National Conference
William Tennent 17, Bensalem 0
Nikki Alden tossed a shutout on the mound and was a near perfect 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs to lead the Panthers to their first league win on Monday. Melissa Simpson added a pair of hits for the Panthers.
“Melissa Simpson has come a long, long way for us,” coach Gary Bizacquino said. “We switched her around last year as a slapper, and she’s been 2-for-3, 2-for-4 all the time.
“Today she was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. She still slaps, and I wouldn’t want her to do anything else. She has so much speed, and she’s really excelling in that department.”
Kirsten Doherty collected a hit and two RBIs while Amber O’Toole had a pair of hits and one RBI.
“We have lost some tough and close games,” Bizacquino said. “We changed up our lineup after three games, and we’re starting to see a little more offense.
“I was worried how we would score some runs, but the girls are taking better approaches at the plate, and they’re starting to see the results of it. It was nice to get a win. Hopefully, it will start a little bit of a trend.”
One of the changes Bizacquino made to his lineup was moving Ashley Alden to the leadoff spot in the lineup in order to eliminate some of the intentional walks the Rutgers-bound senior has been receiving.
“She’s starting to get a little frustrated,” Bizacquino said. “I tell her – ‘I can only say it so many times, but it’s out of respect for you. You are the Player of the Year, you are that talented, and people are not going to pitch to you.’
“We moved her up to leadoff, so if they’re going to walk her, at least we know we’re going to start out the game with a runner on base. The last three or four games we’ve started to lead her off, and the girls behind her are starting to pick it up a little bit. That’s an encouraging sign. We’re trying to force people to pitch to her for her to get enough at-bats, but they haven’t yet. I think that’s all going to change shortly.
“We’ll be playing some teams that like to challenge. We have Truman, Rock North and Neshaminy, and I said, ‘Believe me, I don’t think they’re just going to walk you every time,’ so she has to be ready.”
On Monday, Alden was ready when – after three straight walks – the Owls finally did pitch to her late in the game with the bases loaded. The senior standout ripped a bases-clearing triple.
Despite his team’s lopsided win over the Owls, Bizacquino tipped his hat to first-year coach Dan Schram.
“I also have to say what a nice job Dan is doing over there,” the Panthers’ coach said. “He has a lot of young talent there, and in the next couple of years, they’re going to be pretty decent.”
Council Rock North 5, Harry S. Truman 2
Morgan Lewis allowed five hits while striking out six and walking none to earn the win on the mound for the Indians. Lewis also contributed a hit and two RBIs.
Catcher Dom Pinto led the Indians offensively with a pair of hits, which included a double. Rock North leadoff batter Caytlin Friis had a hit and two RBIS, and Alyssa Smith had a hit and RBI.
The Indians plated a single run in the first and added another run in the third to go on top 2-0. They added a pair of runs in the fourth and went ahead 5-0 with a single run in the fifth before Truman plated a pair in the seventh, thanks to a homerun by third baseman Nichole King.
Neshaminy 12, Council Rock South 0 (5 innings)
Sophomore Lauren Quense tossed a no-hitter in Monday’s abbreviated five-inning contest that saw the Redskins plate four first inning runs and then add three more in the second and two runs in the third before scoring three fourth-inning runs for the 12-0 final.
Courtney Clee and Sarah McGowan both contributed home runs while Carly Coleman had a double. Coleman, McGowan, Laura Altenburger and Brianna Guidos each had multi-hit games for the Redskins.
Continental Conference
North Penn 3, Central Bucks West 1
Kellianna Bradstreet allowed just two hits while fanning six in six and a third strong innings on the mound. She was lifted after reaching her pitch count with a West runner on first base in the seventh.
“I wanted Kellianna to finish the game, but her pitch count got too high,” coach Rick Torresani said. “We have a big game on Wednesday (against Central Bucks South), and I wanted to give Steph Kulp a chance to do some pitching because we’ll need her later on as the season progresses.”
The Bucks made things interesting by loading the bases in the seventh , thanks to a single by Carly Hurtado and a pair of walks. An error on Jess D’Agostino’s grounder allowed an unearned run to cross the plate, but Kulp retired speedy leadoff batter Cassie Zanolini on a sharp groundout to short to earn the save.
“We had the people up that we wanted up,” West coach Wayne Finkbeiner said. “A base hit would have tied it up, and it would have been interesting.
“We’ll be in games. It’s just a matter of scoring runs.”
Freshman Erin Maher led the Maidens with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate. She also scored a run and stole a base. She is one of two freshmen in the Maidens’ starting lineup.
“The freshmen are definitely stepping up,” Bradstreet said. “I don’t feel like we’re a young team. People keep saying we’re a young team, but I feel like we’re united.
“Everyone knows each other and how they play, so I feel like we’ve been around for a while.”
