Three SOL softball teams advanced to Tuesday’s District One AAAA semifinals. To view photos of the CB East/Hatboro game, please visit the Photo gallery.
#1 NESHAMINY 7, #8 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0
Lauren Quense did it all for the Redskins, tossing a two-hit shutout and also picking up a pair of hits – a double and home run – to lead the Redskins. The senior standout fanned nine and allowed just one walk.
“She was absolutely in command the whole game, from the first pitch to the last pitch,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “She was awesome.”
The Redskins, winners of the SOL National Conference title, entered the season with the singular goal of reaching the state tournament after last year’s second round exit.
“We’re excited to be in the state tournament, but we’re just taking it one game at a time,” Quense said. “We still have the district title in front of us, and that’s one of our goals before states.
“(As a senior), everything this year feels different because it’s your last time for everything. We’re still coming out as a team getting ready for each game.”
The Redskins scored four runs in the third inning, sparked by a two-run home run from Quense.
“A couple of people asked me – when you hit it, did you know it was out, and I was like, no, I honestly thought the wind was going to take it every which way,” Quense said. “I guess I hit it enough for it to go out.”
A single by Sara Snider-Leonhauser as well as a walk set the stage for a two-run single by Selina Alicea. The Redskins added a single run in the fourth and put the finishing touches on the big win when Julia McGovern delivered a two-run double in the sixth inning.
All told, the Redskins collected nine hits off Cougar left-hander Casey Thompson.
“She was moving the ball in and out, and she had good speed,” Quense said of her counterpart. “She was definitely one of the best pitchers we’ve seen this year. I just think we adjusted well to it.”
“Their pitcher was tough,” Chichilitti added. “She was the best pitcher that we’ve faced all year. She had five strikeouts – we don’t usually strike out a lot.”
The Redskins will face North Penn in a semifinal game on Tuesday at William Tennent at 4 p.m., but for one day at least, they could celebrate a return to the state tournament.
“The primary goal of the year was to get these kids back in it,” Chichilitti said. “We played today for our seniors because we knew regardless of what was going to happen – this was their last home game, the last time they would play on their own field, and we wanted to come out and give them the proper sendoff and give a team like ours a chance to be in that state tournament.
“It’s real hard to get to states because the District One Tournament is so good, but we knew if we could get into that state tournament, we have a team that’s good enough to put four good games together and make the run they know they can.”
#7 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, #2 HATBORO-HORSHAM 2 (10 innings)
Heartbreak and jubilation are often separated by just a millisecond.
That certainly was the case in Saturday’s district quarterfinal game at Hatboro-Horsham.
One second it looked for all the world like Daria Edwards’ soft liner – with one out and Hatter runners on second and third - was headed through the Patriots’ infield for a basehit that would plate a pair of runs and give the Hatters the win, but East shortstop Jess Haug had other ideas, appearing out of nowhere to make a spectacular, you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it catch.
The senior standout not only robbed Edwards of the potential game-winning hit, she also had the presence of mind to flip the ball to third baseman Brady Tillotson for a game-ending double play, giving the Patriots the dramatic win.
“Jess has been doing that all year,” coach Erin Scott said. “She had a tough start this season and was making errors and getting down on herself.
“That kid is just pure athleticism, and that’s the kind of stuff she can do. I thought for sure that ball was dropping in, and then it turns out to be a double play. She’s awesome.”
For her part, Haug knew that her high school career was hanging in the balance, and she made a play that no one saw coming – including the two Hatter base runners who broke immediately.
“I had to do anything in my power just to keep it in the infield,” Haug said. “I knew if it got through at least one run would have scored, and you never know what would happen after that.
“I laid out for it, and I saw the girl was breaking home, so I told Brady to get on three. This could have been my last high school game ever. Five of us have been here since our freshman year. We’ve been together since we were 10.”
The dramatic ending was set up after nine innings could not determine a winner, and the international tiebreaker went into effect, which meant both teams had a runner on second to start the inning.
In the top of the 10th, the Patriots plated a run on Haug’s groundout to the right side. They were still clinging to a 3-2 lead when the Hatters had a pair on board after leadoff batter Maria Spinosa was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on Deanna Moyer’s sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for Haug’s heroics.
