North Penn kept its season alive with a 5-1 win over Quakertown in a playback game in the District One 6A Tournament on Wednesday.
#1-4 NORTH PENN 5, #1-9 QUAKERTOWN 1
The Knights had some unfinished business to take care of when they traveled to Quakertown for a District One 6A playback game Wednesday. It turns out they hadn’t forgotten last year’s second round district exit at the hands of Quakertown, a 2-1 loss that was especially stunning since the Panthers were minus all of their senior starters with the exception of Spenser Gray because of a class trip to Florida.
“Oh my god, last year it felt like the end of the world almost,” senior Bri Battavio said. ”You never want a season to end, but you never want it to end, especially when you have so many opportunities to score and don’t.
“It was heartbreaking. This year we said, ‘That’s not happening again.’ We’re talking about a lot of revenge, but that’s how it is. We just did not want to have that feeling ever again.”
There were no repeats in Wednesday’s rematch, and while the Knights lived to see another day, the Panthers – who were without seniors Lauren Beal and Ryann Kemmerling because of the senior trip – saw their season come to an end.
“I’m really proud of how we stayed in that game,” junior Nikki Vanelli said. “The last time we played them (in a regular season non-league game) the score was 15-6, so I think it was a huge bounce-back. We made some mistakes in the field, myself included, but it’s okay because we put up a fight the whole time.
“We knew North Penn was going to be tough competition, but we didn’t play the jerseys, we played the girls. They played better than us.”
“They were out for revenge,” sophomore pitcher Tori Caputo said. “Unfortunately, they got it.
“I saw all (the seniors) in school today. I know it was one of hardest decisions they’ve ever had to make, and they should not have to make it. To have two seniors away on their senior trip yet again, it’s amazing how well we did today. I’m so proud of the team.”
The Knights struck first, and it was Emily Groarke who got the ball rolling, stroking a leadoff single to right. She scored the game’s first run when Elia Namey roped a two-out double to left center field.
“We’ve been talking about (last year’s loss) all year, and we didn’t want a repeat of it,” said Groarke, a transfer from Dock Mennonite Academy. “My first at-bat of the game – I try as hard as I can to get on in any way possible because that gets the ball rolling.
“If I get on, I feel like the team knows they have to get on as well, so we can produce runs to jump on the team early.”
The Panthers evened the score in the top of the third. Abbey Schwartz singled to center and then stole second. She scored when Vanelli doubled to deep center.
If there was a defining moment in the game, it came in the fourth inning. Quakertown had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the top of the inning. Halle Frederick was safe on an error to open the inning, and Sarah Stofik doubled to deep left, putting Panther runners on second and third with none out. The runners held on a groundout to third, and after the Panthers loaded the bases on Caputo’s fielder’s choice, Battavio coaxed an infield popup to second out of the next batter she faced. The threat ended with a fly ball to center field.
In the bottom of the fourth, Brittany Moyer led off with a single just beyond the infield, and one out later, freshman Amanda Greaney delivered an RBI single. Jamie Beer followed with a bloop single over third base, and when Jordan Pietrzykoski beat the throw to second for the force on a grounder to short, Greaney raced home to put the Panthers on top 3-1. They added two more runs in the fifth – both unearned, and Battavio cruised through the final two innings, retiring seven in a row to close out the game.
“We haven’t been on our field for three days – since our game on Saturday, and they showed it early,” said coach Rick Torresani, whose home game Wednesday was moved to Veterans Park because of unplayable conditions. “But you know what – in the playoffs, they’re going to come ready to play.
“They knew they had a shot at us – they beat us last year when everybody was gone. We came in, we got the timely hits, we capitalized on their mistakes, and we won the game.”
Battavio earned the win for the Knights, allowing four hits while fanning one and walking three. Groarke and Beer led the Knights’ attack with two hits each.
For the Panthers, Caputo absorbed the loss, allowing eight hits and five runs (three earned). Schwartz had two of the Panthers’ four hits. She was one of five freshmen in the Panthers’ starting lineup.
“They came in and did a very good job against a good pitcher,” Quakertown coach Rich Scott said. “They did well, they did very well. The future for Quakertown is looking good.”
“I’m really excited about next season,” Vanelli said. “I’m going to be a senior, and I know we’ll have a strong set of sophomores, and I’m okay with that. They’re all strong players.”
“It was just amazing,” Caputo said. “Half of our team is freshmen – they’re all so young, and it’s amazing how good they’re playing. It’s just great to have them on the team.”
North Penn (18-5, 10-2 SOL) will host Council Rock North in a high stakes game on Thursday. The winner will earn the district’s fifth and final state berth while the loser will go home for the season.
“Today was just step one,” Battavio said. “Tomorrow, like today, is do or die. We have to come out and play our best game because Council Rock North is a good team, and we’re not just going to be able to play average softball and win.
“It was the (fourth) inning when we scored our runs today – we can’t wait that long to score our runs tomorrow. We have to jump on them early.”
Quakertown (13-1 SOL) closed out its season with an 18-5 record and the SOL American Conference title.
“I told them before the game it was going to come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes, and unfortunately, we made too many mistakes,” Scott said. “We had some base runners, we had some opportunities to score, and we didn’t get them in.
“Two very good teams going at each other. It’s a shame one of us had to lose, but that’s the way it is. Unfortunately, we were on the losing end. I wish them the best of luck.”
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