CR South & North Penn will meet in Friday’s PIAA 6A state title game at Penn State University. Both teams were winners in Monday’s semifinals. CR South/Downingtown East photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f860927651
PIAA 6A semifinals
#1-5 Council Rock South 1, #1-4 Downingtown East 0
Shannon Williams had a modest goal when she stepped into the batter’s box with two outs and the winning run on second in the seventh inning of a tie game.
“I had hit a popup the previous at-bat, so I knew I needed to get it on the ground,” the Rock South junior said. “My main goal was to keep it on the ground and make sure that I could get it through if possible.”
Williams swung at the first pitch she saw and hit a ground single up the middle that plated courtesy runner Paige Brady with the game-winner for the dramatic walk-off win.
“The shortstop dove for it,” Williams said. “She had an opportunity to get it, but it bounced over her. I was just running and making sure that Paige crossed the plate and that it made it through.
“I had so many emotions. It was exciting. I just couldn’t believe that all the work we put in had finally paid off, and we made it to the state championship, and it was finally real because we’ve been working towards this all season.”
It wasn’t all that long ago the Golden Hawks were celebrating their program’s first trip to the state tournament – 13 days ago to be exact. On Monday, the Hawks celebrated earning a coveted spot in the PIAA 6A title game at Penn State University. That trip doesn’t happen without Lexi Waring.
For the third time in as many state games, Waring, who has been nothing short of magnificent, tossed a complete game shutout, and for the third time in as many games, the Golden Hawks won 1-0.
“Obviously, there’s huge motivation since we’ve never been this far,” Waring said. “And just the excitement of the playoffs, but also the defense behind me – I’m confident in them, so it makes it a lot easier to pitch when I have that strong defense behind me.”
Waring turned in another masterpiece, allowing just three hits while striking out eight and walking just one.
“I was throwing my rise, and Grace (Stepp) as usual did a great job framing my pitches,” Waring said. “This is just so special. These girls – we’re so close out of softball,
and it just makes it so special to be able to share these moments with them. It’s amazing.”
Monday’s semifinal game was a marked contrast to the Golden Hawks’ initial contest against Downingtown East – an 11-6 loss to the Cougars in a district quarterfinal contest. In that game the Cougars collected 13 hits.
On Monday, Seton Hall recruit Rachael Schumann, who allowed just five hits, tossed a gem of her own, but the day belonged to the Hawks’ ace.
“Lexi had an almost two-week slump on the mound,” Rock South coach Scott Molle said. “We were talking to her and going over different things she could do, and she made an adjustment on the mound.
“Ever since that adjustment, she is pitching the best she’s pitched all year. It’s like a story written out. I knew coming into this job how good Lexi Waring was and what this team came with. Since that adjustment, she’s just dialed in. She’s bearing down. She hasn’t allowed a run in the state tournament.”
Hits were few and far between for both sides on Monday. In the bottom of the fifth, Avery Tumolo and Waring drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. Neither runner got any further as Schumann retired the next three batters she faced.
In the sixth, Helen Woloshyn led off with her second hit of the game, and one out later, Grace Stepp grounded a single to center, but that’s where the Hawks’ threat ended.
After Waring retired the Cougars in order in the top of the seventh, the junior pitcher reached base for the third time when she drew her second walk of the game. She was replaced by Brady, who moved up to second when Kelly Delise laid down a sacrifice bunt.
“I told Kellyl before the inning started, ‘If Lexi gets on, you’re going to put a sacrifice down – we have to get it down,’” Molle said. “Lexi walked, we got our courtesy runner in there. Kelly looks at me, and I just nodded. I was like, ‘Yes.’ She laid down an incredible sacrifice and got Paige to second.”
Schumann looked as though she might escape unscathed when she struck out the next batter she faced for the inning’s second out, but Williams came up with the game-winning hit that plated Brady.
“There was a little bit of pressure, but I really just knew I had to get home,” Brady said. “As soon as Shannon hit that ball and I knew it was through, I knew I was there.
“I knew (coach Molle) was sending me, no matter what the situation was. I knew I had it beat when I was running. It was really exciting. It’s a lot of emotion in one moment.”
