Central Bucks South, North Penn, Neshaminy and Springfield Township were winners in the District One Tournament on Wednesday. Check the recaps.
CLASS 3A
#1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1, #1-16 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0
Kylie Kenney and Angelina Sherba weren’t giving an inch.
Both pitchers were on top of their game, and it didn’t take long to figure out that one break or one clutch hit could win it.
The Titans got both in the bottom of the seventh and escaped with a dramatic walk-off win in a contest between the neighboring rivals that was riveting from start to finish.
A two-base error on Maddie McShane’s bunt attempt to open the bottom of the seventh set the stage.
“She came up to me before the inning started and said, ‘What do you think of me bunting?’ I said, ‘I think that’s great – just make sure it’s a strike,’” South coach Kevin Rosini said. “The first one she kind of popped up a little bit, and I thought, ‘Okay, it’s one and done, she’ll swing,’ and she did it again. If anything it forced their defense to make a play.
“The last two times we played them that’s how we beat them – we have to put the ball in play against (Sherba) because she’s so good. We put the ball in play, we put a little heat on them. Maddie set the tone for us to win, she really did.”
One out later, Rebecca Brennan legged out an infield single and immediately stole second. Sherba struck out the next batter she faced, but with two outs and a 1-0 count, Alexa Ortman delivered the game winner, lining a single to left field that easily plated courtesy runner Ally McDaid from third for the walk-off win.
“Alexa is an all-league player,” Rosini said. “I was hoping she’d get a hit, and she did.”
Ortman accounted for two of her team’s four hits out of the leadoff spot.
“Coming into this game, I knew for sure I was going to have to be calm and get my pitch off this pitcher,” Ortman said. “We faced her twice, and I always have trouble hitting her, so when I came up to the plate, I was just looking for her first strike because it’s normally the best, and I was just ready to swing at it. She’s definitely a lot of power – more than we’ve seen all season.”
Kenney tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits – one after the third inning. She struck out 10 and walked two.
“This is what she does every game,” Rosini said. “Is she going to walk a couple? Yes, but is she going to get the outs when she needs them? Every time. She’s a warrior. Kyle and Angelina are one and the same to me.
“Kylie has been doing this all season long. When we’ve needed her in the big spots, she does it every time.”
Kenney retired 11 of the last 12 batters she faced.
“I definitely hit my corners,” she said. “I knew I had to pick (the offense) up, and I knew eventually we would get hits and come together and win the game.”
The Bucks had base runners – they stranded five in the first three innings but had just two in the final four.
“I was just hoping we could get that key hit,” West coach Geoff Thompson said. “We were getting runners on. We just couldn’t get them in.
“They’re great kids. We started in December – we were lifting and conditioning. We had over 20 kids show up, which is unusual for us. They kept coming and kept coming. No one was missing. They kept working. They set a goal they wanted to make playoffs this year, and they made their goal.”
It was a goal that Sherba admits she and her teammates weren’t convinced that playoffs were a reality.
“Honestly, to even be here is incredible – it was actually a joke between us,” the Bucks’ ace said. “It’s my last year, just going out with a bang.
“We lost, but that was a really good game by all of us. The other team, our team – we all did great.”
Sherba certainly did her part, allowing just four hits and one run (unearned) while striking out nine and walking two.
“She’s been a phenomenal player ever since I’ve known her,” Thompson said. “She works hard, and she wants to win.”
Central Bucks South (17-3, 9-3 SOL) will host eighth-seeded Conestoga in a quarterfinal game on Friday. Central Bucks West (5-7 SOL) closed out its season with a 13-8 record.
Central Bucks West 000 000 0 0-3-3
Central Bucks South 000 000 1 1-4-0
#1-6 NESHAMINY 7, #1-11 RIDLEY 1
The Redskins – after second round exits in back-to-back years – got a monkey off their collective backs on Wednesday, sending the Green Raiders home for the season and advancing out of the second round.
“It’s been three years since we won one, and going into those last two, we just carried ridiculously long win streaks into the playoffs,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “For every other team – one of their top team goals was ‘we need to beat Neshaminy,’ it’s hard to match that intensity every day.”
This year’s squad entered the postseason with three losses, including two in their last three regular season games. The pressure of carrying a win streak into the postseason was gone, although Chichilitti admits he had a brief moment of anxiety when Morgan Chapman led off the second with a solo home run to spot the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
“For a three-minute period when the girl hit that home run, I was like, ‘Oh, no,’” the Redskins’ coach said. “But then we scored five in the bottom of the second, and after I walked back to the dugout, I knew they weren’t going to score again.”
