Three SOL teams advanced to the second round of the District One AAAA Tournament with wins on Monday. To view photos of the William Tennent/CR North game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#23 WILLIAM TENNENT 4, #9 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
Kalisi Taufalele is an athlete of few words, and she didn’t need many to effectively sum up her emotions after Monday’s win over the ninth-seeded Indians.
“I think I’m in shock,” the Panthers’ pitcher said.
Twice during the regular season, the two teams had met. Rock North won both games, scoring 17 runs in the two games combined. Although the Indians managed eight hits and had base runners in every inning but two, they never could push a run across as Taufalele made all the right pitches and earned the shutout win.
“I think our teamwork is really improving,” she said. “I pitched the best I could – I tried throwing it outside and inside, and my fielders did their job.
The win was the fourth in a row for Taufalele.
“She’s thrown really well the last three-four weeks – ball down and coach defense,” coach Biz Keeny said. “It’s a pretty good formula, and it’s won a lot of games for a lot of people – pitching and defense.”
The Panthers – except for a fly ball that was misplayed for a triple – were flawless on defense. In the fifth inning of a scoreless contest, it was shortstop Jackie Heim delivering a highlight reel play, fielding a grounder in the third base hole and firing to first for the out. The play loomed large when the Indians collected a pair of hits later in the inning.
Elyse McMenamin was working on a masterpiece of her own for the Indians. She escaped a second and third no-outs situation in the first by striking out the next three batters she faced. She went on to strike out seven in a row before Tennent leadoff batter Sara Keeny, who reached base on all four trips to the plate, drew a one-out walk.
Heading into the sixth, the Panthers had managed just one hit – a bunt single by Keeny, and McMenamin had fanned 11.
The Panthers put their leadoff runner on in the sixth when Liz Marucci was safe on an error. Heim and Jocelyn Flores followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Nikki Reh – after fouling off seven two-strike pitches – was retired on a fly ball to shallow right, but freshman Kate Clark followed and drew a walk that pushed a run across for the Panthers.
“I thought Kate Clark had a good at-bat for a freshman – battled and got a walk,” said coach Keeny said. “I thought Nikki (Reh) had a great at-bat. We were starting to catch up to her. It’s hard to beat somebody three times.”
In the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers effectively thwarted a Rock North scoring threat with a nifty double play on a sacrifice bunt that saw second baseman Keeny, who took the throw at first, fire the ball to Heim, who tug out the runner rounding the second base bag.
“Me and Sara have been trying to pick people off like that all season, and it just hasn’t worked,” Heim said. “I guess in playoffs miracles happen, and that’s what happened.”
Taylor Amazeen roped a double down the left field line, but the bases were empty, and Taufalele retired the next batter she faced to end the inning with her team still on top 1-0.
“We definitely came out and played the way we should have,” Sara Keeny said. “We can play – it’s just a matter of us playing smart.
“The bunt and that throw to Jackie at second – that was a huge play.”
If Taufalele needed insurance, the Panthers gave it to her in the top of the seventh. Keeny legged out a bunt single to open the inning, and one out later, Marucci lined a single to center. Keeny easily beat the throw to the plate on Heim’s fly ball to shallow left.
“Sara’s speedy – I’ve seen her score on things that are unbelievable,” Heim said. “She’s so fast, and she’s a smart player.”
Taufalele retired the Indians in order in the seventh, putting the finishing touches on the big win.
The Panthers collected six hits over the final two frames after collecting just one in the first five.
“When I was up first, she was definitely throwing the ball fast, and she had us off our first time through the lineup,” Sara Keeny said of McMenamin. “We just kept telling the girls every single time, ‘Hey, you already saw her once – let’s get on her this time.’”
“We didn’t want to go down,” Heim added. “We’re the underdogs right now. We’re the 23rd seed.”
The Panthers (9-11, 5-9 SOL) will travel to West Chester East to take on the seventh-seeded Vikings while the Indians (14-7, 10-4) saw their season come to an end.
“This isn’t the fight I was hoping we would have had,” Rock North coach Chris McDermott said. “It was a good game for Tennent, certainly not our best game.
“Elyse (McMenamin) did a really wonderful job. I’m very proud of her – she was very composed. It certainly wasn’t pitching. We couldn’t find a hole. We finally did get one opportunity, and they squashed it pretty quick on a base running error, but we shouldn’t have brought it to that point.”
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#12 ABINGTON 4, #21 COATESVILLE 2
The Ghosts found themselves staring at an early 2-0 deficit, but this is a team that has shown the capacity to come from behind. They did it again on Monday, earning their first district win since 2009.
“That’s a good team,” coach Ellie White said of Coatesville. “That is not by any means a 21st seed.