“The defense was amazing on both sides,” Haug said. “Our pitchers did amazing. You thought it was never going to end.
“I tossed it to (Brady), and you don’t know what to do – we won. My heart was pounding, especially against Hatboro. We haven’t beaten them, and it’s just amazing to get them on the third time, and it gets us to states. It’s a great way to continue our season.”
Ventura earned the win on the mound, limiting the Hatters to just one hit in six stellar innings of relief. Freshman Theresa Haug threw the first four innings, allowing three hits and two runs.
“I just have to put my hat off to those two freshmen pitchers, especially Kayla at the end,” Scott said. “That’s a stressful situation, and I just needed her to hit the spots I was calling, and she did it.
“That ball could have dropped in, but I know that girl can hit, and Kayla was hitting her spots.”
Ventura admits she was as surprised by the ending as everyone else.
“I looked at her and I was like, ‘Wait, we just won,’ and then it started to register,” the freshman hurler said. “Everyone was so excited, and it was just adrenaline running through us. We’re going to states.”
When asked what it was like to play as a freshman in the pressure-packed world of district playoffs, Ventura had an immediate response.
“More years to play then,” she said. “I just tell myself to keep calm, keep cool under pressure and just do what you have to do.”
Earlier in the game, Jess Haug and Kerry Schulz led off the first with back-to-back singles. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Haug raced home on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Allie Chase. Schulz scored when Julia Schoenewald reached base on a fielder’s choice, and the Patriots had an early 2-0 lead.
The Hatters got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. Spinosa beat out a bunt single and scored on a bases-loaded walk to Jenn Cader.
In the fourth inning, Carlie Johnson lined a single to center to open the inning, and Cader walked. A bunt by Nicole Casagrand set the stage for Jayne Black’s RBI single, knotting the score 2-2.
That would be the last run either team would score until the 10th, and while Haug stole the spotlight with her game-ending double play, the Hatters had their share of big defensive plays as well. Topping the list was a play by Edwards, who somehow made a stop of a wicked shot down the third base line by Julia Schoenewald and fired to first for the out.
“We were hitting the ball hard all game, and it wasn’t falling in,” Scott said. “I was getting so frustrated, and all I kept saying was, ‘Keep hitting, keep hitting. Something’s going to happen.’
“They came ready to play today. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
The win propelled the Patriots into the state tournament and also keeps a special season alive.
“The fact that this year there’s no play-in game – if you lose this game, it’s over, and our kids knew that,” Scott said. “They wanted it.
“Those eight seniors did not want to finish their careers not having made it to states. That was a goal we set early in the season. We just achieved it, and we’re not done yet.”
When it was over, coach Joe DiFilippo credited the Patriots for their performance.
‘What can you do?” he said. “Someone has to win, and someone has to lose.
“It was a great play (by Haug), a great play. Their kid pitched a great game. She came in and threw very well. You know what – honestly, they deserved that game. Those two plays Jess Haug made were phenomenal. The kid is a great player – I wish them luck.”
The Hatters, the SOL Continental Conference champions, closed out the year the year with a 17-4 record.
“Great game, great season,” DiFlippo said. “Of all the teams I’ve coached over the years, I had the most fun with this group of kids. They make it worth your while to come here everyday. I’ll miss this group.”
The Patriots, meanwhile, will face the winner of Tuesday’s Pennsbury/West Chester Henderson game in a semifinal game on Wednesday, but for one day, the players were celebrating their first berth in states in at least a decade.
“Senior year going to states – it’s amazing,” Jess Haug said. “The coolest thing about this team is we are all literally best friends. We have two sets of sisters. It just is amazing playing with a team where you don’t not like anyone.
“Everyone is together, everyone is rooting for one another, and I think that’s the best part. You’re enjoying yourself and winning. If you get down, you always have someone there to pick you up.”
On Saturday, it was the Patriots’ senior shortstop who picked her team up with a play they’ll be talking about for a long, long time.
#13 NORTH PENN 2, #12 PENNRIDGE 0
Rick Torresani knows that Jackie Bilotti is a gamer.