In the five-run second, the Redskins benefitted from three walks, a Ridley error as well as two-out singles from Natalie Rios (RBI) and Liana Jones (2 RBIs). The ‘Skins added a pair of runs in the fourth in an inning that included singles by Olivia Fee and Amanda Kurtz (RBI).
The Green Raiders managed just one hit over the final five innings.
“(Ridley) was a team – I called every person I knew, and it was hard to find stuff on them because they really didn’t play anybody out of that league, and I don’t know anybody in that league,” Chichilitti said. “So the goal today was – do your job, swing at good pitches. If you need to bunt, get it down. Be smart on the bases, make the plays defensively you should make and just be mentally there every pitch, and everybody did their job. Every single person did their job today.”
Fee and Rios both had a pair of hits to lead the Redskins’ attack.
Sarah Dowalo earned the win, allowing two hits and one run in three innings. Amber Brugger allowed one hit in four shutout innings to close it out, striking out three.
Neshaminy (17-3, 10-2 SOL) will host Council Rock North in an All-SOL National quarterfinal contest on Friday.
Ridley 100 000 0 1-3-3
Neshaminy 050 200 x 7-6-2
#1-19 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 5, #1-3 AVON GROVE 4 (10 innings)
The Indians are reveling in their role of giant killer.
Two days after sending 14th-seeded Souderton home for the season, the Indians stunned the third-seeded Devils on their home field.
“It was just an incredible effort,” coach John Engelhardt said. “When we walked on the field for Souderton and Avon Grove, it was very obvious that my kids wanted it more than them.
“We beat Avon Grove on their field, the same thing with Souderton. We have a group that has experience from last year, but they truly want to continue to play together. They want to play for each other, and it was just exciting to see. They were tackling each other after the game.”
Rock North took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh when – with two outs – the Devils scored the tying run on a passed ball. The Indians regrouped and three innings later – in the top of the 10th, they plated a pair of runs.
With the international tiebreaker in effect and Rachel Lorence on second to open the inning, Madison Tomlinson laid down a sacrifice bunt.
“My nine hitter had been struggling, so I went to a girl on the bench,” Engelhardt said.
He called on freshman Katie Procell to pinch hit.
“It was a pretty big spot with a runner on third with one out,” the Indians’ coach said. “I’d love for my pinch hitter to come in and see a pitch, but this kid came in and first pitch hit a ball into right field for a base hit and RBI.
“Then Riley Sheehy came up and crushed the ball, which ended up scoring the runner from first. Riley basically singlehandedly carried us.”
Sheehy went 3-for-4 with a walk, double, home run and four RBIs.
It was Sheehy’s inside-the-park two-run homer that spotted the Indians a 2-0 lead in the third. The Devils answered with a pair of runs in the fourth to knot the score, but the Indians regained the lead with a run in the fourth.
Jenna Khantzian singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Sheehy’s single plated Khantzian. That 3-2 lead stood until the seventh.
Lauren Begg earned the complete game win, allowing 12 hits – only one for extra bases – while fanning four and walking none.
“She’s thrown 111 innings,” Engelhardt said. “She fields her position beautifully, and she puts the ball in spots where girls aren’t able to hit the ball hard.
“That team has six kids hitting over .400, but I just felt our kids wanted it more today. Little mistakes weren’t making them put their heads down. They were ready to go the next at-bat.”
The Indians managed just seven hits – Sheehy accounted for three of them with Khantzian, Procell, Tomlinson (double) and Abby Seiple (double) adding one hit each.
“It was one of the better wins in my career,” Engelhardt said. “What excites me is they’re coming together and playing as a team. They’re not individuals. Everyone is picking each other up and doing the little things.
“We’re finally playing clean defense. We did have three errors, but girls are making sure they’re hitting their cuts, they’re making sure they’re communicating. I do see the 19 before our name – we are the 19 seed, but there’s no one in that dugout that believes we’re a 19 seed.”
Council Rock North (14-7, 7-5 SOL) will face a familiar opponent in Friday’s quarterfinal round when the Indians take on sixth-seeded Neshaminy.
