SOL District SB Preview (Opening Round)

05/21/12 3:25am Posted by editor

Five SOL softball teams will be in action when the District One Class AAAA Tournament begins on Monday. Check out a brief preview of each game.

The second season begins on Monday when the District One AAAA Tournament gets underway.
Nine SOL teams have earned spots in Class AAAA competition with five of those beginning play on Monday, weather permitting. Tenth-seeded North Penn and 11th-seeded Wissahickon are the lone SOL teams playing at home on Monday with the Maidens hosting Ridley, the tournament’s 23rd seed, and the Trojans hosting 22nd-seeded Garnet Valley. Pennridge, the tournament’s No. 17 seed, will travel to Boyertown to play the 16th-seeeded Bears. Eighteenth-seeded Central Bucks East will travel to West Chester Henderson to face the 15th-seeded Warriors. Harry S Truman, seeded 19th, will travel to 14th-seeded West Chester East.

#23 RIDLEY at #10 NORTH PENN

Ridley  

  • 12-8 overall
  • 10-3 since a 2-5 start
  • Split season series with 22nd-seeded Garnet Valley, winning second meeting 5-4 on May 3
  • Top offensive players are sophomore shortstop Kelsey Collevechio and senior pitcher Courtney Eubanks

North Penn

  • 12-7 overall, 9-5 SOL Continental Conference
  • Won 9 of 12 to close out season
  • Finished third to Central Bucks South and Hatboro-Horsham in conference standings
  • Rallied from a 9-0 deficit after four innings to defeat Souderton 10-9 for most dramatic win of season
  • Swept season series with 17th-seeded Pennridge, split season series with 18th-seeded Central Bucks East and defeated 19th-seeded Harry S Truman

Players to watch:  Jess Mower (Sr., catcher), Michele Holweger (Jr., second baseman), Alexa Gable (Jr., leftfielder), Erin Maher (Soph., centerfielder), Jackie Bilotti (Fr., pitcher)
Coach Rick Torresani says:  “The key for us – and it’s going to be in any game we play from now on – is going to be getting the key hit. We have been getting girls on base – we left 11 girls on base against Hatboro on Monday night (in a 2-0 loss) and couldn’t get the key hit to break the game open. For us to continue to get wins, we’ve got to get the key hit. Somebody has to come up and poke either a home run or a single with girls on base. I’m very excited. They’re not only a young team, but they’re a very good coachable team. There are no egos on the team. They all pull for each other. It’s one of the first teams I’ve had where we haven’t had a problem where somebody has decided that they’re better than somebody else and should be playing. This isn’t that team, and that’s what is really exciting about it. They’re young. They come to practice, and their eyes are wide open. They’re listening to everything we’re trying to coach them. It’s just amazing. Saturday’s practice was one of our better practices. They’re just excited about the game.”

#22 GARNET VALLEY at #11 WISSAHICKON
Garnet Valley

  • 10-9 overall
  • Lost six of eight before winning last two games against Lower Merion (16-1) and Haverford  (9-3)
  • Opened season with three straight wins, including a 2-1 win over 13th-seeded Upper Darby
  • Lost to top-seeded Pennsbury 15-0 and fourth-seeded Hatboro 13-0

Wissahickon

  • 15-2 overall
  • 11-1 SOL American Conference champions
  • 12-game winning streak snapped with Thursday’s 1-0 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh, a loss that cost the Trojans a perfect league season
  • Lost to sixth-seeded Central Bucks South (12-0) early in the season in Trojans’ only game against a team in the Class AAAA tournament

Players to watch:  Katie Ziegler (Sr., pitcher), Alex Comonitski (Jr., shortstop), Rebecca Marinucci (Sr., second baseman)
Coach John Bilella says:  “Defensively, we fielded close to .900 this year. Not too many people hit Katie Ziegler in our league, but the teams that did – we played real well defensively. I’m a little worried about our hitting. We got shut out by PW in the last game of the year, and that’s what bothers me a bit.  It’s a heck of a time to go into a slump, especially with Garnet Valley coming up on Monday and, if we’re fortunate enough to win, we have CB South on Wednesday, but we have to get past our first game first. We have ben averaging six runs a game, and it’s been more than enough to keep us in the game with Katie, but when you don’t’ score anything, that’s a little scary. I hope we break out of it. I told the kids the other day, ‘It’s a new season. Forget what you did – that’s all over with. Now it’s a new season.’ I think they’re all looking forward to it. They’re a good group of kids.”

#17 PENNRIDGE at #16 BOYERTOWN
Boyertown

  • 13-6 overall, 13-5 PAC-10
  • Won 12 of 14 games to open season
  • Closed season with four straight losses that included a pair to ninth-seeded Methacton (3-2, 3-1) as well as losses to 12th-seeded Perkiomen Valley (9-3) and third-seeded Spring-Ford (9-3)
  • Split season series with 20th-seeded Owen J. Roberts and #12th-seeded Perkiomen Valley
  • Won one of three games against ninth-seeded Methacton

Pennridge

  • 11-9 overall, 8-6 SOL
  • Finished fourth in Continental Conference behind Central Bucks South, Hatboro-Horsham and North Penn
  • 4-7 after 11 games to start season
  • Won five straight to close out season, including a 6-3 win over conference co-champion Hatboro-Horsham on May 3
  • Won season series with 18th-seeded Central Bucks East, winning second game on May 16 10-0 in six innings