“Even in basketball in that game they were down by 10 at the half, she scored the first eight points of the second half,” the Maidens coach said of the Maidens’ come-from-behind upset of Wilson in the second round of the state tournament. “Nothing fazes her.
“Today she went out there and just pitched. She loves the game of softball. There’s not much I can say more. She’s just an unbelievable kid. She pitched a great game.”
Bilotti, who threw a three-hitter, was in complete command from the outset, tossing three perfect innings before allowing a leadoff double to Emily Mayhew in the fourth. Mayhew never advanced beyond second.
“I was keeping my pitches inside, and that was working for me,” she said. “Also, since we’ve seen them so many times this year, I knew their batters.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Briana Gery led off with a double to left, but again, the Rams came up empty. Haley Taylor collected a two-out single in the sixth, but after a walk to Paige DeCew, Bilotti coaxed a harmless grounder of the next batter she faced to close out the frame. She pitched a one-two-three seventh to seal the Rams’ fate.
“North Penn is a good team,” coach Paul Koehler said. “North Penn hits the ball. If you hold North Penn to two runs, you should be able to beat them.
“We left five base runners. A couple of balls in the outfield – maybe we misplayed them, but we just didn’t hit the ball. If you don’t score runs against North Penn, you’re not going to win.
“Paige threw a heck of a game. She’s had a heck of a year for us. Unfortunately, we just didn’t hit the ball when we needed to hit the ball.”
Take away the third inning, and DeCew matched Bilotti pitch for pitch. Erin Maher got things started in the third by lining a one-out double to right center, and then Bilotti’s fly ball to the outfield was misplayed into a double.
With two outs and runners on second and third, Maiden cleanup batter Michelle Holweger stepped to the plate and lined DeCew’s first pitch down the right field line for a double that plated a pair.
“It was a fastball inside,” DeCew said. “I haven’t really been throwing fastballs all season, and she hit it.
“I think we definitely should have (walked her) now that I look back on it, but we can’t change it now.”
Koehler admits he gave serious thought to giving Holweger a free pass.
“She hasn’t hit against us all year,” he said. “If we walk her, who am I looking at? Meghan Curley, Vicky Tumasz.
“What do you want a spring roll or an egg roll? You have to pick one of them. We don’t ever call fastballs, and I thought, ‘Let’s sneak one inside,’ and she pushes a ball to right field. What do you do?”
Torresani was just happy to see his team plate a pair.
“Today our bats weren’t going like they had been, but I expected somewhere along the line they would stop for one game,” he said. “Thank god we got the pitching from Jackie.”
DeCew was on the receiving end of Bilotti’s only two walks of the day. Both were intentional.
“I was basically not putting it anywhere near the plate,” Bilotti said. “Obviously, she’s a smart hitter, so she didn’t swing at anything.”
Torresani had made the decision to put DeCew on board before his team set foot on the field.
“I have the utmost respect for Paige,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let her beat us.
“Her third at-bat I thought of pitching to her, but I said, ‘No, let’s put her on and see if their five hitter can beat us,’ and thank goodness she didn’t.”
The win not only propelled the Maidens into Tuesday’s district semifinal round but also ensured the team a berth in the state tournament.
“This means a lot, especially because of last year we can try and defend out title again,” Holweger said. “We want to do what we did last year.
“Our win against (Central Bucks) South really picked up our confidence.”
The Rams closed out the year with a 14-9 record.
“I told our team that Pennridge has been, over the years, known for a level of mediocrity – yes, they’ll give you a good game, but for the most part, you’ll go there and get a win,” Koehler said. “This team has raised the level. When you come to Pennridge, you better bring your ‘A’ game. We’re going to scratch and claw.
“Their motto this year was ‘never back down,’ and this team never backed down, not for a pitch. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
“We made a good run,” DeCew added. “We progressed from years before. I’m just sorry it has to end now.
“We never give up, but it just wasn’t enough today. We were a great team – we were all really great friends, and we all had fun together. It’s unfortunate that we can’t still play together because this is my last game.”
Class AAA
#6 VILLA MARIA 3, #3 UPPER MERION 2
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