Check out the results for SOL softball teams in action Monday. To view photos of the North Penn/CR North game, please visit the Photo Gallery…click here.
NORTH PENN 2, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
It was a varsity debut that was a long time coming for Nicole Yanni, and the Maidens’ senior cleanup batter made it a memorable one, lofting a solo home run over the left field fence to lead off the second inning for a run turned out to be the game winner.
“It’s just awesome for her – I feel so good for her,” coach Rick Torresani said. “Everything she’s done – the work she put in to come back and play.
“With her dad (Frank Yanni) the assistant hitting coach for the boys – he’s been working with her, and she came through.”
Yanni’s journey to the Maidens’ starting lineup has been a difficult one. She struggled with a knee injury her freshman year and then suffered a lateral release of her left kneecap her sophomore year. She underwent surgery with the hopes she would be ready to play the following year.
“It was really devastating because I was really preparing myself to play high school – to get strong and prove myself, but I got hurt,” she said. “I pushed myself and worked all winter to rehab to get back out there and play.
“My junior year it popped on me again, which wasn’t supposed to happen, so I was out again.”
While everyone was eager to get out on the field after a forgettable March, Yanni was especially anxious to get back on the diamond.
“I was really excited,” she said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it when I was up to bat or out in the field. I’ve been playing softball forever, so I just went out there like I know how to do and played the game I know how to play.
“I worked hard over the winter just to strengthen my knee. I still have some complications with it, but it’s something I’m going to have to deal with. I don’t let that stop me anymore.”
Yanni – clutching the game ball – admits she didn’t think her fly ball to left had a chance of leaving the ball park.
“I thought it was a popup, and I just hustled to first,” she said. “I saw the umpire
waving his finger, and I thought, ‘I guess it went over.’”
While Yanni was making her memorable debut, senior Jackie Bilotti was rewriting the history books. Her win was the 50th of a stellar career, a record at North Penn.
Yanni's home run was all the senior standout would need. The Maidens’ senior pitcher was in complete command on the mound, allowing just four hits and striking out seven in what has become a routinely excellent performance.
“Jackie goes out there and pitches well every game,” Yanni said. “She’s a hard worker, but it was really a team effort, which is really good to see.”
Not that Bilotti needed any insurance, but she got it in the bottom of the sixth. Hannah Uhler led off the inning with a bloop single but was forced out at second on a grounder to short. Jovanna Alfonsi, who was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, lined a double to right center that plated a run for the 2-0 final.
On the other side of the diamond, Rock North freshman Elyse McMenamin was impressive in her debut, scattering seven hits and allowing just two runs.
“She did fabulous,” coach Chris McDermott said. “She has not thrown more than a couple of innings in almost a year.
“She works really, really hard. Her pitches were working. The wind took (the home run), but I’m very proud that she stuck in it. She’s a freshman pitching her first varsity game, which is not easy to do, but no one noticed she’s young. I’m very proud of her.“
McMenamin pitches for a showcase team on the travel circuit and typically will pitch a two-inning stint.
“Most of the time I haven’t pitched to more than 10 batters,” she said. “(When she hit the home run), I just told myself – do it for the team. Don’t let that get to you.”
The freshman hurler struck out the first two batters she faced and fanned eight.
“The biggest secret is them fearing you because if you seem like you have control on the first pitch of the first inning and you get that strikeout – the rest of the girls will look at that main girl and see she just struck out,” McMenamin said.
Also for the Indians, Sabrina Crane was 1-for-3 with a double.
The Indians will travel to William Tennent for Tuesday’s SOL opener, and the Maidens (1-0) will host Central Bucks South.
“This is the first time we’ve been on our field,” Torresani said. “I have to praise them too. They played good, and their pitcher did well.
“It was a good game for us to get ready for South tomorrow – get the jitters over and get the nerves and all that done.”
Council Rock North 000 000 0 0
North Penn 010 001 x 2
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1, UPPER DUBLIN 0 (8 innings)
Amanda Sharp threw an impressive two-hit shutout to lead the Golden Hawks to the hard fought win in eight innings. The senior pitcher fanned seven and walked two.
“She was locating the ball well,” CR South Greg Heydet said. “For both teams, it was just tough with the wind and the cold, but both pitchers threw well.”
Sharp also helped her own cause at the plate, collecting a leadoff double in the eighth inning and then scoring the game winner on an errant throw to first on Jackie Schneider’s sacrifice bunt.
Upper Dublin’s Rebecca Matricardi tossed a gem of her own, scattering six hits while striking out 10. She did not issue any walks and worked herself out of a pair of early jams.
“In the first inning, we had second and third with no outs, and she struck out three in a row,” Heydet said. “In the second inning, we had second and third with one out, and they got out of that too, so we left a lot of people on base in the first two innings.”