Council Rock North 002 010 000 2 5
Avon Grove 000 200 100 1 4
#1-4 NORTH PENN 13, #1-13 QUAKERTOWN 2
The Knights put on some kind of offensive clinic in Wednesday’s second round game, belting 17 hits which included four home runs
“I never saw that before – I don’t remember four home runs in a season at a time,” coach Rick Torresani said.
Elia Namey set the tone for the slugfest when she blasted a grand slam to straightaway center field in the third inning, giving the Knights a 4-0 lead with one mighty swing of her bat. Victoria Chiu and Emily Groarke opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Both runners advanced on Victoria Juckniewitz’s sacrifice, and after an intentional walk to Amanda Greaney to load the bases, Namey delivered the game’s big blow.
“That was huge,” Toressani said. “Elia’s been playing really well, she’s been hitting the ball hard. She hasn’t had any home runs this year, but she’s been hitting the fences.”
“We had come up in the first two innings, and we hadn’t really done anything. We had second and third with one out in the first and couldn’t get a run in. The second time around the kids just opened up on her.”
The Panthers put a run on the board in the fourth, thanks to a Nikki Vanelli home run, but the Knights answered with five in the fifth. Groarke and Juckniewitz opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Greaney delivered a three-run home run. Namey followed with a single, and Jordan Pietrzykoski hit a two run homer. In the sixth, Greaney hit her second home run of the day – this one a two-run shot after Juckniewitz doubled.
Greaney was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, two home runs, two runs scored and five RBIs. Juckniewitz was 3-for-3 with two runs, and Namey finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Groarke was 2-for-4 with a run. Chiu was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Mady Volpe earned the complete game win, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out six and walking none.
“This is huge,” Torresani said of Wednesday’s win. “When you have a bye, it’s your first game in districts, and everybody is a little nervous.
“These kids weren’t nervous. They’re a good team, and obviously, today they wanted to come out and prove it to everybody, and that’s what they did.”
Vanelli (2-for-3, HR, RBI, run), Abby Schwartz (2-for-3, run) and Halley Frederick (2-for-3) accounted for the Panthers’ six hits.
North Penn (17-4, 9-3 SOL) will host Coatesville in a quarterfinal game on Friday. Quakertown (11-3 SOL) closed out its season with a 15-5 record.
Quakertown 000 101 2-6-1
North Penn 004 054 13-15-1
#1-7 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 9, #1-10 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
A young Golden Hawk squad that closed out its season on a tear fell in Wednesday’s second round district game.
“It was certainly disappointing,” coach Frank Marino said. “I was a little leery with the layoff.
“We last played last Tuesday. We went from playing three or four times a week to that delay, but hats off to Downingtown. They came out and did what they had to do. They got timely hits, they had very strong pitching.”
The Golden Hawks managed just two hits.
“We were just flat,” Marino said. “I told the girls afterwards they had nothing to prove to me going in. Our season could have ended after Neshaminy (a 4-2 Rock South win in the regular season finale).
“To me, they had nothing left to show anybody. Word on the street was maybe we’d finish second to last in our conference preseason. To come out and finish 14-5 overall after today – they were 12-3 in their last 15 games which probably stacks up with anyone else out there in that time span.”
The Golden Hawks are a young squad with just three seniors on their roster.
“All three seniors had nice seasons,” Marino said. “Overall, we had a lot of young players.
“It’s a new season – high school ends and playoffs start. You’re all at zero. I think experience will be one thing – going into next year, they can remember how this one felt.”
Council Rock South (8-3 SOL) closed out its season with a 14-5 record.
“I was proud of them,” Marino said. “I thought they had a great year. I think they showed Suburban One, I think they showed their school, and I think they showed each other.
“I think the biggest piece I saw from them – I’ve been in the program three years – is they found cohesiveness. They actually found what it looked like to play as a team, and I think that was the one missing part of the program. We always had talent. It just seemed we could never piece it together to play together, and they did that this season. I’m proud of them.”
Council Rock South 001 000 1 2
Downingtown West 220 410 x 9
#1-12 COATESVILLE 6, #1-5 HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
The Hatters might have had an idea it was going to be a long day when a costly error allowed the visiting Raiders to plate three unearned runs in the top of the first. They added three more runs in the third inning, and the Hatters never could find their offensive stride. They managed just three hits – singles by Kyleigh Dinnien, Logan Cummings and Antoinette Spinosa.
Mikayla Fedele absorbed the loss in the circle.
