Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Friday. NP/Hatboro-Horsham photo provided by Keith Clemens Photography.
Non-league
PENNSBURY 9, SOUDERTON 3
In a contest that saw the Falcons showcase their speed by stealing seven bases and collecting four hits that never left the infield, Karli Haines brought the power. Her first of two home runs on the day to lead off the second inning gave the Falcons a lead they would not lose. Her second – a three-run shot to right center – highlighted a six-run-fifth inning that blew the game wide open.
“The first one – I was a little skeptical, but the second one felt much better,” Haines said. “It was a good feeling.”
Haines finished a productive day 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored.
“Souderton came back and tied it (1-1) in the first, and to lead off the second and answer back like that is really big,” coach Frank McSherry said. “She’s just had a great year up to this point, and it seems to be continuing. She’s been swinging the bat so well all season.”
Haines wasn’t the only one to come up big in a game that saw the Falcons collect 13 hits. Sierra Daley was 2-for-3 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Carly Parsons was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run. Casey Glynn was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, and Kaylie Captriotti was 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs.
“Kaylie Capriotti’s bat is starting to come around,” McSherry said. “She had two base hits, both of them with two strikes.”
The Falcons used their speed to manufacture a run in the top of the first. Daley led off with a single down the left field line. She stole second, moved up to third on a sacrifice by Carly Parons and scored on Casey Glynn’s groundout.
“(Speed) is one of the things this team has,” McSherry said. “They have more speed than any team we’ve had for a while. There’s a lot of speed there.”
The Indians got that run back in the bottom of the inning. Naila Neely, who led off the game with a single, scored on a two-out single by Abby Burns. Haines broke that 1-1 tie with a solo home run to center to open the second.
In the fourth, the Falcons tacked on another run when Haines, who singled, scored on a single by Capriotti. The Falcons seized control with a six-run fifth. The inning included singles by Karissa Turk, Parsons (RBI), Glynn (RBI), Caitlyn Martell, Capriotti (RBI) as well as Haines’ three-run blast. By the time the inning was over, Pennsbury had a commanding 9-1 lead. The Indians plated single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings but never could put a dent in the Falcons’ lead.
Ainsley McClure earned the complete game win, allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out two and walking one. Abby Burns, who had two of the Indians’ six hits, absorbed the loss.
Friday’s win was the 12th of the season without a loss for a Falcon squad that is seeded first in the District 1 6A rankings. Last year, the Falcons won just seven games.
“This year has been such a change, and it’s really great to have this be the last season for us seniors,” Haines said. “It’s different. We’ve always had the potential to be so good, but this year we’re just coming together and really bonding.”
Haines pointed to the team’s chemistry as a key to the Falcons’ success.
“The chemistry is amazing this year,” she said. “We all get along so well, we’re all there for each other. We just pick each other up no matter what, and it’s going good.
“We always have pasta parties, and we all get together, but something we did differently this year was – the seniors actually hung out with the freshmen. A couple games into the season, we got together after practice one day and talked and sat around and ate.”
Friday’s win was the third of the week for the Falcons – all three teams would be in the 24-team District 1 6A Tournament if the season ended today.
“Every single game is a big game for us,” Haines said. “Every single game we tell each other that it matters – every run, every out. We try our best and we come out strong.”
“We looked at this week, and we told them – you guys came through really, really well,” McSherry said.
Pennsbury (12-0, 9-0 SOL) will play its first of four games next week on Tuesday at Council Rock South. Souderton (9-6, 5-5) will host Cheltenham in a non-league game Monday.
Pennsbury 110 160 0 9-13-1
Souderton 100 001 1 3-6-0
NORTH PENN 1, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
Mady Volpe and Kendal Leitner – two of the area’s bright young pitching stars – found themselves locked in a classic pitcher’s duel. Leitner, a freshman, took a two-hitter into the seventh inning of a scoreless ballgame when the Knights’ offense came to life.
Elia Namey led off with a single and moved up to second on Jamie Beer’s sacrifice bunt. Namey was replaced by pinch runner Lizzy Stark, who scored the game-winner when Carley DiGiuseppe delivered a two-out hit to the fence in right center.
Volpe earned the complete game shutout win, allowing six hits while striking out 10 and walking two for a Knight squad that one day earlier clinched a share of the SOL Continental title with its win over Quakertown.
Leitner allowed four hits in 6.2 innings, striking out eight and walking one.
North Penn (15-0, 9-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (10-5, 9-2) will host Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game on Monday at Horsham Little League Field at Deep Meadow Park.
Hatboro-Horsham 000 000 0 0-5-1
North Penn 000 000 1 1-4-1
PENNRIDGE 5, WILLIAM TENNENT 4
The Rams broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fifth and then withstood a late Panther charge to earn the non-league win.