“These kids have put so much time into it. We come out in September, and we just work and work and work. To be able to see it pay off is what is big. Right now the seniors are stepping up and they’re leading, and that’s huge for us.
“Underclassmen are taking the seniors’ lead and saying, ‘Okay, we’re going to get it done.’ When you have Nik (Nicolette Ray) on the mound, you almost feel invincible.”
The Raiders served early notice that they were a force to contend with. In the top of the first, they put their leadoff runner on board, and with two outs, Kutztown commit Alexis Lichtner hit a shot over the fence to spot Coatesville an early 2-0 lead.
“We thought, ‘Okay, we like coming from behind, so we might as well start it early’ – that’s what we do, we’re the comeback kids,” White said.
The Ghosts displayed the resiliency that has been their trademark with a two-run second. Maddie Malfara drew a leadoff walk, and the Ghosts had runners on the corners after the Raiders committed a throwing error on Jess Paley’s sacrifice bunt. A safety squeeze by Amy Worek loaded the bases, setting the stage for sophomore Megan Burziak, whose two-run single knotted the score.
The Ghosts won it in the fourth inning. Jamie Gosselin was safe on an error, Nicolette Ray followed and drew a walk, and after Jade Sowell was hit by a pitch, the Ghosts had the bases loaded. Malfara’s two run single gave the Ghosts a 4-2 lead that stood the rest of the way.
Ray earned the win in the circle, silencing the Raiders after their two-run first. She allowed five hits in the complete game win, walking one and striking our four. The Raiders had just three hits in the final six innings.
“She shut them down after the first,” White said. “Nik was on point today. She came to play, which she does every game, but she came to win it.”
Malfara (2-for-3, 2 RBIs, two runs scored) and Gosselin (2-for-3, one run) led the Ghosts at the plate. Kelly McNally added a double.
Appropriately, the Ghosts picked up the big win with members of the successful 2009 squad watching from the sidelines.
“2009 was the best team to go through the school,” White said. “Out of the nine seniors that graduated in 2009, there were probably six of them there today watching the game.
“It really was neat. There was a ton of alumni from past seasons that came out and watched, and that was the best part of the game, seeing them afterwards and how happy they were for everybody.”
Abington (15-6, 9-5 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Wednesday for a second round game against the fifth-seeded Indians.
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#18 HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, #15 RIDLEY 0
Talk about saving your best for last – the Hatters and pitcher Lexie Campbell have done just that.
Campbell tossed a complete game three-hit shutout to propel the Hatters to the impressive win.
“Unbelievable,” coach Joe DiFilippo said. “For the last two or three weeks, Lexie has been outstanding. I couldn’t ask for more. She has done an incredible job.
“I think what’s changed is she knows there’s not much time left. She’s not playing in college or anything, and this is it. She’s given up playing travel ball, but I give her credit – she kept taking her pitching lessons, and she threw religiously and has done a great job.”
Campbell boasts an earned run average of just 1.66 for the season.
“Even though she’s six wins and four losses, almost all of the runs she’s given up have been unearned,” DiFilippo said.
While Campbell was doing the job in the circle, Dee Moyer provided some serious offensive punch at the plate, finishing the game 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
“She’s another kid that has stepped up so big for us this year,” DiFilippo said. “Out of 88 chances at shortstop, she has three errors, and she was my outfielder last year. She has played phenomenal.”
The Hatters plated a pair of runs in the fourth. Freshman Kyleigh Dinnien delivered an RBI single, and with the bases loaded, Moyer hit a ball through the middle to drive in a run that put the Hatters on top 2-0.
A solo blast by Moyer in the seventh gave the Hatters their final margin of victory.
“Who would have thought we would have won that game with Jen Cader going 0-for-4 – they just gave her nothing to hit,” DiFilippo said. “Scoring three runs against their pitcher (Leigh Ann Jenkins) – she was a pretty good pitcher.
“That ball Dee hit – if she hit that at our field, it would have been in the baseball field. What a shot it was.
“Softball is a nine-player sport, and at this time of year, all nine players have to contribute, whether they be ninth graders or 12th graders.
Hatboro-Horsham (13-8, 7-7 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley for a second round game again the second-seeded Vikings, who bring an 18-0 record into the game.
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#20 GREAT VALLEY 6, #13 PENNSBURY 1
The visiting Patriots erased an early 1-0 deficit when Emilee Kirk hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. They won it with a pair of runs in the sixth inning and, for good measure, added three more in the seventh. Kirk had a pair of home runs to lead the Patriots’ 11-hit attack.
Mia Pitt, who drove in her team’s only run in the third inning, had two of the Falcons’ five hits, including a double.
Pennsbury closed out its season with an 11-10 record (6-8 SOL).
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