North Penn & Plymouth Whitemarsh advanced to the District 1 3A semifinals with wins on Friday. PW/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f63743818 (NP photos courtesy of Marlee Doherty/NP softball)
District 1 6A quarterfinals
#1 NORTH PENN 13, #8 RIDLEY 0 (5 innings)
The Knights save Gatorade baths for special occasions.
After Friday’s win – ensuring the Knights a spot in the state tournament, Sarah Sabocsik was on the receiving end of a Gatorade dousing, the Knights’ first of the year. The senior catcher earned it.
Her grand slam with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning gave the Knights the walk-off mercy rule win. It was her second round tripper of the game. Sabocsik finished a productive day 2-for-2 with two home runs, six RBIs and two runs scored, but that doesn’t begin to cover her value to the Knights.
Sabocsik has been a rock behind the plate, the other half of a battery with Julia Shearer that has played a starring role in the Knights’ magical season.
“We know about her, but nobody else knows about her,” coach Rick Torresani said of Sabocsik. “The way she’s handled Mady (Volpe) and Julia for three years is just unbelievable.
“She’s the best catcher – and I know Amanda Greaney (who is now playing at Lehigh University) was awesome, but she does everything. I can count on her – the pick-off throws, everything is just beautiful. She’s quiet, but when she’s on the field, she and Julia work so well together.”
Sabocsik picked a Ridley base runner off first in the top of the second while her batterymate tossed another gem. Shearer allowed two hits in the top of the fifth – the first an infield single and the second through the hole vacated when the Knights’ second baseman broke to cover first. She struck out the next two batters she faced to end that threat and finished with 10 strikeouts while allowing just one walk.
“It’s amazing,” Sabocsik said. “She always hits her spots – she makes it easy. It’s her speed, it’s her pitch location, it’s how she carries herself. It’s everything.”
Shearer also was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. She led off the bottom of the first with a single, moved up to second on Sabocsik’s sacrifice bunt and scored a run that stood as the game-winner when Annabelle Smink grounded a single up the middle.
Bella Nunn drew a walk to lead off the second, and Casey Sokol followed with a single. Both runners scored when Shearer lined a double to left. A third run scored on a bunt by Sabocsik, and the Knights led 4-0.
North Penn added a run in the third when Gianna Cimino, who singled, scored when the Green Raiders committed an error on Sophia Orth’s single.
In the fourth, the Knights’ continued their offensive assault. Reyna Doherty lined a leadoff single to center, and Shearer smashed a two-run home run to left field. Sabocsik followed and sent the first pitch she saw over the fence in right center for a solo home run that put the Knights on top 8-0.
“After Julia hit one, I knew the pitch was going to be right there,” Sabocsik said. “I was just looking for that pitch and going for it.”
One inning later, Nunn drew her second leadoff walk of the game, and Sokol followed with a bloop single. Doherty’s double plated Nunn, and after Shearer was walked intentionally to load the bases, Sabocsik smacked her second home run of the day – this one to right field that put the mercy rule into effect.
“I was trying to get something in play out of the infield,” Sabocsik said. “I was not expecting something like that, but I took my pitch and went with it.”
The win was number 22 without a loss for the Knights.
“Our mindset’s the same for every game – focus, try and get a run each inning and just doing our thing,” said Sabocsik. “The season is amazing. We love each other, we play for each other.
“I don’t take it for granted, especially since it’s my last year playing – it’s definitely something to remember and cherish.”
Friday’s game was played in front of a large crowd.
“People haven’t been out to watch us, and they hear about us,” Torresani said. “Now that people are coming out, they’re seeing Julia, they’re seeing how this team is, and that is so exciting for the girls.”
Also turning in multi-hit games for the Knights were Smink (2-for-3, 2B, RBI), Sokol (2-for-3, 2R) and Doherty (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2R).
North Penn will host #12 Plymouth Whitemarsh in Tuesday’s District 1 6A semifinal contest.
Ridley 000 00 0-2-1
North Penn 131 35. 13-13-0
#12 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2, #13 PENNRIDGE 1
The Colonials secured a coveted spot in the state tournament.
And no one is sure when – if ever – the program has been represented in states.
“This means everything,” senior Molly Moore said. “The past two years we haven’t made it that far. Showing the freshman what it’s like, being a role model – I think that’s huge.”
“It means everything,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “Our goal every year is to go as far as possible, make it to districts and make some noise.
“The last couple of years, it’s been painful – the first-round exits. Getting over that hump built a lot of confidence. You see a big change in the girls since Monday in practice and the games. They just have that confidence in them now to be able to fight through and get those tight wins.
