To view photos of the Quakertown/CB East game, visit the Photo Gallery.
Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Central Bucks South 2 (10 innings)Joe DiFilippo was insistent.
“This game doesn’t mean anything,” the Hatters’ first-year coach said. “We take one game at a time, and all it means is we won this game.
“We have Quakertown tomorrow and North Penn on Wednesday. That’s all it means.”
While DiFilippo was right – the Hatters didn’t win anything just yet, the first-year coach acknowledged that it’s always something special when the two SOL powerhouses meet.
“It’s well worth the admission,” the Hatters’ first-year coach said. “It was a great game.”
Anyone remotely familiar with the history of this remarkable rivalry knows that when these two teams meet it is invariably a classic battle.
After splitting their two regular season games last year – the Titans won the first meeting 1-0 and the Hatters returned the favor in the rematch, earning a 1-0 win, the two teams squared off in last year’s district title game. It took 10 innings and the international tiebreaker to determine a winner with the Titans eking out a 3-2 win.
Monday’s rematch figured to be something special, and the two teams didn’t disappoint.
This time it took a Heather Lutz triple with one out in the 10th inning as well as a successfully-executed suicide squeeze by Melissa Spinosa to put the Hatters on top 3-1. The Titans didn’t go down quietly and got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning.
“They’re always 10 innings,” Hatboro senior Danielle DiFilippo said. “I think just because it’s the whole rivalry thing – we wanted this game really bad.
“We wanted to prove we could beat any team out there.”
Both squads received outstanding performances on the mound with juniors Maggie Shaffer and Haileigh Stocks locking horns in a classic duel. Shaffer scattered seven hits and fanned seven.
“It was (great) pitching, but there were a lot of very good defensive plays in the field,” DiFilippo said.
A recap of the game would show that the Titans got on the scoreboard first, plating a single run in the fifth when Kelly Culp delivered an RBI single, and they took that 1-0 lead into the seventh inning when the Hatters got on the scoreboard.
Chrissy James got the ball rolling with a leadoff single, and Julie Wambold drew a base on balls. That set the stage for Danielle DiFilippo.
“I was really nervous,” the Hatters’ senior first baseman said. “I thought I was going to get an outside pitch, and I was just focusing on hitting a ball to the outfield so we could score a run.”
DiFilippo got an inside pitch instead, but she turned on it, roping a double to left that plated James. Wambold was thrown out at the plate, but the Hatters had knotted the score.
Neither team scored until the 10th when the international tiebreaker went into effect. The Hatters bunted the base runner over to third, but it wouldn’t have been necessary since Lutz delivered a one-out triple to put the Hatters on top. Spinosa’s suicide squeeze put the Hatters on top 3-1.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Titans pushed a run across, but the Hatters averted a tie when – on a Titan double steal attempt – DiFilippo gunned down the runner trying to score from third.
That was just one of several huge defensive plays by the Hatters.
“Val erie Sadowl at second made a diving catch on a little bloop fly ball that saved a run – it was a great play,” coach DiFilippo said. “Jackie DiPietro made a very strong throw from right field to home to hold the runner at third – another big play.
“As much pressure as is on her all the time, Maggie Shaffer is unflappable on the mound. She’s unbelievable.”
Unbelievable is the perfect word to describe the games between two of the SOL’s premier squads.
“These games are so much fun,” Danielle DiFilippo said. “Today it was nerveracking because the first inning of games so far we have had runners on base. We didn’t today, and I was so scared it was one of those days.
“To win felt so good. It felt like a championship game.”
DiFilippo’s 2-for-4 day led the Hatters while Morgan Decker (2-for-4, double) and Kelly Culp (2-for-3, RBI) led the Titans.
North Penn 6, Souderton 0
Kellianna Bradstreet is coming down the home stretch of a remarkable four-year high school career. When the senior hurler throws her final game for the Maidens, it will represent the final game of her softball career.
