SOL Softball PIAA Preview (6-7-21)

Four SOL softball teams will be in action in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A State Tournament. Check out the preview capsules.

#1-2 NESHAMINY vs. #3-2 CHAMBERSBURG (at Spring-Ford High School, 3:30 p.m.

Neshaminy

18-6 overall
12-4 Patriot Division second place behind Pennsbury
In the regular season, junior Kennedie Ruth (P/OF) hit .391 and tied for team lead in RBIs with 15 to go along with three doubles, two triples (tied for team high), four home runs (tied for team high). Senior Mia Barone (P/OF) had a .400 batting average and shared the team lead for RBIs with 15. She had six doubles, two triples (tied for team lead) and two home runs. Senior Kylee Jones (SS) had a .439 batting average to go along with 10 RBIs, seven doubles (team high), one triple and three home runs. Sophomore Lindsey Gorka (DH) hit a team leading .600 with 10 RBIs, three doubles, one triple and three home runs.
Also making contributions are Danielle Monaco (Sr/C, .370, 13 RBIs, 2 2B) and Kylie Siwek (Sr./2B, .385, 11 RBIs, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR)

How they got here: Neshaminy, the 11^th seed in the District One 6A Tournament, defeated #22 Unionville (11-1), #6 Ridley (8-1), #3 Hatboro-Horsham and #7 Haverford (4-1) before falling to #4 Spring-Ford (5-0) in the district title game.

Chambersburg

22-3 overall
12-2 Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference regular season champion
Won 2021 Mid-Penn championship with a 5-3 win over Bishop McDevitt.
Led by sophomore shortstop Hannah Runk and junior outfielder Alyssa Brechbill. Both were first team all-conference selections. Erin Pattillo and Sam Paetow earned second team honors.
Senior Mackenzie Stake anchors the team in the circle.

How they got here: Chambersburg, the second seed in the District One 3A Tournament, downed #7 Cumberland Valley (8-4) in a quarterfinal game and then defeated #3 Penn Manor (7-5) in the district semifinals.

#1-4 QUAKERTOWN vs. #12-1 ST. HUBERT’S (at Archbishop Ryan High School, 1 p.m.)

Quakertown

19-5 overall
13-2 SOL Liberty Division second place behind Hatboro-Horsham
The Panthers, who start four or five freshmen every game, had just two returning players with varsity experience.
In the regular season, junior Syd Andrews had 13 wins and boasted a 1.605 ERA with 181 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 104.2 innings. She also hit .450.
Key contributors at the plate are LauraRose Morelock (Jr/C, .482), Ava Beal (Fr/SS, .478), Mary Wilkinson (Fr/1B, .354), Emma Hilton (So/LF, .381), Maya Hellyer (So/DP, .333) and Skyler Williams (Fr/2B, .373).
Only regular losses came at the hands of #2 North Penn (1-0) & #3 Hatboro-Horsham (4-1, 9-0).

How they got here: Quakertown, seeded eighth in the District One 6A Tournament, defeated #9 Methacton 4-1 and then upset #1 Pennsbury (5-2). The Panthers fell to eventual district champion Spring-Ford (2-0) and then lost to #7 Haverford (11-3) in the third place game.

St. Hubert’s

8-5 overall
6-3 PCL
Lost to Archbishop Wood (9-2) in PCL quarterfinals.
Senior pitcher Emily Murphy, who will continue her softball career at Wilkes College, was a first team All-Catholic selection,
Junior Riley Long and sophomore Maura Gorman also earned first team All-Catholic honors while junior Gianna Grassfulli received third team honors.

How they got here: St. Hubert’s defeated Central (10-0) in the District 12 title game.

#1-5 NORTH PENN vs. #11-1 NORTHAMPTON (at Patriots Park, Allentown, 6 p.m.)

North Penn

22-2 overall
15-1 SOL Colonial Division champions
Knights have scored a program record 151 runs and allowed 19, also setting program records for most home runs in a season (26), most hits (216) and most RBIs (130).
Senior Mady Volpe boasts a 0.92 ERA with 14 shutouts. In 148 innings, the Coastal Carolina commit has struck out 295. Also, she is hitting .311 with 22 RBIs and two home runs.
Sophomore leadoff batter Julia Shearer (CF) is ranked #30 in her class for pitcher and #33 for center field by Extra Innings Softball. She is hitting .554 with 41 hits, 31 runs scored and 18 RBIs. Sophomore Brie Wilmot (1B) is batting .471 with 32 hits, 10 home runs (school record), 19 runs scored and 27 RBIs.
Other key contributors at the plate are Gianna Cimino (DP, .444, 28 hits, 20 runs) and Annabelle Smink (So/3B, .354, 23 hits, 12 runs, 16 RBIs)

How they got here: North Penn, seeded second in the District One 6A Tournament, defeated #15 Owen J Roberts (10-0) and then was upset by #7 Haverford (5-0). The Knights defeated #3 Hatboro-Horsham (1-0) in a playback game and then upended #1 Pennsbury (6-0) in the fifth place game.

Northampton

21-3 overall
14-2 EPC Northampton Conference regular season champion
Lost to Freedom (10-0) in East Penn Conference title game.
Senior shortstop Katelyn Stuhldreher was named MVP of EPC Northampton Division.
The Konkrete Kids dominated the EPC Northampton selections with Devyn Demchak (1B), Taylor Kranzley (2B), Rilee Ehrlacher (OF) and Kaitlyn Renson (P) joining Stuhldreher on the first team.
Earning second team honors were Kendyll Strohl (3B), Jessica Hunt (C), Lily Stuhldreher (OF) and Ren Herschman (DP)

How they got here: Northampton, seeded third in the District 11 Tournament, defeated #6 Easton (9-5) and #2 Parkland (1-0) before upending #4 Whitehall (5-4) in the district title game.

#1-6 PENNSBURY vs. #3-1 WARWICK (at Lebanon Valley College, 11 a.m.)

21-3 overall
16-0 SOL Patriot Division champions
District One 6A Tournament number one seed
Junior Ainsley McClure has been a study in consistency in the circle.
Caitlyn Martell, Rowan Mulholland and Jessica Rowe lead the Falcons at the plate.
Only regular season loss to Hatboro-Horsham (6-2).
Falcons saw their 12-game winning streak snapped in a District One 6A quarterfinal upset at the hands of Quakertown (5-2).

How they got here: Pennsbury, the top seed in the District One 6A Tournament, defeated #16 Souderton 2-1 and then fell to #8 Quakertown (5-2) in a quarterfinal contest. The Falcons defeated #5 Downingtown West (3-0) in a playback game before falling to #2 North Penn (6-0) in the fifth place game.

Warwick

20-3 overall
14-2 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 regular champions
Lost to Elizabethtown (6-3) in semifinals of Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs
Scored 209 runs while allowing 32
Senior captain Katelyn Minney, a Shippensburg University commit, anchors the Warriors in the circle

How they got here: Warwick, the top seed in the District Three 6A Tournament, defeated Central Dauphin (4-0) in a quarterfinal game and then upended Ephrata 10-1 in the semifinals before defeating #2 Chambersburg 10-2 in the title game.