“A lot of these girls have been with the program for two or three years, and they’re working really hard. We had some alumni that came back to watch this one. It just shows the culture that we’re building. It was a great crowd. It was a wonderful atmosphere, for sure.”
Friday’s win was the third of a historic week for the Colonials that began with a win over Souderton on Monday and was followed by an upset of defending state champion Spring-Ford on Wednesday. Moore – one of just two seniors on the squad – was the winning pitcher in all three.
“She has been that rock for the past three years,” Perez said. “We’ve been talking the past couple of games – she hasn’t been her best, but she’s been good enough. Today, she was absolutely phenomenal – 15 strikeouts, one earned run against a really talented lineup.
“Her pitches were on. She was getting squeezed a little bit and did not let it fluster her. She was able to fight through that and still managed to get the outs we needed. She does a really nice job working in the backdoor curve, the rise ball and not letting them get their hands and arms extended. She did a really good job moving the ball up and down and all around the zone.”
Moore limited a hard-hitting Pennridge squad to six hits and one run in Friday’s complete game win.
“A lot of their hits that weren’t all that solid – it can be frustrating as a pitcher when they fall in, but Molly was able to fight through that, and we as a defense were able to fight through that and get the outs to finish the innings,” Perez said.
“They were having these little dink and dunk hits into shallow right field,” Moore said. “It’s really just taking a deep breath and keeping my composure.
“I think that really came with experience. As a senior, I’ve been in moments like that, and I know how to control my emotions and also my teammate’s. I feel like I do a good job being an emotional leader to the younger girls too.”
The Colonials took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Joslyn Perez collected a one-out single, Marissa Perez drew a walk, and a walk to Caelin Kosvitch loaded the bases. An error allowed a run to cross the plate, but that’s where the rally ended.
The Rams evened the score in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Ashleigh Kenworthy hit a double to left and scored when Clara Barron tripled to right field.
In the fifth inning, Kosvitch hit a one-out single to left field, stole, advanced to third on a groundout and scored when the Rams’ committed a two-out error. That 2-1 score stood the rest of the way.
“That’s what happened at Spring-Ford on Wednesday – put (the ball) in play and things will happen,” Perez said. “We have good team speed, we have good baserunners. If we put it in play, things will happen. Put some pressure on the defense.
“Our goal coming in was to stay under 10 strikeouts because I know they’re a heavy strikeout team. It was getting close towards the end, but we were able to do that, and we made enough contact to win the game.”
For the Colonials, Kosvitch was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Kenworthy – who was 3-for-3 with two doubles – accounted for three of the Rams’ six hits.
“They are really good hitters,” Moore said. “The umpire wasn’t really helping me either. I had to trust what I had. My changeup came up big in a couple of moments, and my defense really had my back.
“Today I felt better than Wednesday and Monday. I felt like I had it a little more. I feel like Monday and Wednesday warmed me up a little. On Monday, I only had 66 pitches or something like that. I feel like I built up to this.”
Averi Dockery absorbed the loss despite allowing just five hits and one earned run. She struck out nine and walked one.
“Any loss is a tough loss, but when you feel like you missed some opportunities, it’s even tougher,” Pennridge coach Wendy Iadonisi said. “We left a lot of people on base, didn’t execute bunts when we needed to, and those little things come back to bite you. Us not performing when we needed to left the game wide open for them.
“You have to give them credit. They put the ball in play, they earned that win today. They kept putting it in play, making us make the plays, and we weren’t doing the same back.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-6, 12-4 SOL) will travel to top-seeded North Penn for Tuesday’s district semifinal contest while Pennridge (15-8, 10-6) will be on the road at #8 Ridley with a berth in states on the line.
Pennridge 000 100 0. 1-6-3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 001 010 x. 2-5-1
#10 HAVERFORD 5, #18 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 4
The Titans came oh so close to pulling off another upset, opening up a 4-2 lead early, but the Fords battled back to go on top in the fourth inning and led the rest of the way.
“I thought it was a very good game – highly competitive,” South coach Kevin Rosini said. “The heart these kids showed today in an environment where – there were a lot of people there. It was a pretty big crowd today, and I thought we acquitted ourselves very well.”
“I’m happy they aren’t satisfied. They weren’t upset, but you could tell they were ‘We can win these games,’ and that means a lot to me. I told them after the game – ‘I can’t tell you how proud I am of you and how hard you’re fighting, doing everything we ask of you and competing.’ That’s all the coaching staff and I ever want is for them to compete. Gosh, they competed so hard this week. Winning three games on the road is hard to do. We were right there to the very end today. That’s all I can ask.”