“The team definitely came out ready to play today,” Pennridge coach Wendy Iadonisi said. “We had a tough loss yesterday (to CB South), so it was nice to see them play well and be aggressive. I think we’ve been playing a little timid and with less confidence than a team with our talent should be playing.”
The Rams got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first when Gianna Iadonisi hit a solo home run to center. The Panthers took a short-lived 2-1 lead in the top of a fourth inning that included a double by Hannah Reimel as well as singles by Brianna Koonce and Devon Fithian. Morgan Henry evened the score in the bottom of the inning with one swing when she homered to right.
In the fifth, the Rams benefitted from a pair of Panther miscues as well as a two-run single by Emily Hegen to go on top 5-2. The Panthers made things interesting in the top of the seventh. With one out, Caitlyn Mitros singled, and one out later, Reimel doubled. Brianna Koonce’s two-run single pulled the Panthers to within one, but that’s as close as they would get.
For the Rams, Kiley Watson was 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot with a run scored. Iadonisi was 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI and run scored. Henry and Hegen each had two RBIs.
“Everyone played a part in the win today,” Iadonisi said. “We had timely hits which is a big part of the game that we haven’t been consistent with. Besides the homeruns by Gianna Iadonisi and Morgan Henry, we had solid contact all through the lineup. Emily Hegen came up big with a couple RBIs to give us a few runs before the top of Tennent’s lineup was coming up the next inning.
“Our defense was really strong today, specifically Wiss Chiapetta had some really nice defensive plays at second that kept runners off base. A few of the hits were close to getting through the infield, and she made at least two diving plays for the outs at first. I think that was a huge motivator for our batters too. It really helped us carry some momentum throughout the game.”
Makenna Patterson earned the complete game win, allowing 10 hits and four runs while striking out eight and walking none.
“Makenna Patterson has done the bulk of our pitching this season without the amount of rest that I would like her to get,” coach Iadonisi said. “The past two weeks we’ve had multiple games back to back, and next week it’s the same thing because of rainouts, so it’s been tough to rest her during the week. However, you would never tell with the way she looked tonight. She had really good movement on the ball and that combined with the strong defensive game – it was fun to watch.”
Mitros (2-for-4, run), Reimel (2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 run) and Koonce (2-for-4, 2 RBIs, run) led the Panthers.
Pennridge (8-6, 5-4 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., and William Tennent (6-8, 4-6) will travel to Archbishop Wood for a non-league contest Saturday at 2 p.m.
William Tennent 000 200 2 4-10-2
Pennridge 100 130 x 5-9-1
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 12, ABINGTON 0 (5 innings)
Kayla Gallagher and Sarah Yoder combined for a one-hit shutout in the abbreviated contest that saw the Bucks score early and often. Prior to the game, the Bucks honored the team’s six seniors – all of whom had at least two at-bats.
The Bucks put three runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Ella Castronuovo’s two-run single highlighted the inning. They added four more runs in a second inning that included an RBI double from Abby Lineman and a two-run single by Yoder.
Lineman led the Bucks’ potent offensive attack with a perfect 3-for-3 effort that included two doubles, three RBIs and three runs. Castronuovo was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Faith Neary was 2-for-2 with a run scored. Grace Dryden added a double.
Gallagher did not allow a hit three scoreless innings to earn the win. She struck out seven and walked none. Yoder closed it out with two scoreless frames, allowing one hit while striking out two and walking one.
Central Bucks West (8-7, 2-7 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday, and Abington (3-12, 3-8) will host Central Bucks South in a non-league contest Monday.
Abington 000 00 0
Central Bucks West 343 2x 12
BANGOR 9, QUAKERTOWN 8
The Panthers lost their second heartbreaker in as many days. This time they watched an 8-5 lead disappear in the bottom of the seventh. Bangor – with one run already across in the seventh – knotted the score on a two-run home run and won it with a solo home run from the next batter.
The Panthers trailed 5-3 after four but scored five runs over the last three innings to go on top by three runs. They knotted the score in the fifth when Sarah Stofik ripped a two-run home run that plated Victoria Grosse, who singled to open the inning. In the sixth, the Panthers used four straight two-out singles by Bri Lefkoski, Grosse, Abby Schwartz (RBI) and Stofik (RBI) to plate a pair. They added a single run in the seventh when LauraRose Moreland, who doubled, scored on Halle Frederick’s RBI single.
Stofik was 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs, and Maddie Moyer was 3-for-4. Grosse was 2-for-4 with two runs, Schwartz was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Morelock was 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and run scored.
Tori Caputo absorbed the loss.
Quakertown (8-8, 5-5 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
Quakertown 012 022 1 8-16-2
Bangor 112 100 4 9-11-1
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 16, CHELTENHAM 1
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