By Alex Frazier
PIAA semifinals.
Who would’ve thought?
For starters, the entire Central Bucks South softball team and its staff.
“We have a really young team,” said senior Nicole Rodi, “but we all expected that we were going to do great things this year. This is the best we’ve ever done for the school. We have a really great team. We knew it. Nobody else did.”
Until now.
“Today’s game showed we really deserve to be where we’re at right now,” said C.B. South coach Jenn Robinson.
On a soggy Thursday afternoon, the Titans bunched together a pair of hits to defeat District Three champion Governor Mifflin, 1-0, and advance to the semifinals against (7-2) Shaler, a 1-0 winner over (7-1) Hempfield Area.“I knew it was going to be a one-run game,” said Rodi, who drove in the game winner.
South scored the only run it needed in the fourth inning. Lauren Klepchick hit a one-out grounder past first for the Titans’ first hit of the game. Karey Fortier replaced her on the basepath and promptly sprinted to second on a wild pitch.
That set the stage for Rodi, who had been struggling at the plate.
You wouldn’t have known that as she let two balls go by before laying into the third pitch and lofting it to the fence in centerfield, allowing Fortier to round the bases and score.
“It’s always great to have the key contribution,” said Rodi. “I hadn’t really been hitting that well in playoffs, so it was nice to let it rip and get one out there. It was a pretty good-looking pitch. I was up in the count, so I was expecting there would be something for me to drive, so I went ahead and did it.
The Titans squandered several scoring opportunities. In the second inning, Klepchick reached base on a walk and was safe at second when Rodi’s grounder to short was overthrown. But the two of them were left stranded.
Shaina Steigerwalt drew a one-out walk in the third, but she too didn’t advance. In the sixth inning, Haileigh Stocks hit a gapper to the fence in right center, and Morgan Decker drew a walk, but Gov. Mifflin pitcher Jess Epler bore down and got the next two batters on a pop-up and a strikeout.
“She was a strong pitcher,” said first baseman Taylre Stocks. “At practice we were working on batting and swinging at strikes and trying not to look at many.”
But who needs a lot of offense when the defense is impeccable? Even though Governor Mifflin outhit the Titans 5-3, the Titans came up with the big plays when they needed them.
After Mustang Sam Denlinger led off with a single to start the second, Taylre Stocks rushed in to catch a bunt pop-up and threw back to Molly Hare covering her bag to catch Denlinger off base for a double play.
In the fourth inning with Casey Benedict on base and two down, Rodi fielded a blooper in right field and hit the relay - second baseman Hare, who threw home to get Benedict trying to score.
In the sixth inning, shortstop Melanie Molnar made a great diving save of a sharp grounder at second and managed to recover to get the runner advancing from first.
Taylre Stocks also had several good plays at first when she caught two throws from Molnar that were a bit high and wide. Each time she pulled in the ball and tagged the runner.
“I could tell that they were hard throws for a shortstop to make, and I had to come off the bag to get them because I couldn’t let them go by,” said Taylre Stocks.
“We’ve always been a defensively solid team,” said Robinson. “That’s what’s carried us into the position we’re in now. The plays the girls made today showed nothing but heart and their true dedication for wanting to win this game.”
The fans might have been a bit on edge when Governor Mifflin’s Alex Kissinger launched a 3-2 double to the gap in right center in the top of the seventh with two outs. But the Titans weren’t.
Titan pitcher Francesca Carrullo induced a pop-up from Rachel Klein, which she gloved to end the game and send the Titans onto the semifinals.
“I knew in the end we would pull it out; we always do,” said Taylre Stocks. “I’m so excited. I’m ecstatic. I knew we had a good young team at the beginning of the season, and I’m so happy right now about how far we’ve gone and grown as a team.”
“The girls wore their hearts on their sleeve today,” said Robinson. “They showed they weren’t going home without a fight.”
Governor Mifflin 000 000 00—0
Central Bucks South 000 100 x—1
Governor Mifflin: Casey Benedict cf 3-0-1-0; Caity McRobbie ss 3-0-0-0; Jess Epler p 3-0-0-0; Sam Denlinger 1b 3-0-2-0; Alex Kissinger 3b 3-0-2-0; Rachel Kline c 3-0-0-0; Rachel Fritz 2b 1-0-0-0; Logan Focht rf 2-0-0-0; Rachel Lawes lf 2-0-0-0. Totals: 223-0-5-0.
Central Bucks South: Shana Steigerwalt lf 2-0-0-0; Molly Hare 3-0-0-0; Haileigh Stocks 2b 3-0-0-0; Morgan Decker 2-0-0-0; Lauren Klepchick c 2-0-1-0; Karey Fortier pr 0-1-0-0; Nicole Rodi rf 3-0-1-1; Sam McDonald pr 0-0-0-0; Taylre Stocks 1b 3-0-0-0; Melanie Molnar ss 2-0-0-0; Devon Utterback p 0-0-0-0; Michelle Gessner ph 1-0-0-0; Francesca Carrullo p 1-0-0-0; Tyler Vitelli cf 0-0-0-0. Totals: 25-1-3-1
2B—H. Stocks; Kissinger
Governor Mifflin
Jess Epler (L) 6-3-1-1-3-4
Central Bucks South
Devon Utterback 3-0-0-0-0-0-0
Francesca Carrullo (W) 4-4-0-0-1-2
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