Quakertown upset top-seeded Pennsbury in a District One 6A quarterfinal contest on Friday. Photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery.
District One 6A Quarterfinal
#8 QUAKERTOWN 5, #1 PENNSBURY 2
Syd Andrews stepped to the plate in the top of the third inning with a not-so-little point to prove. It turns out the Panthers’ junior pitcher and cleanup batter was none too happy when – with two outs, a runner on second and a run across – LauraRose Morelock was sent to first base without seeing one pitch, thanks to an intentional walk.
“It’s very – how do I put it – angering because it means they think you’re going to make an out,” she said.
Andrews dispelled that theory in a hurry, fouling off four pitches before ripping an eye-level pitch over the center field fence for a three-run home run.
“When you do something like that, it shows them what I can do,” said Andrews. “Normally, I do not hit high pitches very well, but the fact that it went that far was pretty amazing.
“When it left my bat, I did not think it was going to go out. Off the bat, it didn’t feel solid, but what can you do.”
Buoyed by that four-run third, the Panthers went on to upset the top-seeded Falcons. Postseason play is brand new to most of a young squad that doesn’t have a senior in its starting lineup and includes four freshmen.
“They probably don’t even know what town we’re in right now,” Quakertown coach Dave Scott said. “It was a long bus ride – that’s all they know.”
Scott was right. Sophomore Emma Hilton’s answer confirmed as much when asked what town she was in for Friday’s district quarterfinal.
“I couldn’t tell you,” she said.
What Hilton did know was that the Panthers – despite their youth – were confident heading into Friday’s contest.
“When walking to the locker room to get changed, I saw Syd, and I was like – ‘I just feel it. Let’s go. We’re going to get it,’” Hilton said. “I was nervous, but I turned it into excitement.
“Everyone was in a good mood. We were all singing in the bus. It was just a great team bonding experience. We all came together as a team, and it was so fun.”
“My kids – it’s unbelievable,” Scott said. “They were winning this game from the time they got on the bus. They just had a swag, they had a vibe about them that we all picked up on. There was no nervousness. There was excitement.
“They were loose on the bus, singing and having fun – doing their music and just enjoying the bus ride down here, and it showed in how they played. They played pretty loose, and that translated into how we played today. We had a couple of little hiccups, but they were able to overcome them and sort of shut them down and not let anything turn into a big disaster.”
In truth, the Panthers had nothing to lose. No one expected them to defeat a Falcon squad that had won 13 in a row since falling to Hatboro-Horsham when junior ace Ainsley McClure was sidelined with an injury.
“We knew going in and we were all talking about how this was the number one seed,” Hilton said. “We knew it was going to be tough. Coach Scott has told us multiple times if we win two games, we’ll be in states, and we’ll make history for Quakertown.”
Setting the stage for Andrews’ big blast in the third, Katie Muller led off the inning with a single to left, and she scored from second two outs later when Hilton delivered a base hit down the left field line. She advanced to second on the throw, and that left an open base with two outs, prompting the Falcons to walk Morelock and setting the stage for Andrews’ three-run home run.
The Falcons got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Quinn McGonigle singled to right to lead off the frame, and two outs later, Liz Jordan legged out a bunt single. The Panthers’ lone error allowed McGonigle to score, but they averted further damage by gunning down the base runner who was off third to end the inning.
Pennsbury added another run in the fifth when Caitlyn Martell, who singled with one out, scored on Rowan Mulholland’s single. The Falcons stranded a pair and then went down in order in the sixth.
The Panthers added an unearned run in the seventh when Ava Beal, who had walked, scored on a two-out Falcon miscue.
Jess Rowe led off the seventh with a single but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Andrews retired the next two batters she faced, and when the final out was recorded on a popup to third baseman Grace Baker, Andrews threw her glove and leaped in the air as the Panthers converged for a jubilant celebration.
“I was very excited,” Andrews said. “Pretty much my whole infield and my one outfielder are freshmen, and the fact that it’s just so – I can’t even put it into words – it’s so surprising and so exciting.
“From the locker room, we all knew that we were coming here and we were going to play hard and we weren’t going to go down without a fight. On the bus, we were loose, singing, of course. Then we got here, we buckled down, and we got the win.
Andrews scattered seven hits and allowed two runs (one earned) while striking out seven and walking one.
“Syd did a good job of keeping them off balance,” Scott said. “Our pitching coach fixed one thing on her delivery, and it sort of solved a couple of issues she was having. She wasn’t able to work inside enough, and she was leaving too many balls over the plate. She worked more inside today, and you could see that with the popups in the infield – they just weren’t making solid contact.”
The Falcons stranded seven base runners while the Panthers left six on base. Both teams had runners on base in all except two innings.
The Panthers not only earned a spot in Tuesday’s district semifinal against Spring-Ford, they also guaranteed themselves a state berth.
“Since we’re so young, I don’t think our team in general was expecting to go all the way to states,” Andrews said. “I knew we were going to put up a fight, but I did not think we were going to go this far. The fact that we did just amazes me, and I’ve loved every second of it.”
According to Scott, this is the first time Quakertown softball has advanced to the state tournament.
“I just said to them – this is something they’ll remember the rest of their lives, the first time the program has made it to states,” the Panthers’ coach said. “I’m so proud of what they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked.”
“It was so much fun,” said Hilton, whose 3-for-4 effort at the plate led the Panthers. “If you asked me back in winter workouts, I wasn’t even sure if I would be getting a starting position as a sophomore. This whole team experience has been great.”
Mulholland (2-for-3, RBI) and Rowe (2-for-3) led the Falcons’ seven-hit attack.
McClure absorbed the loss, allowing seven hits and five runs (four earned) while striking out seven and walking four.
“We did not play smart softball,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said. “We have a little life here. We just can’t play like this on Tuesday. We have to play smarter on bases and at the plate, but they did a really nice job.”
Quakertown (19-3, 13-2 SOL) will travel to #4 Spring-Ford for Tuesday’s district semifinal. Pennsbury (20-2, 16-0) will host #5 Downingtown West in a playback game with the winner earning a state berth and the loser going home.
Quakertown 004 000 1 5-7-1
Pennsbury 000 110 0 2-7-1
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