To view photos of the Central Bucks South/Coatesville contest, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
A pair of familiar foes will meet in Thursday’s District One AAAA title game when SOL Continental Conference rivals Central Bucks South and Hatboro-Horsham do battle.
Both teams won Tuesday’s district semifinal contests by identical 3-0 scores with second-seeded South defeating Coatesville and fourth-seeded Hatboro upending Bishop Shanahan. The squads split their regular season series with each team winning 1-0 in its home game.
Springfield’s stay in the District One AA Tournament was brief as the top-seeded Spartans fell in Tuesday’s semifinal to fourth-seeded St. Pius X 10-3.
Central Bucks South 3, Coatesville 0
Haileigh Stocks was the undisputed offensive hero of the Titans’ big win. The sophomore second baseman delivered a two-run home run in the third and then had a leadoff double and scored an insurance run in the sixth.
On the mound, Fran Carrullo was working her magic, scattering four hits while striking out six and walking just one.
The fun started early for the Titans.
Senior Shana Steigerwalt, who also had a pair of hits, collected a one-out single in the third. That brought Stocks to the plate, and the sophomore standout drove a ball over the fence for a two-run home run and an early 2-0 lead.
“It was an incredibly good feeling,” coach Jen Robinson said of going on top early. “They came out ready to hit. They were putting the ball in play. You could see they were very aggressive.
“Their pitcher had good velocity and movement, and you know you’re not going to score that many runs. You have to score a couple and defend them. When she hit that, I felt we could definitely do it. Those two runs were what we needed.”
For good measure, the Titans tacked on a run in the sixth. Stocks led off the inning with a double and scored on Dani London’s pop foul at the fence.
The win vaulted the Titans into the district title game for the second time in as many years. Last year, they fell to Spring-Ford.
“I’m so excited for two reasons,” Robinson said. “One, most of the girls who start this year started last year, and this is a chance for redemption. Last year, we were winning our game against Spring-Ford and lost it at the end. This is another chance for the same girls to come out and take it this year.
“Secondly, to come out and play Hatboro for the third time – I really do think it’s going to be an excellent game. Hatboro is a good team, and we’re a good team. The game could go either way on any given day. This is what the district final should be about.”
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Bishop Shanahan 0
Megan Kelly once again set the tone for the Hatters, opening Tuesday’s game with a leadoff triple in the first and scoring on a passed ball to spot her team a quick 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, the Hatters staged a two-out rally. Heather Lutz reached base on a bloop single over the shortstop, and Kelly followed with a single. Both runners advanced on a throwing error, and both scored when Chrissy James delivered a single.
On the mound, Maggie Shaffer – who was battling flu-like symptoms in the win over Downingtown West – struck out five and walked one.
“Maggie is still recovering,” coach Kelly Krier said. “Our defense played very well – they had no errors.”
In the seventh inning, Kelly delivered the defensive gem of the game – a shoestring catch in center field.
With just two seniors in their lineup, the Hatters might not have been many people’s choice to advance to the district final.
“This team really just never gave up on themselves,” Krier said. “They continue to improve every practice, they improve every game.
“They have really done a nice job following the lead of seniors Chelsea Edwards and Megan Kelly, and they want to write their own story. A lot of them have connections to the program, and they want to leave their own mark.
“They’re high achievers. They don’t like to lose. They want to win, and that makes my job a lot easier.”
St. Pius X 10, Springfield 3
The top-seeded Spartans never got their game untracked in their loss to the Winged Lions, who opened up a 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back.
“I don’t know whether it was nerves – I don’t know what it was, but defensively is where we shut big teams down,” Spartan coach Ed Jones said. “We just didn’t do that today.
“I don’t know whether it was the chance of being in the playoffs and being seeded first and thinking they had a chance to do something, but they didn’t bring their game today in any aspect. I have seen Samantha (Juliano) pitch better. I have seen our defense play much, much better. We have hit the ball much, much better. All around, it was just not our best effort.”
The Spartans managed five hits off Pius hurler Deirdre Wieber – three by Brighid Flynn and two by Elise DiFilippo. The Winged Lions, meanwhile, pounded out 15 hits.
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