Three of the four teams in Tuesday’s District One 6A semifinals will be SOL squads, a dramatic turnaround from last year when no SOL teams were still alive.
Lauren Begg, Alex DeLeon and Elia Namey.
All three will be playing in Tuesday’s District One 6A semifinals with their respective softball teams – (19) Council Rock North, (1) Central Bucks South and (4) North Penn. All three of their teams have clinched a coveted berth in the PIAA 6A Tournament, and all three have a district crown within their grasp.
Their journeys have been decidedly different. CB South and North Penn – by merit of their high seeds – were projected to be playing in Tuesday’s district semifinals, although a third meeting of the SOL Continental Conference co-champions might not have been an expected outcome.
Council Rock North – that’s another story entirely. The Indians have spent the tournament upsetting one higher seed after another during a storybook postseason.
In Tuesday’s semifinals, Central Bucks South will host North Penn while Council Rock North will travel to Garnet Valley. For the past two years, the SOL did not have a team in the semifinals. Last year’s semifinals pitted Spring-Ford against Perk Valley in an All-PAC semi, and the other featured Avon Grove against Coatesville. Two years again, Upper Darby/Perk Valley and Avon Grove/West Chester East did battle.
Sixth-seeded Neshaminy will try to keep its season alive when the Redskins host seventh-seeded Downingtown West in a must-win playback game. One of four teams in the playback bracket will earn a state berth.
Springfield Township will face defending champion Dock Mennonite Academy in the District One 3A title game at William Tennent at 4 p.m.
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#1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH
DeLeon is the shortstop and cleanup batter for a Titans’ squad that is seeded first in District One 6A. This year’s trip to states brings to an end a five-year drought after the Titans won the PIAA Class 4A title in 2012. For DeLeon and her fellow seniors, this year’s state berth erased the frustration of a pair of second-round exits and a first-round loss two years ago.
“Our team feels like the last few years we’ve had a curse on us because we’ve lost our first game of playoffs, so to come out and win these last two games and earn that state berth and hopefully have a chance to play for a district championship, it feels amazing,” DeLeon said.
According to the Titans’ senior captain, there’s a different feeling this time around.
“In years before, we never really hung out as a team,” DeLeon said. “We’d practice together, we’d play our games, and afterwards, we wouldn’t do anything.
“This year after our practices, we’ve had team dinners, we’ve gone out, and the fun team bonding things – it really helps us. A lot of these girls – we’ve played together since 10U, so it’s not like we haven’t known each other, so that really helps with building relationships. It helps us when we’re playing because now we know that if a ball is hit to us, we know that girl is going to be there covering the bag whereas if we don’t know each other, it’s kind of hard to build that chemistry.”
DeLeon admits the idea of a third meeting with North Penn never crossed her mind until the district brackets were released.
“After we saw they’re on our side of the bracket, we were really hoping we’d see them again just because we lost our second game against them,” DeLeon said. “I also think it just goes to show how competitive our conference is in the Suburban One League that two of the Continental teams are facing each other in the semifinals of District One. I don’t want to say it’s surprising that we’re seeing them because they’re a very good team and so are we, but it’s kind of funny how it panned out to do that.”
During the regular season, CB South edged North Penn 5-3 in the initial meeting, and the Knights returned the favor in the second game, earning a 3-0 win.
“Considering we split our conference series and we lost our most recent game, our team is hyping each other up,” DeLeon said. “We’ve been talking about what went wrong our second game and what we did well our first game. We’re really excited to play North Penn so we can show them that loss doesn’t mean anything now – it’s a new game.”
Central Bucks South (18-3, 9-3 SOL) will host North Penn in a 4 p.m. district semifinal game on Tuesday.
How they got here: In Friday’s district quarterfinal round, CB South defeated #8 Conestoga 5-1. Alexa Ortman was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and three RBIs while DeLeon had a pair of doubles. Kylie Kenney allowed just four hits – none after the third inning – in the complete game win. She struck out nine.
In a second round game, the Titans defeated #16 Central Bucks West 1-0, thanks to an Alexa Ortman RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Kylie Kenney earned the shutout win, allowing three hits while fanning 10.
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#1-4 NORTH PENN
Namey plays first base and bats cleanup for a North Penn squad that is heading to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.
“Really, this has been our goal for the entire year,” Namey said. “We came in with a very strong mindset. We knew exactly what we wanted and how far we wanted to go this season, and that’s all we’ve been thinking about. Right now we’re really pushing and we got there.”
The Knights have outscored their opponents 23-2 while pounding out 29 hits in their first two district wins combined, and they’ve made it look easy.
“Our game is really at its peak right now,”Namey said. “All the girls on the team have just clicked.
“No matter what happens off the field – on the field, we’re just solid. We just all work together and play so well together. We have a strong connection.”
North Penn’s only loss in its last 13 games came at the hands of Souderton (6-5). Namey points to the Knights’ late-season 3-0 win over Central Bucks South as a defining point in the season after falling to the Titans 5-3 in the initial meeting between the two schools. It was a must-win for the Knights if they hoped to clinch a share of the SOL Continental Conference crown.
“That was really like a playoff game with the energy we had,” Namey said. “That really helped propel us.
“All that energy – we kind of had the feeling coming into playoffs, and that’s what we’ve been bringing every game.”
Waiting in the wings for the Knights in Tuesday’s semifinal game is a third meeting with Central Bucks South, the rubber match between the conference rivals.
