SOL District Softball Preview (5-25-12)

Five of the eight teams in Friday’s District One AAAA quarterfinals are from the SOL. Check out the preview capsules for each game.

#9 METHACTON at #1 PENNSBURY

Pennsbury

• 19-2 overall, 13-1 SOL
• National Conference co-champions with Neshaminy
• Defending district and state runner-up
• Only losses came at hands of Immaculate Heart Academy (April 14) and Neshaminy (May 16)
• Defeated Pennridge 1-0 in second round in a contest that saw Val Buehler toss a three-hit shutout and freshman Dani Litwin deliver the game-winning hit.

Players to watch:  Val Buehler (Jr., pitcher), Mackenzie Obert (Jr., shortstop), Jess Greenwald (Jr., second baseman), Christina Bascara (Jr., third baseman), Suzanne Swanicke (Jr., first baseman), Michelle George (Jr., centerfielder), Farryl Groder (Soph., rightfielder)
Coach Frank McSherry says:  “We know Methacton is a good team, and we know they’ve only given up (any runs) in the first two games, so evidently their pitcher is doing a real good job.”

Methacton

• 18-6 overall, 14-4 PAC-10
• Finished second to Spring-Ford in PAC-10 standings
• Swept third-seeded Spring-Ford during regular season
• Defeated #24 Interboro (3-0) and #8 Downingtown East (4-0) in the opening rounds of districts.
• Pitcher Maddy Lowery has thrown back-to-back shutouts
• Warriors in district semifinal for first time since 2002

#5 BISHOP SHANAHAN at #4 HATBORO-HORSHAM
Hatboro-Horsham

• 19-2 overall, 12-2 SOL
• Continental Conference co-champions with Central Bucks South
• Defending district and state champion
• Split season series with CB South, winning second game 8-6 after losing the first 9-2
• Swept season series with 10^th-seeded North Penn and 18^th-seeded Central Bucks East and split series with 17^th-seeded Pennridge
• Defeated #13 Upper Darby 3-0 in second round in a game that saw Maggie Shaffer toss a two-hit shutout and sophomore Daria Edwards deliver a two-run homerun.

Bishop Shanahan

• 18-3 overall
• Opened season with 10 straight wins
• Won 17 of 18 before dropping a pair of games to close out the regular season
• Defeated #12 Perkiomen Valley 5-1 in second round in a game that featured a whole lot of pitcher Kate Poppe, who fanned 15 and helped her own cause with a two-run home run. Alyssa Lewis and Erica Slamm also hit home runs.

Players to watch:  Maggie Shaffer (Sr., pitcher), Val Sadowl (Sr., shortstop), Jackie DiPietro (Sr., centerfielder), Chrissy James (Sr., second baseman), Nicole D’Andrea (Sr., designated hitter), Heather Lutz (Jr., rightfielder), Nicole Casagrand (Jr., first baseman) Maria Spinosa (Jr., third baseman), Daria Edwards (Jr., catcher), Jenn Cader (Fr., leftfielder)

#6 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH at #3 SPRING-FORD
Central Bucks South

• 19-2 overall, 12-2 SOL
• Continental Conference co-champions with Hatboro-Horsham
• Split season series with Hatboro, winning the first 9-2 and losing the second 8-6
• Swept season series with 10^th-seeded North Penn, 17^th-seeded Pennridge and 18^th-seeded Central Bucks East
• Defeated #11Wissahickon 4-0 in Wednesday’s second round. The Titans were led by the four-hit, nine-strikeout effort of Haileigh Stocks and the two-hit, two-RBI performance of Hallie Bilker.

Players to watch:  Haileigh Stocks (Sr., pitcher), Morgan Decker (Sr., third baseman), Lauren Klepchick (Sr., catcher)

Coach Dan Hayes says:  “ I don’t know a lot about Spring-Ford other than what I’m hearing. I’m hearing how well they hit the ball. I don’t think their pitcher dominates, so I think our lineup will be able to score some runs. It’s just a matter of Haileigh (Stocks) throwing again and us catching the ball when they put it in play. It will be interesting to see how we do.”

Spring-Ford

• 17-3 overall, 16-2 PAC-10
• PAC-10 regular season champion
• Lost to #12 Perkiomen Valley in PAC-10 Tournament
• Defeated #14 West Chester East in second round, sparked by the five-hit shutout of Haleigh Williams and Bri Kofer’s RBI single in the first inning. Williams also had a pair of hits in a game that saw the hard-hitting Rams twice leave the bases loaded.

#18 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST at #10 NORTH PENN
North Penn

• 14-7 overall, 9-5 SOL
• Finished third to Central Bucks South and Hatboro-Horsham in Continental Conference
• Won 9 of 12 games to close out regular season
• Rallied from 9-0 deficit after four innings to defeat Souderton 10-9 for most dramatic win of season
• Swept season series with 17^th-seeded Pennridge, split season series with 18^th-seeded Central Bucks East
• Defeated 23^rd-seeded Ridley 5-0 in opening round district game and downed #7 Downingtown West 4-2 in the second round. In the Maidens’ win over Downingtown West, senior Jess Mower was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, and freshman Jackie Bilotti earned the win on the mound.

Players to watch:  Jess Mower (Sr., catcher), Michelle Holweger (Jr., second baseman), Alexa Gable (Jr., leftfielder), Erin Maher (Soph., centerfielder), Jackie Bilotti (Fr., pitcher)

Coach Rick Torresani:  “Erin (Scott) and I were talking about this at our league meeting on Tuesday night. We were sitting next to each other, and we said – if we both win our games on Wednesday, we would play each other. We were both in the seeding meeting and took stern criticism from the Ches-Mont League who didn’t think five (Continental Conference) teams should be in there. Last year, we had five teams in districts, and everybody said we shouldn’t have. This year we had five teams, and everybody really said we shouldn’t have. Now all the Ches-Mont teams are out except for Bishop Shanahan. I’m just really happy to see that four of the eight teams left are from our conference.”

Central Bucks East

• 12-9 overall, 7-7 SOL
• Fifth place team from the Continental Conference
• Lost four of six games to start season
• 7-2 in final nine games of regular season
• Split season series with 10^th-seeded North Penn, defeating the Maidens 5-1 on April 26 after falling 10-0 in the initial meeting between the two teams.
• Defeated 15^th-seeded West Chester Henderson 4-1 in district opener Monday and pulled the upset of the tournament by defeating #2 Neshaminy 3-1 in Wednesday’s second round. Jayme Ziegler earned the win, and junior catcher Julie Schoenefeld had a pair of hits, including a solo home run.

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’s a different feeling (playing North Penn) because you know what to expect, but it’s almost like anything can happen. We split with them in the regular season. If we play the way we played (Wednesday) and the kids hit the way I know that we can, I think we could win. Jackie Bilotti has been pitching really well for them. She had a no hitter in the first (district) game, and they just beat Downingtown West. I think it’s going to be a brand new game. I don’t want to think about the games we’ve had with them so far. I just want to treat it like a team we haven’t seen yet, but it will be a different dynamic I think. I just want them to be ready to go on Friday the same way they were (Wednesday).”