“A lot of people say when you become a senior and you have that scholarship, the edge sort of leaves you,” coach Rick Torresani said. “This is it for Kell – she’s not playing in college, so this is her softball career. She’s going out and making it the best she can.”
Bradstreet was in complete command against the Indians, allowing a one-out single to Brittany Beebe in the second and a two-out single to Meghan Weisel in the third. She retired 13 of 14 batters to close out the game.
“When she has her mental edge she’s tough to hit,” Torresani said. “She made a mistake early, and the kid got a hit. She knew it and said it was right down the middle of the plate.
“After that, she didn’t hit the white part of the plate too often. When she’s got that mental edge, she’s tough, very tough.”
Bradstreet’s counterpart – Liz Parkins - came out of the gate looking all but untouchable. The Indians’ mound ace allowed a pair of singles in the first – a ground single to right by Jess Mower and an infield single on a slow roller by Michelle Holweger.
With runners on second and third and one out, Parkins fanned the Maidens’ four and five batters. She proceeded to strike out the side in the second and fanned eight in the first three innings.
In the fourth, it looked as though the Maidens might have run themselves out of an inning when senior Taylor Marchozzi swung through a pitch and the Maiden base runner – who was running on the play - was gunned down at second by catcher Mollie Burrell.
“That made me mad, so I knew I had to do something,” Marchozzi said.
On the very next pitch, the senior third baseman hit a wicked line drive that just made it over the center field fence for a solo home run and a 1-0 Maiden lead.
“We knew basically the way the game was going the first couple of innings it was going to be who scored first,” Souderton coach Courtney Hughes said. “It seemed like the wind came out of our sails a little bit.
“There are times when a pitcher can be on fire, but once someone starts hitting, they all go up there with all the confidence in the world. That’s what we couldn’t get going, and with that home run, their confidence picked up 100 times.”
Marchozzi’s homer opened the floodgates. The Maidens added a pair in the fifth – only one earned, and for good measure, they tacked on two more in the sixth when, after a Marchozzi double to deep left center, freshman Vicky Tumasz ripped a two-run shot over the left center field fence, putting the Maidens on top 6-0.
“It felt amazing,” said Tumasz of her first varsity home run. “When it hit the bat, I just felt so much power.
“I thought it was going to hit right in front of the fence, but then I saw (the centerfielder) fall through the fence.”
Tumasz, Holweger and Marchozzi led the Maidens with two hits each, and Marchozzi was golden in the field as well where she had seven putouts/assists.
“She played really well,” Torresani said.
The win came on the heels of North Penn’s upset at the hands of Quakertown last Friday.
“I think that was a wake-up call,” Marchozzi said. “We made some mistakes, and we didn’t hit the ball. Seniors and upperclassmen need to pick up the team.
“We came out today and let that loss go and just kicked some butt.”
While the Indians fell to 2-3 in league play, the Maidens are 5-1.
Pennridge 5, Central Bucks West 2
The Rams got in the win column after dropping their first four league games. Paige DeCew went the distance on the mound, scattering seven hits while striking out eight and walking none.
Brooke Labs led the offense with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate, which included a double and two RBIs. Emily Hofmann was 2-for-3, and Haley Taylor and Sarah Yerk both were 1-for-2. Yerk drove in an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
The Rams will travel to Quakertown on Wednesday for a battle of neighboring rivals.
Central Bucks East 7, Quakertown 5
The Patriots jumped out to a 7-3 lead and then withstood a seventh inning Panther rally to earn the win.
“We can’t take anyone lightly,” coach Erin Scott said. “We reminded the girls before the game that this was a big game and this is a big week, and luckily, we walked away with the win.”
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first, thanks to an RBI single by Janelle Croisette. In the bottom of the first, East got that run back when Laura Murray delivered an RBI single to plate Ali Vavala, who led off the inning with a bunt single.
East took a 2-1 lead in the second, but Quakertown came back to go on top 3-2 in the third. In the bottom of the inning, Jess Haug led off with a single, and Murray followed with a single. A double by Allie Chase brought three runs home, giving East a 5-3 advantage.