Hatboro-Horsham (14-0 SOL) closed out the season with an American Conference title and a 17-3 record.
Coatesville 303 000 0 6-9-0
Hatboro-Horsham 000 000 0 0-3-2
CLASS 5A
#1-4 INTERBORO 3, #1-5 UPPER MORELAND 1
There’s dominance and then there’s the 21-strikeout performance of Bridget Bailey in Wednesday’s win over the Bears that took dominance to a whole new level.
“That was by all means the most dominant pitching performance I have ever seen or been a part of,” UM coach Scott Ludlow said. “We came in swinging bats well, and she completely shut us down. I think she got behind 2-0 once and 2-1 twice. I don’t know if she got to a three-ball count on a batter. She was just dominant.”
The only blemish in an otherwise perfect game came in the fourth inning when Chloe Tice was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. The senior captain did manage to circle the bases, stealing second and third and scoring on an errant throw.
“We batted 22 batters – one hit by pitch and 21 strikeouts,” Ludlow said. “It was unbelievable.
“It’s not like we haven’t been playing good ball or putting runs up. We’ve seen some decent pitching and put runs on the board. Dominant is the only word I can use to explain it. I felt like there was nothing we could do.
“She threw hard, she had a really good curveball, her rise was good. I started things off with the girls after the game and said, ‘There are some days that you just have to look across the field, tip your hat and say, ‘Wow, you did a nice job.’ There wasn’t a whole lot I could say.”
Bailey – who was literally untouchable – surpassed the 300-strikeout mark this season. Of the 21 strikeouts, only four were called third strikes.
“We tried all kinds of things – moving up in the box, moving back in the box, being aggressive on the first pitch,” Ludlow said. “The second time through the lineup we were trying to bunt to get balls in play.
“She was on her game today, and we couldn’t touch her, that’s the bottom line. It was amazing. It really was.”
Jenna Sadowski absorbed the loss, allowing nine hits while striking out six and walking one.
“She did a nice job on the mound today,” Ludlow said. “We made a couple of mistakes – she gave up one earned run.”
Upper Moreland (9-5 SOL) closed out its season with a 13-6 record.
“I told them afterwards – take today out of it,” Ludlow said. “It’s a tough way for the season to end a step short of what would have been a great goal for us to reach.
“If you’d have said back in the beginning of March that we’d be in the quarterfinals of districts and have a home game and a home win with a shot to go out and play a game to go to states – I would have taken that without question. They ought to be proud of the way they played, the way the season went. I certainly was.”
Upper Moreland 000 100 0 1
Interboro 110 010 x 3
CLASS 3A
#1-2 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 10, #1-3 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0 (5 innings)
Hannah Senenick turned in a glittering two-hit shutout in Wednesday’s abbreviated contest, striking out 11 and walking none. She also ignited the offense with a two-run single in a three-run first.
“Hannah has been pitching great all year,” coach Josh Ringgold said. “When she pitches like this, we’re a tough team.”
Gabby Gaskin had a monster day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, two home runs, three runs and four RBIs. She had a two-run home run in the bottom of the second and added a solo home run in the fifth.
Sydney Zimmerman was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and freshman second baseman Chloe Morales was 2-for-3 as well.
“She played well,” Ringgold said. “My other freshman in left field (Mikayla Quinn) hit the ball hard. She ended up getting two RBIs late in the game with a single.
“They just saw the ball well today and had really quality at-bats, and that’s what we’ve been preaching all year – quality at-bats. They were able to do that today.”
Mary Kate Smith was 1-for-1 with a solo home run in the fifth inning, three walks, four runs scored and one RBI.
“I’m just proud of the girls,” Ringgold said. “They fought all year. They’ve been playing really well all year, and finally, the last few games the bats have come alive.
Springfield Township (8-8, 6-8 SOL) will face top-seeded Dock Mennonite Academy in next Tuesday’s District One 3A title game at William Tennent (4 p.m.). It’s a rematch of last year’s title game – a 10-2 Dock win.
“Our school hasn’t had a lot of success against them in years prior,” Ringgold said. “But I think if my girls come out and play the way they know how to play and play the way they played today, I think we’ll really have a shot to try and win it.
“That’s what we’ve been working toward all year. From the beginning to now, that’s what we’ve been preaching.”
New Hope-Solebury 000 00 0-2-0
Springfield Township 320 23 10-10-0
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