Hatboro-Horsham 8, Pennridge 0
Last Wednesday, Hatboro was knocked from the ranks of the undefeated when the Hatters fell to North Penn 2-1.
“It was hard, but we kind of just let it go because we’re a good team, and we can get through, but it was really a hard game,” Hatboro senior Danielle DiFilippo said. “We know we have to play our top game every game, and we have to be ready for everything. It was a big wake-up call.”
One day later, the Hatters 10-runned Quakertown and then defeated Pennridge 8-0 on Monday. Talk to coach Joe DiFilippo, and it’s clear that he believes the loss to the Maidens served a useful purpose.
“You have to be brought back down to earth,” the Hatters’ first-year coach said. “You can’t walk onto the field and know you’re going to win.
“North Penn played a great game. They did everything right, and we didn’t, but you know what – they beat us. Lou (James) told me five years ago when we were coaching together – I was aggravated because we lost a game in the final, and Lou said, ‘Joe, you have to learn to lose before you win successfully,’ and I think that’s the truth.”
In Monday’s win, the Hatters set the tone early, scoring three runs in the first. They added one more in the third and blew the game wide open with a four-run outburst in the fifth.
“That was really big,” Danielle DiFilippo said of getting an early lead. “We knew they were going to come out and play us as hard as they could.”
The Hatters received huge performances from their three and four batters. DiFilippo was 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in the first inning. She finished the day with three RBIs and also scored a pair of runs. JulieWambold also was 3-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and three runs scored. Kelsey Koelzer was 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored.
“I’m sitting there calling pitches, and they’re a frightening group of kids to watch hit,” Pennridge coach Paul Koehler said. “I said to my kids, ‘Let’s sit in the dugout and watch these kids hit.’
“They swing out of their shoes, and they don’t care where it is. (Julie) Wambold hit a pitch she had no business swinging at, and they hit it like it’s their last at-bat. For me, that’s an exciting lineup to watch. Even when my pitchers threw a good pitch, they made it hurt. It’s exciting competition. I just have to figure out a way to get these kids to respond to it more.”
Maggie Shaffer notched the win on the mound, allowing one hit while fanning seven in four near-perfect innings.
“Our loss to North Penn let us know we’re not always going to be on top,” the Hatters’ junior hurler said. “We’re going to lose sometimes, and we have to deal with that.
“That (loss) makes us want to win even more.”
The Hatters, it seems, don’t mind being a marked team playing in a conference that is a mine field.
“It’s fun because you look forward to the games, and a lot of them are very competitive games, which is more fun than killing a team,” Shaffer said. “I kind of try and take it one pitch at a time. I take into consideration who we’re playing pitch by pitch.”
“Everyone has to be up and ready to go every game,” Danielle DiFilippo said.
Nicole Casagrand threw the final three innings for the Hatters, giving up one hit while striking out a pair.
Norristown 19, Upper Dublin 6
Norristown scored runs in every inning but the first on its way to a 19-6 win over Upper Dublin in a game that went the full seven innings. It was a 1-0 game heading into the third when the Eagles scored three runs. The Flying Cardinals answered with one in the bottom of the inning only to watch the Eagles score three more in the fourth and three in the fifth to take command of the game.
Leading the offense for the Eagles was Gabbie Berry who had four hits, including a double, and Stephanie ‘Sweat’ DiNolfi with three hits, which included a triple. Julia Santoro had a pair of hits, including a double, and teammates Sammi Kidd, Gina Pellechio, Sara Rosetti and Sarah Spause each added two hits as well.
For Upper Dublin, Rachel Mintz was 3-for-5 with a run scored and a double.
Rosetti tossed a complete game on the mound, striking out seven and walking five while allowing nine hits and six earned runs.
The Eagles pounded out 19 hits off a pair of Upper Dublin hurlers.
Wissahickon 5, Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 (9 innings)
Wissahickon upped its league mark to 5-0, thanks to its 5-2 win over PW in nine innings on Monday. The Trojans scored two runs in the top of the seventh and appeared poised to win, but the Colonials answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Trojans won it with three runs in the ninth.
Katie Ziegler notched the win on the mound, allowing just one hit while fanning eight and walking two. PW’s Erica Miller absorbed the loss, allowing six hits while fanning eight and walking two.
Miller collected PW’s lone hit – an RBI double.
Marina Mellor had a double and three RBIs to lead the Trojans. Karen Laksh had a pair of hits while Rachel Philbin contributed a hit and drove in a pair. Meghan Plunkett also had a single for the Trojans.
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