Players to watch:  Emily Hofmann (Sr., catcher), Paige DeCew (Jr., pitcher), Brooke Labs (Jr., third baseman), Emily Mayhew (Soph., leftfielder), Haley Taylor (Soph., second baseman), Alison Horne (Soph., outfielder), Bridget Casey (Soph., centerfielder), Lisa Bahmueller (Fr., shortstop), Morgan Labs (Fr., first baseman)
Coach Paul Koehler says:  “Emily Mayhew starts everything off for us. Usually hitting in the leadoff spot, she typically gets things going for us, whether in the first inning or any other time we need scoring. Brooke Labs is the spirit of the team. As one of our captains, she leads by example as she typically gets on base and is solid at the hot corner. Our other captain, Emily Hofmann, typically will be clutch for the Rams. It is said, ‘As Emily goes, so go the Rams.’ Haley Taylor has been tough at the plate, and since moving to second base from shortstop, she is flawless in the field. Lisa Bahmueller, a newcomer, is solid at short and played on the Rams’ state finalist soccer team, so she knows the ‘pressure of postseason.’ Bridget Casey anchors the outfield. She is solid in center field and is like a coach on the field for the outfielders. Of course, pitching is critical to any team’s success. Our returning starter, right hander Paige DeCew, gives us a very consistent and solid presence in the pitching circle. She has thrown the majority of the innings this season and has gotten stronger as the season has gone on.  Playing opposite her sister is freshman Morgan Labs. She is a solid first sacker who has long ball potential as Hatboro-Horsham will attest. Alison Horne has been working hard since returning from an eye orbital injury that kept her out of the lineup for most of the season.  Freshman Natalie Babik is also a contributor from the bench and helps in the outfield. Unfortunately, Alicia Phillips will be contributing only from the bench due to a strain of her MCL.
“For the Rams, reaching districts is the culmination of an offseason of work and dreams. The Rams missed the playoffs last season and are excited about playing in a ‘new season’ where ‘anything goes.’”

#18 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST at #15 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON
West Chester Henderson

  • 12-8 overall
  • Split season series with eighth-seeded Downingtown West, defeating the Whippets 6-1 on April 20
  • Lost three of five to close out season

Central Bucks East

  • 10-9 overall, 7-7 SOL
  • Finished fifth in the Continental Conference standings
  • Lost four of six games to start season
  • 7-2 in final nine games of regular season
  • Split season series with 10th-seeded North Penn, defeating the Maidens 5-1 on April 26 after falling 10-0 in the initial meeting between the two teams.

Players to watch:  Jayme Ziegler (Jr., pitcher), Julia Schoenewald (Jr., catcher), Jess Haug (Jr., shortstop), Allie Chase (Jr., centerfielder), Caroline Schoenewald (Soph., second baseman)
Coach Erin Scott says:  “It means a lot to be able to be in the playoffs. This is definitely a year that I wasn’t feeling confident as far as getting in because our overall record wasn’t great, but I think we do have a lot of talent. For the most part, we had a really solid season considering some of the injuries we faced early on in the season.  We had a couple of tough losses when people were injured and weren’t 100 percent. I think we competed with the best teams. We competed with Hatboro, we competed with CB South, at least in one game each. I definitely think we have the talent, and I’m excited to be in playoffs to see what they can do. I feel good about where we are. Obviously, that game against Pennridge (a 10-0 loss in six innings) – a lot of people asked what happened. I’m really not sure. For the most part, outside of that, they have been playing really well. I said to them after the Pennridge game, ‘Don’t lose confidence. ‘We were on such a high and playing really well, but this happens, and I tried to keep them positive, so I think we’re ready.”

#19 HARRY S TRUMAN at #14 WEST CHESTER EAST

West Chester East

  • 12-7 overall
  • Four of East’s losses came at the hands of 5th-seeded Bishop Shanahan and eight-seeded Downingtown West
  • Swept season series with #15th-seeded West Chester Henderson
  • Opened season with four straight wins and was 6-2 after eight games
  • Won a pair after dropping three straight in the regular season’s final weeks

Harry S Truman

  • 8-11 overall, 7-7 SOL
  • Played a killer schedule that included seven games against the district tournament’s top 10 seeds with two games against both Pennsbury and Neshaminy and non-league games against Central Bucks South, Hatboro-Horsham and North Penn.
  • Four of its conference losses are to top-seeded Pennsbury (9-6, 6-3) and Neshaminy (2-1, 10-3)
  • Played some of its best softball against some of the conference’s top teams

Players to watch:  Felicia McCreery (Sr., catcher), Tiffany Koenig (Sr., first baseman – lost to broken wrist), Bridget Hunt (Jr., shortstop), Caitlin Brasier (Soph., pitcher), Cheyanne Jones (Soph., second baseman), Jess O’Neill (Fr., leftfielder)
Coach Gretchen Cammiso says:  “Obviously, going into the season, our goal is to make playoffs. The season we had – at times, it seemed like we were going to make it, and at times, it seemed like no way it was going to happen. To actually make it is a big accomplishment. Our talk at today’s practice was – we’re here, and now anything can happen. Once you get here, the regular season, the record, the ups and downs go out the window. If we’re the team that showed up to play Neshaminy and Pennsbury, we’ll go far. If we’re the team that showed up to play Bristol and Bensalem, we could be done. The playoffs are what you make it, and we’re here. We practiced really well today, so I’m hopeful. We’ve played all of the top teams. We’ll just see what happens. We have nothing to lose. We’ll just go out there and play.”

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