To view photos of the North Penn/CB South and CR North/William Tennent games, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Continental Conference
North Penn 4, Central Bucks South 1
Kellianna Bradstreet had just fired a pitch for a called third strike and the final out of the seventh inning, putting an exclamation point on a standout performance and handing the defending conference and district champion Titans their first loss of the season.
The Maiden senior hurler high fived her teammates as she walked off the field, and that’s about as much celebrating as Bradstreet did after picking up arguably the biggest win over her four-year varsity career.
“I’m so exhausted,” she said. “I’m just exhausted.”
Bradstreet had reason to be exhausted. She had just thrown 119 pitches against one of the most dangerous lineups in the district, but on this day, she simply would not be denied.
“I have been waiting three years for this, and my senior year we finally pull through,” Bradstreet said. “This is my last chance to do it.
“We did it once, and we’ll try to do it again next time on their home field.”
With that, the senior hurler let out a long sigh.
“I’m exhausted,” she said again.
The key to Bradstreet’s success against the Titans?
“Man, I was just trying to not throw it down the middle because every one of their players is a great hitter, so I was really trying to focus on inside and out,” she said. “My change-up was working. That was nice. I threw that a couple of times.”
Momentum swung firmly on the side of the Maidens when senior Steph Kulp led off the bottom of the second with a solo blast over the left field fence.
“When I hit it, I just felt it come off the bat,” she said. “I had two strikes on me, and I hit it, and it just went.
“It felt really good. It just started our team up. We were really excited for this game, and it got us going.”
“That got us so excited,” Bradstreet said. “It really got the bats fired up
“I think that really rattled the other team.”
If the Titans weren’t rattled after Kulp’s blast, they had to be concerned when the Maidens tacked on three more runs in the third. The inning included singles by Michelle Rauch and Erin Maher as well as a costly error on Michelle Holweger’s infield grounder that allowed a run to cross the plate.
The big blow of the inning was a two-out double by senior Taylor Marchozzi that pushed two runs across and spotted the Maidens a 4-0 lead.
The Titans showed signs of life in the fourth. Lauren Kleinschmidt was safe on an error to lead off the inning, and with one out Cait Bechta roped a double to right, putting runners on second and third with one out.
Then came the defensive play of the game when Maher – a freshman – snagged Michelle Gessner’s fly ball to shallow right and fired to catcher Jess Mower, who tagged out the South runner attempting to score from third for the inning-ending double play.
“That was great,” Kulp said. “We definitely had big moments that kept us in the game.”
The Titans broke up Bradstreet’s shutout bid when – with two outs in the sixth - Gessner lofted a solo home run over the left field fence to make it a 4-1 game.
In the seventh, the Titans staged a two-out rally. Decker drew a five-pitch walk, and then Lauren Klepchick doubled to right center, putting runners on second and third. Bradstreet calmly retired the next batter she faced with the game’s biggest strikeout to ice the win.
“This feels great, especially after last year – we didn’t play our best against them,” Kulp said. “This year we just really wanted to come out and beat them.
“For some of us, it’s our senior year, and that was the team we wanted to beat.”
Coach Rick Torresani credited his players for their approach to the game.
“They came out and they weren’t intimidated,” the Maidens’ coach said. “We worked hard in the gym. We put the (pitching) machine at 33 feet and threw it 60 miles an hour for two days, and yesterday they started hitting, so they were ready.
“Kellianna was ready to pitch. Nothing fazed her. She threw 119 pitches, and she wasn’t coming out. She just went out there and did her job.”
Titan coach Jennifer Robinson and her players have been down this road before. Last year, the Titans fell to Council Rock North 3-2 in their season opener and then lost just once until the state finals. Two years ago, they were stunned by Quakertown 3-2 in a regular season game.
“We have had wins so far this season, but I feel like we had this coming to us a little bit,” Robinson said. “I feel like I have a good team, but I think we needed to learn that we need to be more aggressive, and we need to be more up from the start and not just at the end when we’re down and it’s close.
“We need to be up when we’re winning 8-0 or losing 4-0. My team just has to take this and learn from it. Sometimes my teams just needs a little bit of a wake-up call, and I hope that was this for them.”
Hatboro-Horsham 13, Central Bucks West (5 innings)
The Hatters continued their torrid offensive production and remained undefeated on the season with their lopsided win over the Bucks.
Julie Wambold was 3-for-4 with a home run, four runs scored and one RBI. Val Sadowl was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs. Danielle DiFilippo was 1-for-3 with one run scored and three RBIs, and Maggie Shaffer was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Shaffer earned the win on the mound, allowing one hit while striking out three in three scoreless innings of work. Nicole Casagrand threw two scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
National Conference
Bensalem 10, Abington 3
The Owls picked up their first league win of the season on Thursday when they downed the Ghosts.
Sophomore Amy Jarosz did not allow an earned run while working four-plus innings on the mound. She also helped her own cause with a 2-for-5 effort at the plate with two RBIs.
Offensively, catcher Morgan Buechner led the Owls with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, which included a triple and two RBIs.
“I don’t want to say it’s unusual, but she hit like a power hitter today,” coach Dan Schram said.
Freshman Isabel Hansbury was 3-for-5 while freshman Jenny Campbell was 2-for-5 and freshman Kelly Nolan was 2-for-4 with a triple.
If it sounds as though the Owls are young, they are, and they are serving notice that they will be heard from in years to come and perhaps much sooner.
