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#1 Pennsbury 5, #4 Neshaminy 2Val Buehler admits she would have considered it a bit unrealistic if someone had told her she would defeat Neshaminy three times in one season.
“I would have believed it if someone would have told me I would beat them once, but I would never have believed it if they would have told me three times,” the Falcons’ sophomore pitcher said.
But that’s exactly what Buehler did, allowing only a pair of first-inning runs while leading the Falcons to their third win in as many outings over the Redskins.
“They’re the toughest team in the league,” the Falcons’ mound ace said. “We know we have to be on our ‘A’ game all the time. Anyone will tell you it’s the hardest thing to beat a team three times.
“It’s the hardest thing to beat a team like Neshaminy once. We felt the pressure. We knew it would be tough.”
Things didn’t exactly start out on a promising note for Buehler and her teammates. After Courtney Clee collected an infield single to lead off the first, senior Sarah McGowan delivered a two-out, two-run home run over the right field fence, spotting the Redskins an early 2-0 lead. “It was definitely a wake-up call for me,” Buehler said. “I know they have great hitters – Sarah’s a bomber, we all know that.
“If you miss your spot (as a pitcher), you shouldn’t expect anything less than that. I knew I had to step up one more level.”
In the bottom of the inning, the Falcons – thanks to consecutive singles by D’Anna Devine, Jess Greenewald and Suzanne Swanicke – loaded the bases with none out. McGowan turned a wicked grounder by Falcon clean-up batter Kelsi Bunda into a third-to-home-to-first double play, and the Redskins escaped unscathed when pitcher Lauren Quense coaxed a fly ball to left for the inning’s final out.
The Falcons got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Mackenzie Obert – who reached base on an error – scored on Michelle George’s two-out single to left. With a pair of runners on board, Quense picked up a huge strikeout to kill that Falcon threat.
In the fifth, the Falcons knotted the score, thanks to a one-out single by Swanicke and an RBI single by Christina Bascara. It could have been more, but sophomore centerfielder Diana Lapalombara came up with a spectacular catch in center field to rob Mackenzie Obert of a home run.
“She (Obert) hit a rocket to dead center field, and Diana went back – jumped up, caught it and fell over the fence,” McSherry said. “It was the greatest catch I ever saw in a softball game. It was just awesome, and she saved two runs.”
Inspired perhaps by Lapalombara’s catch, there would be no stopping the Falcons in the sixth. Savanna Grantham got things started with a one-out double to right field.
“Right field was tough,” McSherry said. “You couldn’t see a thing. Once the ball got up in the air, the kids were blinded.
“It was a sun-aided double, but she really hustled to get to second base on a close play.”
That set the stage for Devine to deliver a clutch single to plate Grantham with what turned out to be the game winner, but the Falcons weren’t finished yet. Greenewald followed with a single, and that brought the red hot Swanicke to the plate. The sophomore first baseman delivered her third hit of the day, this one plating an insurance run for the Falcons.
“We knew as long as Val was confident, we could get the bats going,” Swanicke said. “We’re known for those late-inning comebacks.
“We know that we’re a good team. We practice hard, and we work hard.”
Swanicke - who finished the day a perfect 3-for-3 and also drew a walk - was on the freshman team last year and opened the season playing jayvee but was pulled up to the varsity when Savanna Grantham went down with an injury. One of four sophomores in the Falcons’ starting lineup, Swanicke witnessed her first varsity game last year when Pennsbury was upset in the second round of districts by Coatesvile.
“I was kind of surprised by that, but being here, I know how you have to always be confident in yourself,” she said, going on to note that playing with her fellow sophomores has made the transition to varsity a simple one. “We have so much chemistry, we know each other, and we’re good friends with each other. It’s easy that way.”
An infield single by Bunda plated the third run of the inning, giving the Falcons a 5-2 lead and putting the finishing touches on Pennsbury’s third win of the season over the Redskins.
“It’s unbelievable that we did it,” Swanicke said. “They’re a good team, and it’s always going to be a good game, and we have to bring it every time.”
“Winning was the greatest feeling ever,” Buehler said. “All of us got really emotional, but we know we can’t dwell on what happened. McSherry always says our biggest game of the season is our next game, so this was our biggest game of the season. I focused on today. “Right now we’re looking forward to the next game. District champs – that’s our goal. He always says, ‘Never be satisfied.’ We won SOL champs, and we celebrated that night. The next day we were practicing as hard as we could. We are not satisfied. We want the next game.”
The Falcons next game is on Thursday when they will face second-seeded Hatboro-Horsham in the district title game at North Penn High School at 4 p.m.
“Our kids were really ready to play,” McSherry said. “They came out ready to play, there’s no doubt about it.
“We said after the first inning – ‘There’s nothing you can do about it. You hit the ball hard.’ That’s a great team we played today. It’s really thrilling, but the kids have worked hard. The district is so tough – every team we have played is so good, and it’s just a really tough district. I know we have a monster waiting in Hatboro-Horsham.”
#2 Hatboro-Horsham 3, #14 Spring-Ford 0
The Hatters returned to the district title game for the second time in as many years, and anything less would have been a disappointment for a team that captured the Continental Conference crown and earned the tournament’s second seed.
