Quakertown - minus four of five senior starters - eked out a 2-1 win over North Penn in a second round District One AAAA game on Thursday.
#5 QUAKERTOWN 2, #21 NORTH PENN 1
They’ll be talking about this one for a long, long time.
Winning a district playoff game for the first time since 1988 always sparks conversation, but that’s not what made this one so memorable. With all of the team’s seniors with the exception of Spenser Gray on a class trip in Disney World, including the team’s number one and number two pitchers, the Panthers weren’t given much of a chance of staying with the Maidens.
"Even kids in school were like 'There's no way you're going to win - it's North Penn,’” Gray said. “A couple of coaches on my travel team were telling me, 'Just play with a chip on your shoulder. It doesn't matter what's gone on in the past. Just play the way you play.'”
Gray – bound for UNC-Charlotte on a softball scholarship – is destined to have many memorable moments on the softball diamond, but years from now, when the senior captain pulls out her softball memories, Thursday's second round district win over North Penn will be near the top of the list. Not because the Panthers beat the Maidens - they'd already done that twice this season en route to a share of the SOL Continental Conference crown but because of how they did it.
They did it with a freshman pitcher named Tori Caputo, who was fearless in her first varsity action, and Gray hauled in a popup for the game’s final out with a pair of Maidens on board, she headed straight to the pitching circle.
"The first person I wanted to go over to was Tori our pitcher - I wanted to give her a big hug because she did amazing,” Gray said. "Honestly, I don't know how many pitches Tori has, but she was just hitting every spot.
“Even if she got down in the count, she was able to bring it all the way back. It was unbelievable. I think she had a chip on her shoulder the whole time, which was pretty evident. She's a freshman, and I bet she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. For her to withstand all that pressure is admirable.
"I was so proud - I didn't even care how I did. I was just looking around, and I was like, 'How are we doing this right now?' It was incredible.”
Caputo, who calmly worked her way out of several jams, allowed nine hits while fanning two and walking four – three were intentional to Bri Battavio.
“She’s a very dangerous hitter and first base was open,” Scott said. “I had confidence in Tori. We scrimmaged on Monday, and she did well. As long as you keep the ball down and they hit ground balls, it’s going to be outs, and she did.”
Junior second baseman Ryan Kemmerling was the offensive hero for the Panthers, driving in the game winner with a clutch line drive single in the bottom of the sixth. Earlier in the inning, Caputo drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by courtesy runner Ana Gansz, who advanced to second on a passed ball. She moved up to third on a groundout to second by freshman Rachel Lopes, setting the stage for Kemmerling’s big blow.
The Panthers plated their first run in the bottom of the first. Tara Baglivo singled with one out, and Maddie Moyer was safe on an error. Nikki Vanelli’s single to center plated Baglivo.
“I told them we needed to score early to give confidence to the younger girls, and that was key,” Scott said.
"We were all talking about it,” Gray added. “After the first inning we were able to hold them and then we got that first run, we knew this could be a close one and we'd be able to hold them defensively.”
The Maidens answered with a run in the top of the second, but it could have been a whole lot worse had it not been for Gray delivering the defensive play of the game when – with runners on second and third and none out – she came up with a leaping grab of a screaming line drive off the bat of Jamie Beer and doubled the base runner off of third.
“That kind of play changes momentum,” Scott said.
"That was the scariest moment of my life, I think,” Gray said. “Because those balls I usually don't get. I was actually able to get a line drive over my head. I kind of was frantic afterwards. I didn't know where to throw it.”
The Maidens did plate a run in the inning, and that 1-1 tie stood until the bottom of the sixth.
“I'd be lying if I didn't say I had a couple of doubts, but you know what - I doubted but I wasn't going to not play hard,” Gray said. “We had a talk before the game, and we said, 'We're the underdog. The pressure isn't on us, it's on North Penn.'
“I tried to get as much pressure off our pitcher, our freshmen as much as I could because this is a game we should have fun with. I even said to myself - 'I don't care what the score is. I just want to be able to go out having fun if we did go out.'"
Scott echoed a similar sentiment.
“I talked to the girls before the game started and told them how confident I was in them coming into this and we had nothing to lose,” the Panthers’ coach said. “With the exception of Spenser, we were playing for next year, and they just stepped up big time.
“I was confident going out that we could hang with them and we could battle with them. I thought we would need more runs to win actually, but Tori pitched a heck of a game, and the defense behind her did a heck of a job. It was just an amazing win for Quakertown.”
Scott tipped his hat to Gray – who recorded seven outs and was a rock at shortstop.
"She's just an awesome girl, an awesome player,” the Panthers’ coach said. “Every play every pitch she's hustling. She's a great team leader. She's one of our captains. I'm so proud of her because she just makes our team so much better by everything she does. She's an all-around outstanding player.”
More important than Gray’s seven putouts/assists was the leadership she provided.
"Huge, so, so huge. I can't even tell you how big it was the way she led the team. Just amazing.”
Katie Beer was 3-for-4 with an RBI out of the leadoff spot for the Maidens. Elia Namey finished the game 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Quakertown (15-5, 10-4 SOL) will travel to fourth-seeded Perkiomen Valley for a district quarterfinal contest on Friday. North Penn (7-7 SOL) closed its season with an 11-11 record.
North Penn 010 000 0 1
Quakertown 100 001 x 2
- Log in to post comments