“Shannon came up first pitch, she spanked it up the middle,” Molle said. “I told Paige right before that pitch, ‘Listen, two outs, right away, crack of the bat you’re gone.’ I was waving her. I wasn’t stopping her no matter what it was going to be. The throw in went over the catcher’s head after she had already crossed.”
Molle called Williams an unsung hero for the Hawks all year.
“She kind of got snubbed all-league, so I was happy for her,” the Hawks’ coach said. “After the game, I told her, ‘All year, you’ve been incredible, and this was your time to shine right here, and you got the biggest hit of the year for this team.’
“She’s an incredible worker. This is her first year playing shortstop. She has just stepped up. You talk about somebody that works hard – she would have gone to practice right when we got back from the game if she could have. She’s just a gamer, she’s just amazing.”
Monday’s win sets up a rematch with North Penn in Friday’s PIAA 6A title game at Penn State at 4 p.m. The Knights edged the Hawks 1-0 in a regular season meeting.
“This is going to finish the revenge tour for us,” Molle said. “The three losses we have were to Pennsbury, Downingtown East and North Penn.
“We already avenged Pennsbury, and we just avenged Downingtown East. This will be the finale of the revenge tour.”
With every win, the Golden Hawks are putting their name in the program record books.
“We had goals for ourselves and for the team, and a lot of us had written down to make states, and I know we’ve been working together,” Williams said. “This team – a lot of us are juniors and seniors, so we’ve been working together for 3-4 years. We’ve been working really hard, especially this season, and I knew there was a possibility to make it to states, so it was really exciting to see it come true.”
Downingtown East 000 000 0 0-3-0
Council Rock South 000 000 1 1-5-0
#1-3 North Penn 9, #3-1 Central Dauphin 7
This just never gets old.
In a giddy postgame scene, Casey Sokol couldn’t stop smiling while nearby her teammate and close friend Gianna Cimino – who has been on fire out of the leadoff spot – was remarkably calm. Bella Nunn’s hands were still shaking long after the final out had been recorded, and her batterymate, Sophia Orth was just enjoying in the moment.
Yes, all four had been down this road before. For the third time in four years, the Knights have earned a spot in the PIAA 6A state title game at Penn State, but for the four seniors, this one feels decidedly different.
“It’s crazy,” Orth said. “We always knew we wanted to get back to this point, but knowing we did it and that we’re going back is surreal.”
“I’m in shock,” Sokol said. “I don’t even know. I’m so proud of this team, and I’m so excited that I get to play one more game with the seniors.
“I’m so proud of everyone for stepping up when they needed to, and I’m so excited to go back.”
“My gosh, I am still shaking,” Nunn said. “It’s so crazy. I’m just so proud of everyone on our team because this was such a team win.
“Everyone had each other’s back – even when we made errors, we still came back strong. We didn’t crumble under the pressure.”
And there was plenty of pressure in this one after the Knights watched what appeared to be a comfortable 7-1 lead slip away as the Rams scored five runs in the fourth and one more in the sixth to even the score at 7 apiece. The Knights needed two runs in the bottom of the sixth to escape with the hard-fought win.
If there’s a secret to the Knights’ remarkable success, it is – according to Cimino -the team’s chemistry.
“All playing together, all working so hard,” the Knights’ four-year veteran said. “We’ve been working so, so hard at practice, and it’s really paying off.
“I’m just so, so proud of every single person on this team. They have made me a better player and a better person, and it’s just an amazing feeling.”
The Knights certainly had the opportunity to ‘crumble’ after the Rams tied the game in the top of the sixth on a solo home run by senior Allie Wenrich.
But any momentum the Rams may have had from Wenrich’s blast disappeared in the bottom of the inning.
With one out, Liv Stevens was hit by a pitch, and Sokol followed with a single to left field. A fielder’s choice erased Stevens at third, but an errant throw to first allowed both runners to advance.
Nunn singled to shallow center, plating Sokol, and then sophomore Tallie Smink lined an RBI single to right that put the Knights on top 9-7.