The Maidens got on the scoreboard in the third. Bradstreet led off with a double, and courtesy runner Blaire Wilkie moved up to third on Laura Kane’s sacrifice bunt. Wilkie raced home when Jess Mower laid down a perfectly-executed suicide squeeze bunt that put the Maidens on top 1-0.
That lead grew to 2-0 in the fourth. Kulp laced a double to left to open the inning, and Taylor Marchozzi followed with a single to left. Two outs later, she scored on Vicky Tumasz’s RBI grounder to short.
In the fifth, Maher singled to lead off the frame and stole second. She scored when Marchozzi delivered a two-out single.
The win sets up a showdown between a pair of undefeated Continental Conference squads when North Penn (3-0 SOL, 5-0 overall) hosts CB South (3-0 SOL, 6-0 overall) on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 9, Souderton 4
The Hatters improved to 6-0 on the season (2-0 in league play) with their win over the Indians. Jackie DiPietro was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Teammate Danielle DiFilippo was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Julie Wambold finished the day 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Hatters.
The Indians were led by the 3-for-4 effort of junior Moira Golden, who also drove in a pair of runs and scored a run. Sophomore Sarah Derstine added a hit and RBI.
Central Bucks East 6, Pennridge 2
Pennridge led 2-0 at the end of four innings, thanks to RBI singles from Karlie McCreary and Sarah Yerk.
East battled back in the sixth inning.
Ali Vavala – who was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day - led off the inning with a single, and with one out, Laura Murray doubled. Jess Haug’s three-run home run over the left field fence put East on top 3-2.
The Rams threatened the bottom of the sixth. Brooke Labs led off with a single and Haley Taylor drew a walk. Both runners advanced on Paige DeCew’s sacrifice, but the Patriots escaped unscathed when the next two Ram batters were retired on fly balls to left field.
In the top of the seventh, Caroline Schoenewald collected a one-out single down the third base line, and Vavala followed with a single. Both runners scored when the Rams committed a pair of errors on Allie Chase’s sacrifice bunt. Murray drove Chase home, and the Patriots led 6-2.
The Rams did not go down quietly in the seventh. With two outs, Emily Mayhew singled, and the bases were loaded after Emily Hofmann drew a walk and Labs singled. Chase flagged down a hard-hit line drive to left field to end the Rams’ threat and the game. All told, Chase had six putouts in the game – four in the last two innings.
“We had our chances,” Pennridge coach Paul Koehler said. “We left 10 runners on base, and couple that with four errors, and you have a recipe for a loss.
“It’s unfortunate because that drops us to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference, and our schedule does not get any easier with Hatboro and Souderton ahead the rest of the week. We will get to practice, work on some things and work to get better tomorrow.”
Labs led the Rams with a pair of hits.
Central Bucks South 10, Quakertown 0 (6 innings)
Fran Carrullo tossed the six-inning shutout for the Titans, allowing just two hits while fanning seven. The Titans pounded out 14 hits, led by Morgan Decker, who was 4-for-4 with three RBIs. Dani London was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and Haileigh Stocks collected the game's only extra base hit with a double. She also an an RBI. Alyssa Virginio also had an RBI.
American Conference
Upper Merion 10, Cheltenham
The Vikings were led by the 3-for-4 effort of freshman Maddalana Ghanayem, who also drove in a run. Freshmen Nikki Ross and Sierrah Slaughter split duties on the mound with Ross picking up the win, tossing five shutout innings. She struck out four and allowed four hits.
“We have a couple of nice freshmen,” coach John Whitney said. “We only have a couple of seniors, but we’re off to a good start.
“Our ninth grade pitchers are doing a great job for us so far. They’re not walking people, and we’re playing pretty good defense, and that’s half the battle. These three ninth graders have been a big help to us already.”
Nicole Battaglio added three RBIs while Krysta Wellington and Melissa Kulp each added two hits for the Vikings, who pounded out 12 hits in the game.
“A lot of the kids pitched in,” Whitney said. “It’s been a group effort.
“We’re playing good defense and getting good pitching. I told the kids – we’re not going to strike a lot of people out, so we have to field the ball. That was our problem last year, and I think it finally got through to them if we don’t field the ball we’re not going to win. They’re really playing well right now.”
The Panthers – who were led by the three-hit effort of Holly Powell and the two-hit performance of Erika Winter – scored single runs in both the sixth and ninth innings. By that time, the Vikings had the game well in hand.
“The kids are surprising me a little bit with how well they’re hitting,” Whitney said. “Melissa Kulp is my shortstop and my captain, and she’s doing a real good job. The whole team started off really well so far.
“We have some big games coming up, but I couldn’t ask for a better start.”
St. Hubert’s 4, Wissahickon 2
St. Hubert’s plated three runs in the second, and the Trojans – who scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings – never could dig themselves out of that early hole. Alex Comonitski and Gretchen Guaglianone each collected a pair of hits for the Trojans. Katie Ziegler absorbed the loss on the mound.
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