“We know this team – we’ve played them so many times, and we’re honestly happy to play them again,” Namey said. “We’re excited. It’s just going to be another playoff game for us, and we’re going to go in with a strong mindset once again and have softball on our minds all day.
“We’ve been waiting for this, and we’re going to get it done hopefully.”
The Knights’ bats, according to Namey, will be key.
“Our offense has been on, and we’ve been pretty unstoppable when we’re playing the way we’ve been playing,” Namey said.
North Penn (18-4, 9-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for the 4 p.m. showdown.
How they got here: In a quarterfinal game Friday, North Penn rolled to a 10-0 win over 12th-seeded Coatesville. Freshman Mady Volpe tossed a one-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking two. Victoria Juckniewitz, Elia Namey (3 RBIs), Jordan Pietrzykoski and Paige Paciolla each had two hits.
In a second round game, North Penn defeated 13th-seeded Quakertown 13-2 in an abbreviated six-inning contest that saw the Knights hit four home runs. Amanda Greaney was 3-for-3 with a double, two home runs and five RBIs, Victoria Juckniewitz was 3-for-3, Elia Namey was 2-for-3 with a grand slam and four RBIs, Jordan Pietrzykoski hit a two-run home run. Emily Groarke and Tor Chiu each had two hits. Mady Volpe earned the win.
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#1-19 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH
It’s been well documented how La Salle recruit Lauren Begg, a standout outfielder, was pressed into emergency duty when the Indians needed a pitcher this season, but it’s a story that just keeps getting more and more remarkable.
On Tuesday, Begg – who has thrown 118 innings – will try to pull off yet one more upset when the Indians travel to Downingtown West. Whatever the outcome, it’s been quite a journey.
“It’s really unbelievable,” Begg said. “I would have never thought in a thousand years that would have happened, especially pitching.
“Before the season started, our coach told me – ‘Hey, you’re going to be pitching a lot more this season.’ I went in thinking – okay, I’m probably going to get some games, but I never imagined it was going to be almost every single game.”
Begg- who has thrown in 20 off 22 games – acknowledges she didn’t have a whole lot of practice in the circle coming into the season.
“It’s been crazy,” she said. “I had a couple of practice runs, and I just pretty much went into the first game when we were down at Virginia Beach. I threw very well there, and it was kind of surprising being that I don’t have much pitching experience at all and we beat Kellam.”
Begg threw a three-hit shutout in her season debut against the perennial Virginia powerhouse.
“I was like, ‘I think this was something I’m going to be able to do for the team,’” she said.
In late April, the Indians appeared to be losing ground when they dropped three straight to Harry S Truman, Council Rock South and Bensalem. They regrouped to upset Neshaminy 12-11, bringing the modest losing streak to an emphatic end. They have won seven of eight since then.
“There was a couple points where we had hit some lows, losing to some teams that we really didn’t expect to lose to, but I think losing those games before playoffs really made us come together as a team and really think about what we were doing wrong,” Begg said. “Going into playoffs, we really pulled together as a team, really focused on our energy and our communication in the field and started to just feed off each other a lot more and started to come together as a team.”
In Friday’s quarterfinal, the Indians defeated #6 Neshaminy 3-1 on its own field to take two of three games from the SOL National Conference champions this season.
“It’s really just being aggressive with our bats and also playing clean defense,” Begg said. “I’m so confident as a pitcher out there that I have those eight other girls around me that are going to back me up on the field, so I’m not very worried going in there pitching because I know even if they put the ball in play, we’re able to play clean defense.
“I’m just happy that I’m able to be part of this team and this program and that we’re able to get back to the state tournament. It’s just great to be a part of it. The whole team has come together. We’re playing so fluidly together. We all trust each other so much. We don’t have any worries or doubts out there.”
Council Rock North (15-7, 7-5 SOL) will once again be on the road Tuesday, making the trek to #15 Garnet Valley. The Jaguars upset seventh-seeded Downingtown West 9-5 in 12 innings in a quarterfinal game on Friday.
The keys to the game, according to Begg, remain the same.
“I think it’s really about jumping on the ball early in the count like we have been for the past couple of games, staying aggressive and having great communication in the field because I feel those are some of our strong points now,” Begg said.
How they got here: In Friday’s quarterfinal round, Rock North upset conference rival Neshaminy, the tournament’s sixth seed, 3-1. Lauren Begg limited a dangerous Redskin lineup to just five hits. The Indians scored a run in the first without a hit and then added a pair in the sixth, thanks to an RBI double by Juliana Shields and an RBI single by Abby Seiple.
In a second round game, CR North upset #3 Avon Grove 5-4 in 10 innings. Riley Sheehy and pinch hitter Katie Procell each drove in a run in the 10th inning. Sheehy finished a monster day 3-for-4 with a double, home run and five RBIs. Lauren Begg earned the complete game win.
CLASS 3A
#1-2 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP vs. #1-1 DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY
Springfield Township
- 8-8 overall
- 6-8 SOL American Conference
- Led by Mary Kate Smith (Sr., C), Gabby Gaskin (Jr., 3B) and Hannah Sebenick (Jr., P)
- Competes in conference with five Class 6A schools and one Class 5A school
Dock Mennonite Academy
- 13-7 overall
- 11-5 Bicentennial Athletic League Independence Conference third place
- Defending District One 3A champion
- Defeated Springfield 10-2 in last year’s District One 3A title game
- Led by juniors Katie Strickland and Rachel Lopes as well as freshman Jocelyn Pfleiger.
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