“We were eating dinner tonight, and Danielle said, ‘You know what I love about us – we win, and there’s no jumping around. We just walk to the outfield, we talk, we get on the bus and we go home,’” coach Joe DiFilippo said of his daughter, senior first baseman Danielle DiFilippo. “They go on the field, and they take care of business.
“There are so many different travel teams that combine to put this team together, and for these girls to come together and play together like they’ve been playing – it’s great. It’s great for the community, it’s a great tribute to their parents.”
What would be greater for the community – according to senior Danielle – would be to win a district title.
“I don’t think Hatboro softball team has ever won a district title, and knowing we have a chance to prove we can be district champions is really exciting,” the Hatters’ first baseman said. “It feels good to be seniors and have a chance to actually win it.
“When we reach our goal, then we’ll be excited.”
Reaching the district title game, according to the Hatters’ first-year coach, was a goal of this year’s squad.
“We set goals at the beginning of the year, and we had four goals,” DiFilippo said. “We wanted to win the conference, and we did that. We wanted to win the sportsmanship award, and we didn’t do that. We wanted to win the district, and we wanted to get to the state finals.
“You know what – there aren’t many teams that can set goals at the beginning of the season and have two of them within grasp right now. The girls are pretty excited, they’re pretty pumped up. The seniors know it’s all coming to an end, but there’s a quiet confidence.”
The Hatters broke a scoreless tie by plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kelsey Koelzer got the ball rolling by drawing a one-out walk, and with two outs, Heather Lutz was hit by a pitch. Jackie DePietro followed with an infield single that plated a pair, the second on an errant throw to first. In the fifth inning, senior Julie Wambold delivered a solo home run to put the Hatters on top 3-0.
“Our whole lineup – we’re all good hitters,” Danielle DiFilippo said. “At any point in the game, anybody can hit.”
Three runs was more than enough for Maggie Shaffer, who tossed a one-hit shutout. The junior mound ace fanned five and had seven ground ball outs.
“She was unbelievable, and my infield makes the plays,” coach DiFilippo said. “She also had a double. I don’t want to bat her, but I can’t take her out of the lineup. Every time I think about switching, she gets a big hit.
“Nothing fazes her. That kid is the poster child for confidence. She’s unbelievable.”
“I have so much confidence in Maggie,” Danielle DiFilippo said. “She’s been so good the whole season.”
According to Danielle, the Hatters came together early this season.
“I did have some worries, but the first day we came on the field together, I knew we would go really far together,” she said. “There was something about how we all got along, how we were all so close, and playing together brought us closer.”
"Team bonding definitely helped," Wambold added. "This year we're working harder, and it doesn't matter who we're facing as long as we're ready and if we really want it - we'll have a good outcome. Hard definitely pays off."
The Hatters will take on top-seeded Pennsbury in a battle of the tournament’s top two seeds on Thursday at North Penn at 4 p.m.
"I have no words for this - it still hasn't hit me," Wambold said of reaching the title game. "I still can't belive we're where we wanted to be since the beginning of the season.
"My adrenaline is going high right now. Pennsbury is going to be a challenge. Hopefully, all the pieces will come together the right way."
#6 Souderton 10, #10 Downingtown West 5
Liz Parkins, according to coach Courtney Hughes, simply would not allow the Indians to lose in Tuesday’s playback game. Souderton’s senior mound ace eclipsed even her own dazzling numbers by striking out 18.
“It really came down to her willing us to the win,” the Indians’ coach said. “She wouldn’t accept losing. She didn’t want her season to end.”
The Whippets actually jumped out to a 4-0 lead, which included a three-run outburst in the first that was highlighted by a bases-clearing double by West power hitter Sydney Robey. Parkins – who allowed just two earned runs - fanned the next three batters she faced to close out the inning. She went on to strike out the side in each of the first four innings.
“Even when she gives up runs, she comes back even stronger,” Hughes said of Parkins. “It’s fun to watch her.”
The Whippets added a single run in the fourth inning, but Parkins was lights out the rest of the way.
The Indians responded by exploding for seven runs in the fifth inning.
Moira Golden led off the inning with a walk, and then the Indians got their short game in gear. Emily Groves laid down a bunt that was misplayed, and Sarah Derstine followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Three consecutive walks pushed three runs across the plate, and several wild pitches later, the Indians found themselves on top 5-4. Freshman Haley DeLaney delivered a hit to the right side that plated a run, and Golden – in her second trip to the plate in the inning – delivered a bunt that put the Indians on top 7-5.
In the sixth, Souderton tacked on three more runs. Mollie Burrell singled to left, and Parkins helped her own cause with a single that moved the base runner to third. Brittany Beebe followed with a two-run single, and Lauren Urbanski plated the final run of the game.
Making the Indians’ showing especially impressive was the fact that it came on the heels of a 5-3 loss to Spring-Ford in a game that saw the Indians commit four errors that allowed four unearned runs to cross the plate.
“They knew they were a better team than what they showed,” Hughes said. “Even in that last game, we had an opportunity to come back.”
Souderton will face PAC-10 regular season champion Owen J. Roberts on Thursday in a battle for the ninth and final state playoff berth.
#5 Owen J. Roberts 8, #7 North Penn 1
The Maidens managed just three hits in a playback game that saw the Wildcats plate three first-inning runs and never look back.
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