North Penn defeated Pennsbury 5-2 to capture the District One 6A title in a contest played at Spring-Ford High School. (Photos provided courtesy of Marlee Doherty/NP softball)
District One 6A final
#3 NORTH PENN 5, #1 PENNSBURY 1
Gianna Cimino – affectionately known as simply ‘G’ to her teammates and coaches – had a plan.
It wasn’t complicated, but the sophomore second baseman knew she had to make something happen when she stepped into the batter’s box with one out in the top of the second inning and her team trailing 1-0.
“I knew that I needed to get a hit,” Cimino said. “I knew she pitched me high on the first pitch because that’s how she got me last time. I had a plan when I went up there, and it was to get a hit.”
Cimino got a hit that changed the game, smashing a solo home run over the left field fence that evened the score but, more importantly, gave the Knights - who fell to Pennsbury 5-4 during the regular season - momentum.
“I can’t even tell you how much that fired me up,” North Penn pitcher Julia Shearer said. “After getting down in the first inning – her coming out right off the bat and hitting it, I was screaming. I was so proud of her. I told her repeatedly, ‘I can’t believe you just did that. I’m so proud of you.’
“It really changed the momentum of the game. After how bad we played last game (against Pennsbury), coming out like that and her being confident at the plate played a huge part in how we played today.”
“That was huge,” North Penn coach Rick Torresani said of Cimino’s home run. “That changed everything because they had to work for their run and then we got it back on one swing of the bat, and that was just huge. That sort of deflated them.”
The Falcons did strike first, plating a run in the top of the first, but they also suffered a setback when their standout shortstop and leadoff batter, Caitlyn Martell, injured her throwing hand that was hit when swinging at an inside pitch leading off the bottom of the first inning.
“I think what really hurt them the most – and I feel really bad – was one of their best players, if not their best player, Cait (Martell) getting that inside pitch on her hand,” Torresani said. “I had her in Carpenter Cup, and I love her to death. She gutted it out, did everything she possibly could to help her team. I’m surprised she played. It’s just tough. I feel for her.”
There was no denying the impact of that injury, but the Falcons had to be feeling optimistic when Quinn McGonigle, who lined a single to center and stole second, scored on Sammy Raub’s two-out single to left.
But the Falcons didn’t have a chance to enjoy that lead since Cimino erased it just minutes later in the top of the second. With two outs in the third inning, Shearer followed her teammate’s lead, ripping a solo shot over the center field fence to put the Knights on top 2-1.
It was still a 2-1 game when lightning in the area resulted in a stoppage of play, but the contest resumed after a brief shower. The Knights showed no ill effects from the break, putting three runs on the board in the top of the seventh.
Reyna Doherty drew a one-out walk, and Shearer lined a single down the left field line. Sarah Sabocsik followed with a hard single up the middle that plated Doherty, and Annabelle Smink’s sacrifice fly to right brought Shearer home with the inning’s second run. Sabocsik scored on a wild pitch, and the Knights led 5-1.
“The whole game we were on edge, and we knew going into the last inning we were hot, we were going to get this,” Shearer said. “And even through the rain delay, it did not slow anything down.
“We came out, we were fighting. We knew we had the lead, but we needed insurance, and that’s what we did. There’s always a rivalry with Pennsbury. We were just doing our thing pretty much, and throughout the game, we kept getting more and more comfortable with the pitcher, and I think we really settled in.”
In the bottom of the inning, Laney Freiband drew a base on balls and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Riley Mahony followed with a single to right field, and Freiband scored on Presley Foote’s infield single. With a pair of Falcons on board, Cimino turned a grounder to the right side into the game’s final out, and the celebration began.
It’s amazing,” Cimino said. “We knew what we had to do, and we knew that we were better than them, and we knew we just had to play North Penn softball, which we did. That’s how we’re going to win. We’ve been working really hard, and it’s amazing to see the outcome.”
“It’s amazing,” Shearer said. “At the beginning of the season, I had no idea how things were going to go. After that loss (to Pennsbury) in the middle of the season, it had me questioning, but coming here today – I was so confident in everything.”
Shearer was a catalyst at the plate and in the circle. She notched her 23rd win of the season, allowing six hits – two of those in the first inning and two in the seventh. The Falcons managed only two hits in the five innings in between. Pennsbury scored two runs – both earned – with Shearer striking out 10 and walking two. If that wasn’t enough, she was 3-for-4 batting out of the leadoff spot with a home run, two runs scored and RBI.
“When you talk about Julia, she’s ready for every game, she gives everything she’s got,” Torresani said. “I don’t even know what to say, I really don’t. She just comes ready to play.
“She does everything – she hits for power, she runs the bases, she pitches. She just does everything.”
“Just her confidence makes me have a lot of confidence in her,” said Saboscik. “She has multiple pitches, and she throws them for strikes. It’s so much fun – she rarely throws any wild pitches. It’s right there.
“I’ve been doing this for such a long time. I caught her in travel. We played together since we were 10, and she was always good.”
The win was the 11th in a row for the Knights since falling to Pennsbury on April 29, but the state’s top-ranked softball team has goals that extend beyond a league and even a district title. While they were ecstatic to win a district title that has eluded their program since 2012, there was no mistaking the fact that it is not their final goal.
“Playing Pennsbury motivated us so much more because they beat us the last time,” senior co-captain Sophia Collins said. “Getting the district title – it’s like icing on the top of the cake.
“My freshman year we got to the district championship, but we ended up losing to Downingtown West, so it was definitely a redemption thing for that (game) and Pennsbury. It feels great so hopefully this and another state title. That would be amazing to do all in the same
year.”
“This means a lot,” Torresani said of winning the district crown. “It means a lot for the kids for their hard work, it means a lot to me as a coach because that’s what we want to do.
“We had three goals, and we know what those three goals were. That’s two of them down. I told them - that’s only two, and if you saw the way they reacted, they know what’s up next, and they know it’s going to be hard to get there again because it always is, but we’re going to give it a shot and see what happens.”
Ainsley McClure absorbed a loss that snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Falcons. She allowed six hits while striking out seven and walking two.
North Penn (23-1, 15-1 SOL) will host District 11 runner-up Whitehall in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A State Tournament. Whitehall fell to #2 Northampton 10-0 in the title game.
Pennsbury (22-2, 16-0) will host District 3 runner-up Manheim Township in an opening round game on Monday. Manheim Township, the #8 seed in the District 3 6A Tournament, is 14-9 and fell to #2 Penn Manor 4-2 in Thursday’s title game.
North Penn 011 000 3 5-6-0
Pennsbury 100 000 1 2-6-1
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