The Titans scored a pair of runs in the second inning. Ella Wheeler led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, and she scored on a single by Steph Bendzlowicz. Hannah Tracy followed with a single, and Hollie Schaub laid down a sacrifice bunt. On the play, the second baseman dropped the throw, allowing Bendzlowicz to score.
Haverford answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Titans went on top 3-2 when Wheeler hit a two-out, inside-the-park home run in the third inning. Bendzlowicz followed and was safe on an error. She scored when Hannah Tracy hit a triple to center, giving the Titans a 4-2 advantage.
A three-run fourth put the Fords on top 5-4, and neither team scored the rest of the way.
“The three runs they got in the fourth inning – they kind of manufactured a little bit,” Rosini said. “We had an error, which hurt a little bit. We had a play at the plate on a wild pitch – I thought the runner was out, so did most everybody else except the home plate umpire, which is all that matters.
“We had our chances. We had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth inning and didn’t get anybody in. In the seventh inning, Maura (Fleming) singled to lead off the inning. Riley Theis bunted her over to second, and we couldn’t get her in. We had our chances.”
Wheeler’s 3-for-4 effort with a double, home run, RBI, stolen base and two runs scored led the Titans. Tracy was 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI, and Bendzlowicz was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Maddy Borowski threw the complete game, allowing six hits and five runs (two earned) while striking out nine.
Central Bucks South (13-10, 8-8 SOL) will travel to #3 Garnet Valley for a playback game on Tuesday. The winner will advance to the state tournament. For the Titans, it is their fifth straight road game.
“Our last two games of the regular season were on the road, all three games this week were on the road, and we’re going to be on the road on Tuesday, and I think it’s kind of galvanized us somewhat,” Rosini said. “I think you can see the intensity in our kids has really upped a lot.
“We’ll show up Tuesday, and we’ll compete. We’ll see what happens in the end. I think we’re right there. I’m so proud of this group and the heart they’ve shown. They’ve proved to a lot of people all week long, and that means everything to me. This is the most fun I’ve had with a group for a long time, it really is. Hopefully, we’ll continue.”
The Titans fell to Garnet Valley 1-0 in a non-league game the second game of the season.
Central Bucks South 022 000 0 4-7-1
Haverford 020 300 x 5-6-3
Class 5A semifianls
#5 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 7, #1 UPPER DUBLIN 3
The Cardinals ran into a buzzsaw on Friday.
The Golden Knights pounded out 13 hits and played flawless defense on their way to the win.
“That team is good,” UD coach Heather Boyer said. “If they don’t win on Tuesday (in the District 1 5A title game), then I want to see Oxford play because they were good.
“They hit the ball up and down. There’s one kid in their lineup that has not struck out all season. It’s crazy.”
The Cardinals’ season remained alive, and they have confirmation they are the program’s first team ever to advance to the state tournament.
“We’re thrilled,” Boyer said. “We were 5-15 a year ago, so the fact that it’s turned around and been an unbelievable year – it’s part of the process. It is all good.”
The Cardinals scored a run in each of the first three innings, and they were deadlocked with the Golden Knights 3-3 after three innings. Rustin scored three runs in the top of the fourth and added a single run in the seventh on their way to the win.
Kyla Garrison, who absorbed the loss in the circle, was 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Cardinals. Kaitlyn Small was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Upper Dublin (16-6, 12-4 SOL) will host #7 Hatboro-Horsham for a playback game on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.
West Chester Rustin 102 300 1 7-13-0
Upper Dublin 111 000 0 3-3-1
#3 OXFORD 10, #7 HATBORO-HORSHAM 4
The Hatters scored a run in the top of the first only to see the Hornets answer with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take a lead they would not lose.
In the first inning, Alyssa Tooley led off with a double to left. She advanced to third on Abby Waeltz’s fly out to right field after tagging up, and she scored on Amya Lundy’s sacrifice fly.
Oxford took a 10-1 lead into the top of the seventh when the Hatters put three runs on the board. Madison Karpovich and Cara Neeld hit back-to-back singles and both scored when Tooley hit a three-run home run to center field.
Tooley was 2-for-4 with a double, home run, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Hatters.
Hatboro-Horsham (14-9, 11-5 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin for the third place playback game on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 100 000 3 4-6-2
Oxford 501 113 0 10-13-1
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