“What I’m trying to do – I have a couple of girls who can pitch, and I try and rotate them as much as I can,” Schram said. “If we can get our bats moving, we can pretty much hang with teams.
“It’s very exciting. There’s no other place I’d want to be coaching in the world. I know we’re going to take some lumps this year, but just seeing that they’re being taught the right way will set the stage for a lot of years to come.”
Council Rock North 10, William Tennent 7
The Indians won Thursday’s slugfest with the Panthers, pounding out 12 hits and plating 10 runs. Most of that offensive production came from Rock North’s top four batters, who combined for eight hits.
Leadoff batter Caitlin Friis contributed a pair of hits, including a triple, and scored two runs while Michelle Hand – the Indians’ number two batter – also had a pair of hits, one RBI and scored three runs. One of Hand’s hits was a double.
Dominique Pinto, who hits out of the number three spot, had two hits and two RBIs and clean-up batter Morgan Lewis had two hits and two RBIs.
For the Panthers, leadoff batter Ashley Alden was an impossible out, finishing the day a perfect 2-for-2 with four runs scored and two RBIs. Both of her hits were home runs. Nikki Alden added a pair of hits.
Lewis notched the win on the mound, striking out six and walking a pair.
American Conference
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13, Upper Dublin 1
The Colonials scored early and often on their way to the decisive win, their second in as many outings in league play.
“It was really nice,” coach Dana Moyer said. “They have worked really, really hard. We put a lot of time in and do a lot of hitting work. They really have been focusing and doing a great job.”
The Colonials, who exploded for 18 hits, were led by the 4-for-5 effort of freshman leftfielder Rachel Konowal.
“She can play anywhere – she’s a shortstop, second baseman, outfielder or wherever we need her,” Moyer said. “The other day we needed a catcher, and she said, ‘I’ll do it.’ She’s just one of those great kids.”
Kerri-Anne Ciesielka – one of two soccer players PW inherited with the move of soccer to the fall - was 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs, and Alexa Borkowski was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a triple. Pitcher Erica Miller helped her own cause with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate that included two runs scored and an RBI.
Miller also was in complete command on the mound, allowing just three hits while fanning six and walking two in six strong innings.
“She did a nice job,” Moyer said. “She’s coming off an injury, so she doesn’t even have all her pitches. We’re working with a limited arsenal, but Erica is focused and hits the spots she needs to hit. She’s just a really positive and hard-working kid.”
Leading the way offensively for Upper Dublin was Rachel Mintz, who collected two of her team’s three hits. Ashleigh Sharp had an RBI double.
While the Flying Cardinals fell to 0-2 in the league (1-4 overall), the Colonials are 2-0 in league play (2-2 overall).
“We have some tough games coming up,” Moyer said. “I’m staying optimistic because I know our girls can swing the bats, so it’s just having everything fall into place.”
Norristown 6, Upper Merion 2
The Eagles knocked the Vikings from the ranks of the undefeated in American Conference play.
“It was a great win, a great win,” Kandrick said. “It was a good home league opener for us.
“Upper Merion is 3-0, and they’re a tough team. I’ve known John (Whitney) for over 20 years, and he’s a great coach and does a real good job. He has some talent he can build upon, and they’re playing good. They have two young pitchers who will be good when they get some confidence and play a little more.”
Leading the way for the Eagles in the field and at the plate was Gwyn Botley. The junior hurler notched the win on the mound, allowing six hits while fanning nine and walking two in seven innings. She also was 3-for-4 at the plate, which included a pair of doubles.
“She was by far the star of the game,” Kandrick said. “She was in full command on the mound. She really had her change-up working today, and at the plate, this was by far her best hitting game. She had three solid hits and was three feet from hitting a home run. She was really on fire today.”
Botley wasn’t the only player to come up big for the Eagles. Julia Santora also had three hits while Sara Rosetti had a pair of hits.
“Julia Santora has been hitting the ball hard all year but hasn’t gotten in to play a lot,” Kandrick said. “She’s a tough little hitter, and I was glad to see her get three hits today.
“Sara Rosetti is our little sophomore, who might weigh 100 pounds soaking wet, and she really broke out today with two hits.”
The two teams were deadlocked 2-2 until the fifth inning when the Eagles exploded for four runs. The Eagles’ four-run uprising was sparked by a pair of successfully executed suicide squeeze plays.
“Sammi Kidd had a beautiful suicide squeeze bunt that scored Gabbie Berry,” Kandrick said. “Steph Dinolfi had a nice hit for us. Sami Kampmeier had a beautiful bunt that she laid down for a base hit.
“It was just a total team effort. From top to bottom, everybody hit the ball. We don’t have the most powerful pitchers, but we have kids that throw strikes. When they pitch well and we play defense – we know we’re going to hit the ball.”
As happy as he was with his team’s performance, Kandrick was equally happy to simply be out on the diamond.
“This rain has been absolutely killing us,” he said. “It’s not just us – it’s other teams too, but we played one league game until today, and other teams have played three or four games.
“I have to credit our field crew because the last two days our field has been a swamp. This morning it looked like an absolute disaster. Fran Tomlinson and his crew pulled basically a miracle today. I honestly did not think it was going to happen, but that field looked tremendous.”
According to Kandrick, the Eagles, who pounded out 11 hits off a duo of Viking hurlers, were sparked defensively by Kidd and Dinolfi.
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