Three SOL softball teams will be in action in Monday’s opening round of the District 1 6A Tournament. Check back for recaps of all three games.
PIAA 6A opening round
#11-2 Freedom at #1-2 Quakertown (Monday, 4 pm)
Quakertown
—22-2 overall
—15-1 SOL Liberty Division co-champions
—First trip to District 1 final in program history.
—Senior Ava Beal and junior Leah Schwalm are a dangerous 1-2 punch for the Panthers. During the regular season, the speedy Beal hit .574 out of the leadoff spot with 37 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, 20 RBIs and a 1.437 OPS.
—Schwalm is the power-hitting cleanup hitter with a .559 batting average, a 1.489 OPS, 38 hits and 38 RBIs with seven doubles, two triples and four home runs in the regular season.
—Also during the regular season, senior Skyler Williams (.438, 1.272 OPS, 23 R, 14 RBIs), senior Abbey Wagner (.365, 19 R, 17 RBIs), senior Mary Wilkinson (.362, 1.033 OPS, 19 RBIs), sophomore Ellie Hilton (.327, 21 RBIs) senior Madison Mallery (.327, 14 R, 10 RBIs) & senior Cadence Lewis (.308, 12 SB, 19 R, 17 RBIs) all were major contributors.
—Team batting average of .371 during regular season.
—Wagner is the workhorse on the mound and boasted a 1.55 earned run average with 148 strikeouts in 113 innings pitched during the regular season.
How they got here: In the District 1 6A title game, #3 Quakertown was defeated by #1 Downingtown West 7-5.
In a semifinal district game, #3 Quakertown edged #7 Downingtown East 3-1
In a quarterfinal game, #3 Quakertown defeated #11 Central Bucks West 5-4.
In a second round contest, #3 Quakertown downed #14 Conestoga 3-2.
Opening round bye.
Freedom
—18-6 overall
—8-3 EPC East Division
—Fell to Nazareth 7-5 in EPC Tournament quarterfinal.
—Led EPC with four first team selections in senior second baseman Kate Miller, junior third baseman Maia D’Amico, senior shortstop Madison Glick and sophomore outfielder Brooke Rummel.
How they got here: In the District XI title game, #4 Freedom fell to Liberty 7-4.
In a district semifinal, #4 Freedom defeated #1 Nazareth 10-9.
In a district quarterfinal, #4 Freedom rolled to a 15-5 win over Parkland.
#1-3 North Penn at #3-2 Cumberland Valley (Monday, 4 pm)
North Penn
—21-3 overall
—14-2 SOL Colonial Division champions
—Winners of 8 of 9 division championships
—Defending PIAA 6A champion
—Led during regular season by senior Casey Sokol (.453, 1.116 OPS, 29 hits, 17 RBIs), senior Olivia Stevens (.441, 1.121 OPS, 15 RBIs) & senior Gianna Cimino (.324, 20 RBIs, 8 2B, 3B, 3 HR)
—UMBC -bound pitcher Bella Nunn was 17-2 with 1.14 earned run average with 218 strikeouts in 123 innings during the regular season.
How they got here: In the District 1 6A third place game, #4 North Penn defeated #7 Downingtown East 5-4.
In a district semifinal, #4 North Penn fell to #1 Downingtown West 3-1.
In a district quarterfinal game, #4 North Penn downed #12 Boyertown 8-0.
In a second round game, #4 North Penn defeated #20 Central Bucks South 8-4.
Opening round bye.
Cumberland Valley
—22-3 overall
—Mid-Penn Commonwealth champion
—Mid-Penn Tournament champion
—Led by Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division player of the year Sydney May. The junior pitcher, a Fordham commit, is 17-2 with a 1.86 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 112.2 innings. May also is hitting .450 with 36 hits, (8 2B, 5 3B, 6 HR), 32 RBIs, 24 runs and a 1.239 OPS.
—Also on the Mid-Penn first team are Holy Cross commit Annika Shearer (.494, 40 hits which includes 8 2B, 5 3B, 6 HR, 20 RBIs,38 runs, .938 slugging, 1.482 OPS) and Emma Morgan (.581, 50 hits which includes 18 2B, 4 3B, 3 3B, 40 RBIs, 35 runs, .988 slugging, 1.593 OPS).
—Emma Stroup (.414, 24 RBIs, 22 R, 1.91 OPS) is a second team Mid-Penn selection, and Maddie Martin (.338, 24 RBIs, 22 R, 1.011 OPS) was named to the third team.
—Team batting average .368 with 196 runs scored.
How they got here: In the District 3 title game, #1 Cumberland Valley fell to #3 Central Dauphin 6-1.
In a district semifinal, #1 Cumberland Valley edged #5 Warwick 1-0.
In a second round game, #1 Cumberland Valley defeated #9 Central York 6-4
Opening round bye
#1-5 Council Rock South vs. #11-1 Liberty at DeSales University (Monday, 4 pm)
Council Rock South
—20-3 overall
—13-2 SOL Patriot Division champions
—Senior Helen Woloshyn is the catalyst for the offense out of the leadoff spot, hitting .627 in the regular season with an OPS of 1.374, 22 stolen bases and 30 runs scored.
–Other key contributors (regular season): Julia Scannapieco (.413, 7 2B, 4 HR, 20 RBIs), Gabby Bloom (.406, 7 2B, 26 RBIs, 20 R), Shannon Williams (.348, 16 RBIs, 15 R), Grace Stepp (.333, 16 RBIs), Lexi Waring (.312) & Kelly Delise (.312).
–In the circle, Waring had 121 strikeouts in 95.1 innings with an earned run average of 2.50 during the regular season while Julia Scannapieco was 4-0.
How they got here: In the district’s fifth place game, #2 Council Rock South downed #12 Boyertown 9-2.
In a playback game for a state berth, #2 Council Rock South earned an 11-1 win over #11 Central Bucks West.
In a quarterfinal contest, #2 Council Rock South fell to #7 Downingtown East 11-6.
In a second round game, #2 Council Rock South defeated #15 Pennsbury 13-9.
Opening round bye.
Liberty
—20-4 overall
—12-2 EPC East Division champion
—Fell to Bethlehem Catholic in quarterfinals of EPC Tournament
—Led by EPC MVP Addy Smith. The sophomore pitcher was 13-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 106 innings. She also posted a .397 batting average with 23 hits and a 1.082 OPS.
—Junior outfielder Addison Sabo (.361, 26 R) also earned first team EPC honors, and senior shortstop and Drexel commit Ariana Castillo (.359, 17 RBIs, 26 R, 8 SB) was named to the EPC second team.
How they got here: In the District XI title game, #3 Liberty defeated #4 Freedom 7-4.
In the district semifinal, #3 Liberty defeated #2 Emmaus 10-3
In a district quarterfinal, #3 Liberty defeated #6 Stroudsburg 3-1
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