104 000 x 5
District One 6A (Fifth Place)
#1-6 NESHAMINY 16, #1-8 CONESTOGA 6 (5 innings)
It was win or go home when the Redskins hosted the Pioneers in Thursday’s fifth place game. Six days earlier, the players thought they were going home when they fell to Council Rock North in a district quarterfinal contest.
“No one decided to tell us it wasn’t the last straw,” senior Vic Smith said. “Honestly, it was heartbreaking because we have so much potential with this team. Not only with all the seniors, but we also have some younger girls that are also contributing.
“This was kind of like a second life for us. I feel like we have more confidence now that we won these last two games. We were hanging by a strand there, but there’s a lot of confidence knowing we can come back, we can do this. This is the feeling we want to feel. It’s obviously completely different. This is what we know we’re capable of.”
The Redskins – making it clear they had absolutely no interest in going home – erupted for 18 hits and 16 runs in the abbreviated contest to earn the fifth and final state berth.
“I told the girls today in the huddle – ‘Who the hell wants to walk in through the front door? Everybody does that. It’s boring. We got to kick the back door in,’” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “It’s been four years since we got to states, so this group never got to do it. They were in eighth grade, they saw it, but they were never a part of it.
“The way that we’ve been playing and the way we hit the ball today, you’re starting to think, ‘Wait a minute, if we take this one game at a time, we definitely have the pieces to make a run.’”
The Redskins spotted the visiting Pioneers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but they erased that in a hurry in the bottom of the inning. After Amber Brugger drew a leadoff walk, Olivia Fee singled. It marked the beginning of seven straight hits that included singles by Natalie Rios, Liana Jones, Amanda Kurtz, Alexis Watkins, Paige Metz and Victoria Smith. One out later, Brugger delivered an RBI double, and the Redskins led 7-1.
“That was a lot of fun,” Smith said. “We went down 1-0 in the first inning, but you come back with that attitude and make a statement basically – ‘We’re here to play. One run is not going to affect us. We get down – we’re going to come right back up.’”
The Pioneers made it a 7-4 game after a two-run fourth, but the Redskins scored nine in the bottom of the inning to win going away. A three-run home run by Watkins highlighted the inning. Jones, Kurtz, Smith and Fee each had doubles in the inning. Asia Barnard came off the bench to deliver a two-run double in the frame.
“We go out and lose that tough game to a league rival, and it’s hard to get back to what we know and to refocus,” Chichilitti said. “I’ve been telling the girls the whole time – it’s not over yet. All we had to do was win two games to get in.”
Leading the Redskins was Jones, who was 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Fee and Metz were both 3-for-3. Metz had one RBI. Adding two hits each were Rios (2 RBIs), Kurtz (2 RBIs), Watkins (3 RBIs) and Smith (RBI).
“This was huge for us because we have technically been in a hitting slump as a team,” Smith said. “Just seeing everybody hit as well as they could – we know we can string those hits together and we can do that kind of damage to a team because we can hit like that.”
Neshaminy (19-4, 10-2 SOL) will face District One champion Central Bucks South in a battle of SOL heavyweights in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament.
Conestoga 100 23 6-4-0
Neshaminy 700 9x 16-18-2
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