Neshaminy defeated District One 6A champion Central Bucks South, and Springfield Township also was a winner in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA Tournament. Photos of both games are provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of both games.
CLASS 6A
#1-5 NESHAMINY 8, #1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
Sarah Dowalo tossed a three-hit gem and the Redskins collected 10 hits off Titan ace Kylie Kenney. It all added up to the big opening round win for a hungry Redskin squad that fell in the district quarterfinals but won a pair of playback games to earn the final state berth.
“They were in states two games ago, and they played without the pressure of being eliminated,” Neshaminy coach Dave Chichilitti said of the Titans. “They were the district champions, and they celebrated a very prestigious championship.
“As a reward, you have to play the 1-5 team who was fighting for their lives the last two games. It’s a terrible, terrible seeding of the brackets. It’s not fair for either team really.”
The Titans – who won three 1-0 games en route to the District One 6A title – haven’t been scoring runs in bunches, so it loomed large when the Redskins put a run on the board in the top of the first.
Amber Brugger drew a leadoff walk and found herself on third with one out. Kenney picked up a huge strikeout, but Amanda Kurtz delivered a clutch two-out single to spot the Redskins the early 1-0 lead.
“That was pretty big,” Kurtz said. “We were really, really hyper this game. Everyone was super excited.”
Scoring early, according to Chichilitti, was a game changer.
“We had a runner on third base with one out and we weren’t able to get that run,” the Redskins’ coach said. “You get two outs and you’re like ‘Oh no,’ and with two outs to come up and get that hit against a team you see hasn’t been scoring a bunch of runs, that’s a huge run, and it took a lot of pressure off early.”
The Titans had a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the inning. Alexa Ortman was hit by a pitch, and she moved up to second of a sacrifice by Tara Tumasz. Dowalo picked up a strikeout for the inning’s second out, and Alex DeLeon was walked. Dowalo closed out the inning with her second strikeout and went on to retire 14 of the next 15 batters she faced. A two-out single by Katie Hines in the fourth inning was the Titans’ only base runner in the span.
“She was laser focused, hit all her spots and really made nice plays defensively herself on balls back through the middle,” Chichilitti said of Dowalo. “She just had an incredible game. She was focused, she was ready to go.”
For Dowalo and her teammates, simply playing in states was a bonus. The senior pitcher – like many of her teammates – thought the Redskins’ season was over when they fell to Council Rock North 3-1 in a district quarterfinal contest.
“I had no clue that we were playing again, and I started crying,” Dowalo said. “Nobody told us (about the playbacks), and I was so mad – I’m crying for no reason.”
The Redskins blew the game wide open with a seven-run fifth inning. Vic Smith got the ball rolling with her first of two hits in the inning. The Redskins collected just four hits but benefitted from several free passes, a costly error and several wild pitches and passed balls.
Natalie Rios gave the Redskins a 9-0 lead when she led off the seventh with a solo home run. Dowalo put an exclamation point on the complete game shutout, retiring the Titans in order in the bottom of the seventh.
“I don’t really try to think about what I’m doing,” Dowalo said when asked the key to her strong outing. “I’m so in the moment, pitch by pitch – just thinking about what I’m doing, how can I mess with that batter. It’s like a game within a game.
“Today it was just mixing up spots – in and out and (changing) speeds definitely because a lot of them were off their timing with the change-up.”
For a Redskins squad that had not been in the state tournament in three years, sending the district champion home was an impressive start.
“This is big statement, kind of like – watch out for Neshaminy, but we’ve got to stay humble and keep doing what we’re doing, stay on our game,” Smith said. “When we start hitting, we really get going.”
“Every time we start doing good, someone tell us ‘Oh, it’s just because of this or because of this,’” Kurtz said. “I feel like winning today kind of proves that we’re good together.”
The loss was the first for the Titans since they fell to North Penn on May 10.
“We ran into a tough matchup, we really did,” South coach Kevin Rosini said. “I give them a lot of credit too. That’s a very good team too, and Sarah (Dowalo) is a very good pitcher.
“She only struck out five people, but we only had three hits. Except for those hits, we didn’t put any heat on them at all. It was 1-0 in the fifth inning. We were right there, but we ran into a buzz saw today.
“That’s the nature of the game, that’s the way it goes, but these kids have nothing to hang their heads about. I couldn’t be any prouder. We had our goals, and nobody would have said we’d go 20-4 and win the district title. We’ll be sad for a few days, but it was fun. That’s what made it great.”
Neshaminy (20-4, 10-2 SOL) will face District 2 champion Hazleton in Thursday’s second round at Pates Park in Allentown at 2 p.m. Central Bucks South (9-3 SOL) closed out its season with a 20-4 record.
Neshaminy 100 070 1 9-10-0
Central Bucks South 000 000 0 0-3-2
CLASS 2A
#1-1 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 6, #12-1 MASTERMAN 1
The Spartans didn’t do a whole lot of hitting in Tuesday’s opening round state playoff win. As a matter of fact, they managed just two singles, but they capitalized on eight walks and five Masterman errors to earn the important win.
“The girls hung in there even though they weren’t swinging the bats well,” coach Josh Ringgold said. “We still hung in there and were able to scratch out some runs.
“There were a couple of errors, we got some bunts down to move the girls along, we stole a couple of bags, but offensively, we couldn’t get anything going. They came in a little too overconfident.”
The two teams exchanged runs in the third inning, and after Masterman put a run on the board in the top of the inning, Mary Kate Smith legged out a bunt single to open the inning. The Spartans’ speedy leadoff batter stole both second and third and then scored on an error to knot the score 1-1.
The Spartans added a run in the fourth when Mikayla Quinn, who walked to open the inning, scored on a passed ball. In the fifth, they plated three more runs. Back-too-back walks to Gabby Gaskin and Hannah Sebenick set the stage for Kaitlyn Cannon’s RBI single.
“That was our cleanest hit of the game – she stayed down on the ball and got a nice hit,” Ringgold said. “Their pitcher was pretty good.”
Two more runs crossed the plate when Sydney Zimmerman was safe on an error, and the Spartans led 5-1 on their way to the win.
“They have to be proud of what they’ve done and to get the win,” Ringgold said. “It’s not like we have a ton of state wins in the school as a whole.
“They kind of felt bad after the game, and I said, ‘You should still be happy to get the win. Sometimes you get the wins ugly, but as long as you get the win, that’s the most important thing.”
Sebenick earned the complete game win for the Spartans, allowing just three hits and one run (unearned). She struck out 14 and walked four.
Sasha Brehouse pitched well enough to win for Masterman, allowing just two hits, but the Spartans scored six runs (only two earned), She struck out 15 but walked eight.
Springfield Township (10-8, 6-8 SOL) will face District 2 champion Holy Redeemer – a 4-1 winner over Loyalsock in an opening round game – in Thursday’s quarterfinal contest at Parkland High School (6 p.m.).
Masterman 001 000 0 1-3-5
Springfield Township 001 131 x 6-2-0
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