In the bottom of the inning, Nunn walked the first batter she faced after an at-bat that included a pair of uncharacteristically high pitches that sailed to the backstop. She rebounded to retire the next three on a foul pop up behind third, a groundout and a popup to Sokol at first for the game’s final out.
“That last inning my hands were shaking so bad, and the ball kept flying in the air,” Nunn said. “I was like – ‘Just calm down, three more outs,’ and I came through finally.”
And as a result, the Knights are once again Penn State bound.
Were there ever any doubts while the Rams were staging their comeback?
“No, of course not – I never have any doubts about this team,” Sokol said. “I always have everyone’s back, and I think everyone has my back, and I know – like Bella coming up clutch with that hit.
“I’m so proud. I never had any doubts that we were going there.”
Early on, there was nothing to suggest the game would come down to the wire. Cimino led off with a line single to right field, and Stevens drew a walk. Sokol wound up on second on a blooper over the infield that plated Cimino, and Orth’s single to right plated a pair, giving the Knights a 3-0 lead.
North Penn added to that lead in the third inning. With one out, Smink smashed a no-doubt-about-it solo home run over the softball fence in left field and off the 265-foot fence beyond it.
“That was a bomb,” NP coach Rick Torresani said.
The sophomore – according to the public address announcer – is one of just five players to ever hit a home run that distance.
“I just knew that I had to shorten up my swing and get a hit for the team,” Smink said. “I haven’t been hitting well personally, so I knew if I would shorten up, I would make contact, and that’s really what I was going for.”
Smink’s blast ignited the Knights. Brandi Groarke followed with a bad-hop double to center field, and Izzy Tubertini lined a single to right field that got by the outfielder for a three-base error that allowed both runners to score.
With two outs, Cimino – with a double and single already to her credit – ripped a solo home run to left field. It was her third home run in as many state games, and this one put the Knights on top 7-1.
“Gianna is the catalyst of the team,” Torresani said. “She does so many great things – hitting the ball, playing great defense and keeping the team together.
“I notice and the coaches notice that even during practices, she’s so focused, and in the games, she’s so focused, and the other kids see the focus and they just follow suit, and they never get down.”
The Knights’ leadoff batter was retired for the first time in the state tournament in her fourth and final at-bat. Cimino is now 8-for-9 in the last three games.
“I think the biggest thing is I’m not thinking when I’m up there,” Cimino said. “I tend to do that a lot. I get in my head just because I put a lot of pressure on myself.
“I feel like right now I have quite a bit of confidence in myself, and I’m really focusing up there, and my teammates back me up. It’s amazing.”
Like Sokol, Cimino never doubted this game belonged to the Knights.
“We were hitting the ball all game,” she said. “I knew we were going to hit.
“I told Tallie maybe in the fourth or fifth inning – ‘We’re winning this game.’”
Nunn notched the complete game win, and don’t be fooled by the final score – all five of the Knights’ fourth inning runs were unearned. The senior ace allowed seven hits while striking out 10 and walking five – three in the five-run fourth.
“This is the perfect way to end the year because every game, I’m like – ‘This could be my last game ever here,’” Nunn said. “We’ve gone as far as we possibly can.”
“Bella never gives up,” Torresani said. “She’s unbelievable. Her senior year – she hasn’t pitched (for us) before. When everybody said we weren’t even going to win the conference, and then to do what we did with Bella and these seniors.”
A year ago, the Knights’ rode the strong arm of Julia Shearer to a state title and undefeated season. This year, the journey has had its speed bumps, but the Knights proved Monday that they can handle adversity.
“They knew they were going to do everything they can to win,” Torresani said. “They didn’t give up, they didn’t look down, they didn’t stop cheering, the bench didn’t stop cheering. They were just waiting for something to happen.”
All told, the Knights pounded out 12 hits. Cimino led the way with a 3-for-4 day that included a double, home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Sokol was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored while Orth was also 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Smink was 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
North Penn (24-3, 14-2 SOL) will face SOL rival Council Rock South in Friday’s PIAA 6A state title game at Penn State University at 4 p.m.
Central Dauphin 010 501 0 7-7-4
North Penn 304 002 x 9-12-3
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