Three SOL teams survived Thursday’s PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals – Hatboro-Horsham, Pennsbury and Neshaminy. Hatboro will take on Neshaminy in a state semifinal game on Monday while Pennsbury will face District 7 champion Latrobe in the other semifinal. The SOL is guaranteed at least one team in next Friday’s state final at Penn State University, possibly two. It’s been quite a postseason for the SOL!
#1-1 Hatboro-Horsham 11, #4-1 Williamsport 0 (6 innings)
The Hatters were looking forward to a leisurely drive to Hershey High School in the air-conditioned comfort of their coach bus.
What they got instead were sauna-like conditions in a coach bus with an air conditioner that didn’t work.
“We actually thought it was going to be a great day,” senior Danielle DiFilippo said. “Everybody got off from school. We were going in an air-conditioned bus.
“We were so excited, and we got in the bus, and it was hot. It was the longest trip ever. We weren’t even on the turnpike yet, and everybody was asking how long it would take to get there.”
Things improved quickly when the trip was over and they arrived at Hershey.
“All the coaches and the athletic director bought fruit, towels, ice and everything,” DiFilippo said. “They provided so much stuff for us, and I think that’s what made us feel really good.”
The Hatters took out any frustration they may have been feeling on the Millionaires, scoring three first-inning runs and seizing immediate control of the game.
Melissa Spinosa got things started with a bunt single, and the Hatters had a pair of runners on board when a bunt by Chrissy James was misplayed. A walk to Julie Wambold loaded the bases, and the Hatters scored what turned out to be the game winner when DiFilippo laid down a suicide squeeze.
“I like doing that,” the Hatters’ clean-up batter said of her bunt.
Maggie Shaffer helped her own cause with a two-run single, and by the time the inning was over, the Hatters, who led 3-0, were off and running.
“Scoring those runs was really big because it gave us something to look back on and know we could keep scoring,” DiFilippo said. “I was worried when we were driving out, but right when we got off the bus, everybody was past the bus problem and didn’t care anymore.
“It was game time, and we had to get focused for the game.”
The Hatters were focused, and they were pounding the ball. They added three more runs in the third and a single run in the fourth. They exploded for four runs in the sixth to bring an early end to the game.
DiFilippo contributed an RBI single in the inning, and junior Val Sadowl delivered the inning’s big blow – a two-run home run.
“We were just hitting the ball,” DiFilippo said.
Shaffer, meanwhile, was cruising on the mound. The junior hurler allowed three hits and fanned four in five innings to earn the win. Nicole Casagrand threw a scoreless inning in relief and did not allow a hit.
Spinosa led the Hatters offensively with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate and three runs scored. DiFilippo was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Wambold contributed a hit and RBI.
In an interesting side note, the Hatters’ travel nightmare continued on the bus trip home. The team – after waiting two-and-a-half hours for another bus to arrive – boarded their new coach only to find out the air conditioning in this one didn’t work either.
“It was a nightmare,” coach Joe DiFilippo said. “It was terrible trip.
“It was 90 degrees in that bus, and you couldn’t open the windows. For going through what they went through driving up in a 90-degree bus – the way it ended was nice.”
On Monday, the Hatters will take on Neshaminy in an all-SOL state semifinal.
“It’s real exciting,” DiFilippo said. “Monday is our graduation, and we want to go back with another win.”
#1-3 Neshaminy 5, #3-2 New Oxford 3 (8 innings)
The Redskins’ quarterfinal game got started an hour and 45 minutes later than expected, thanks to an extra-inning game that preceded theirs at Lyons Field and also a storm that passed through the area.
Things certainly didn’t look very promising when New Oxford – sparked by a pair of home runs – jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.
“The field had a fence that was 280 feet, so balls in the gap rolled forever,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “Their pitcher (Caroline Brehm) was excellent. The first time through the lineup she shut us down, and the second time around we ended up getting a run. The third time through we finally sat her out.
“She was throwing a lot of pitches out of the strike zone, and we started to be more disciplined at the plate, and she started to wear down. We were finally able to get to her.”
The Redskins got on the scoreboard with a single run in the fourth. Diana Lapalombara drew a leadoff walk. Lauren Quense followed with a single, and Lapalombara scored when Sarah McGowan was safe on an error, making it a 3-1 game.
“We were just trying to get each other up and stay as positive as we possibly could,” Lapalombara said. “Trailing by that much in the early innings, (losing) is always in the back of everybody’s mind, but we knew we could do it. We had faith in each other.”
“We stayed within ourselves,” McGowan added. “We really just took it one step at a time.
“When it finally started all falling into place, we were really getting excited, but before that, we were just trying to get the job done.”
The Redskins, according to McGowan, never lost confidence.
“Every single one of us was confident,” she said. “We had just watched the game before ours go into extra innings.
“When you get into games like these, you know every game is going to be a good game.”
In the sixth, the Redskins rallied to knot the score. Lapalombara once again got things started when she led off the inning with a single.
“Diana played an awesome game,” Chichilitti said. “She was on base all four times she was up and really gave the offense a spark. She had a huge game.”
“I just need to get on base,” Lapalombara said. “I trust my girls to get me home.”
Julia McGovern’s RBI single plated Lapalombara, and Laura Altenburger’s sacrifice bunt sent the tying run across the plate.
“We hung in there and played tough,” Chichilitti said. “We could have given up a couple of times, but we didn’t.
“We battled back and played tough. They made some spectacular defensive plays on us. Lauren Creamer hit a ball in right field – it was a line drive laser beam, and the girl jumped up and made a snow cone catch. If that ball gets by her it’s a home run and we get three runs.”
In the eighth, Lapalombara was hit by a pitch, and she scored when Quense tripled. It was a 5-3 game after McGowan laid down a successful suicide squeeze.
“We were doing them all night long,” said McGowan, who scored on a suicide squeeze earlier in the game. “The situations kept on coming up, and we needed to get the runs in. We know we can get them down.
“Bunting is a skill I’m confident I can use. When coach says, ‘Get a bunt down,’ you get it down.”
Three outs later, the big win was in the books for the Redskins, who find themselves one of four Class AAAA teams still standing.
For Neshaminy’s seniors, who graduated last night, it’s been quite a week.
“To be honest, I just feel so fortunate to be on a team like this and be with such great girls,” McGowan said. “What you see on the field is just a product of what we do off the field, and it’s really something special.
“If you could see what we do at practices and the way we bond together – it’s been a really special experience. It just means so much to each and every one of us, but it just means a little extra to the seniors. It’s been a really great week.”
Quense earned the win on the mound, allowing seven hits while fanning 11 and walking one in eight innings.
Unlike the Hatters, the Redskins traveled to the game in a school bus, albeit a small bus, and theirs had air conditioning that worked.
“The bus ride is one of the most fun parts,” Lapalombara said.
McGowan finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Quense was 2-for-4 with one RBI, and Lapalombara was 2-for-2 with three runs scored.
“This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened all year, to be honest,” Lapalombara said. “This is what we have worked for, and everything is coming together.”
“This is huge,” Chichilitti said. “It’s been a while since Neshaminy has taken this step, and everyone is really excited.
“Tonight they hung in there and stuck together as a team. They could have gotten down. Everybody played a major role in the comeback.”
The Redskins will take on Hatboro-Horsham in Monday’s state semifinal.
“We’re confident,” McGowan said. “It’s not like we’re nervous or overly excited. We played them earlier in the season, and we’re just confident in our abilities.”
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