It took some effort, but CR South’s field was playable for Monday’s game.
“My coaches and fathers went to the field yesterday and worked on the field for five hours,” Heydet said.
The Golden Hawks (1-1) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday for the SOL opener for both teams. Upper Dublin will host Norristown.
Upper Dublin 000 000 00 0
Council Rock South 000 000 01 1
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 4, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Ignoring the win and cold, Kayla Ventura turned in an overpowering performance, fanning 13 and allowing just four hits in a complete game shutout.
“It was an impressive performance,” coach Erin Scott said. “She’s a junior now – she’s a little bit more confident, a little bit more calm.
“Obviously, she’s done a great job for us her entire career. She took us to a district championship. She just has a different aura, and she seems really excited about the season. She’s communicated that and vocalized that. She was definitely on point in terms of what I was calling and hitting her spots. She was throwing what I asked her to throw.”
Ventura pitched her way out of a jam in the fourth inning when the Panthers had runners on second and third with none out. The Patriots’ junior ace came up with a big strikeout of the Tennent cleanup hitter and escaped unscathed.
“That was a big out,” Scott said. “Up to that point, we hadn’t had any pressure situations.”
The Patriots, who scored a pair of runs in both the first and second innings, managed just four hits but made them count and also benefitted from some Tennent miscues.
Anna Careghini, who had an RBI double in the second inning, scored a pair of runs to lead the Patriots.
“I was really excited for her,” Scott said. “She will definitely take on a leadership role and will lead by example. She has worked really, really hard in the offseason.
“That was our one earned run. The others were on errors.”
CB East will travel to Pennridge for a 6:30 p.m. contest Tuesday while the Panthers will host CR North.
Central Bucks East 220 000 0 4-4-1
William Tennent 000 000 0 0-3-6
UPPER MORELAND 10, HARRY S TRUMAN 0 (5 innings)
Jess O’Neil took care of business on the mound, and the Owls pounded out 10 hits en route to a shutout win in the abbreviated five-inning contest. O’Neil allowed just two hits while fanning three and walking none.
“She pitched really well,” Truman coach Kyle Hoffman said. “She was hitting her spots.
“They had quite a few fly outs and ground balls, and we were tight on defense.”
The Tigers, who committed just one error, plated all the runs O’Neil would need in a three-run first. Steph Wolf hit a solo home run in the third inning to put the Tigers on top 4-0. A six-run fourth gave the Tigers a 10-0 lead.
Wolf finished the day 2-for-2. Mary Carins also was 2-for-2 with a team-high three RBIs. Freshman catcher Becca Laranko was 2-for-3 with a double.
Upper Moreland’s lone hit came in the second when Jenn Freeman collected a single.
“Their coach told us it was the first time that they were on their field,” Hoffman said. “For us, it was our third time and a first time in a scrimmage.”
Harry S Truman 301 60 10
Upper Moreland 000 00 0
QUAKERTOWN 12, PALISADES 4
Spenser Gray and Tara Baglivo were all but unstoppable in Monday’s opener at Palisades. The Panthers’ one and two hitters – both lefty slap hitters – were a combined 6-for-8 with five runs scored. Gray led the way with a near-perfect 4-for-5 day at the plate while Baglivo was 2-for-3. Meghan Klee, who hits out of the three hole, was 2-for-4 with a triple. She also scored three runs. Emma McLaughlin was 2-for-2, and freshman Nikki Vanelli came off the bench to deliver a solo home run.
The Panthers scored four runs in the first and tacked on a single run in the second. They led 8-0 after a three-run fourth before the Pirates got on the scoreboard with two in the fifth inning.
“I told the girls in the gym – ‘This is beyond our control. There’s nothing we can do, but be ready when we get out there because we’re going to be playing a lot of games,’” coach Rich Scott said.
Alyssa Wilkinson earned the win on the mound, throwing three scoreless innings. Megan Johnson threw the final four.
Quakertown 410 300 4 12
Palisades 000 020 2 4
BRISTOL 8, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3
Emma Dryden’s three-run home run into the wind in the top of the seventh broke up Bristol’s shutout bid, but the game belonged to the host Warriors.
“They’re well coached,” West coach Jim Taylor said. “I give him a lot of credit. They were up 8-0, and they had girls diving in the fences, diving headfirst for foul balls.
“Our team learned a lot. We need to do that whether we’re up 8-0 or down 8-0. Their pitcher was all over the strike zone. We really couldn’t get ahold of her.”
The Bucks collected five hits with junior shortstop Abby Morrison collecting two of those.
CB West will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday for its SOL opener.
Central Bucks West 000 000 3 3
Bristol 000 620 x 8
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