In the sixth, Caroline Schoenewald got the ball rolling with a one-out single, and Vavala followed with a two-run home run to left center.
“She’s our little bunter/slapper, and she is just having a phenomenal season so far,” Scott said of Vavala.
Quakertown made things interesting in the seventh, using singles by Courtney Derstine and Maddie Mulhall as well as a two-run single by Jessica Cramp to make it a 7-5 game.
“If we hadn’t scored the last couple of runs off that Ali Vavala home run, it would have been a 5-5 game,” Scott said. “It’s a constant battle, and you have to play your ‘A’ game to win games in our league.
“I definitely think Quakertown has a strong team. Their coach is doing a good job, and their pitcher (Justyna Pepkowski) is pretty strong.
“We haven’t played West or Souderton yet, but on any day, it seems like any game could go either way depending on how the teams come out. If the teams are playing well, they are going to be close games. That’s what I’m trying to preach to my girls – we can’t take any teams lightly. We have a tough conference, and we have to go out and play well.”
National Conference
Neshaminy 6, Harry S. Truman 1
The Redskins plated a pair of first-inning runs, and after the Tigers made it a 2-1 game in the third, the Redskins answered with three runs in the fourth on their way to the important win.
“This was a very nice win for us,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “Truman is a well-coached team. Every year they seem to be getting better and better and better.
“You saw the game they put up against Pennsbury (a 5-2 loss in a game they led 2-0 until late). They’re an up and coming team. They’re very good.”
In the first inning, Laura Altenburger and Sarah McGowan got things started with singles, and both runners scored when Lauren Nicastro – who has been filling in for Brianna Guidos (broken finger) – delivered a two-run single.
“She’s been doing an incredible job,” Chichilitti said of Nicastro. “She had two RBIs in the William Tennent game in a key situation. She has been hitting the ball so well.
“It’s so good to know that when somebody goes down, somebody else can step in and fill that position, and it was very important for us to go out in the first inning and shut them down and score early and gain momentum in the game. That’s exactly what we did.”
Those two runs would have been enough for Lauren Quense, who allowed just three hits and fanned 11 while walking none in a brilliant effort on the mound. She did not allow an earned run.
“She was amazing,” Chichilitti said.
The game, according to Chichilitti, was a marked contrast to Friday’s 24-9 win over William Tennent that saw the Redskins commit back-to-back-to-back errors, allowing the Panthers to plate six runs in one inning.
William Tennent 9, Abington 1
Ashley Alden and Kirsten Doherty both had huge offensive days for the Panthers. Alden was a perfect 4-for-4 while Doherty was 4-for-5 with four RBIs.
Council Rock North 12, Bensalem 1
American Conference
Wissahickon 9, Upper Dublin 1
The Trojans remained undefeated in league play, thanks to their convincing win over the Flying Cardinals. Katie Ziegler notched the win on the mound, allowing three hits while striking out nine and walking just one.
Ziegler was also 1-for-3 at the plate with a two-run double and two runs scored. Gretchen Guaglianone was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
For the Flying Cardinals, Rachel Mintz was 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Becky Starosta was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The Flying Cardinals got on the scoreboard with a run in the first inning, but the Trojans scored four in the third and three in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Upper Merion 8, Plymouth Whitemarsh 7
The Colonials jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the end of one inning and stretched that lead to 5-0 in the top of the third, but the Vikings scored one run in the third and five in the fourth. They took a 7-5 lead only to watch the Colonials rally to knot the score in the sixth. The Vikings scored the game winner in the bottom of the seventh.
Nicole Battaglio was 3-for-3 with a double and four RBIs, and Nicole Priest was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs to lead the Vikings’ comeback.
Alexa Borkowski (two doubles, three RBIs) and Tori Barattucci (two doubles, one RBI) led the way for PW.
Cheltenham 10, Upper Moreland 9
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