The second round of the District One AAAA Tournament promises to be an interesting one for SOL squads. Monday’s opening round saw four of the league’s five teams go home while all four Ches-Mont League teams advanced to Wednesday’s second round.
Six of the top eight seeds that received opening round byes are from the SOL with seven SOL teams – Central Bucks East survived the opening round – still remaining. Below is a brief recap of games including SOL squads.
#16 Central Bucks East at #1 Pennsbury
Central Bucks East
- 12-7 overall, 7-7 SOL
- Fifth place finish in Continental Conference
- Defeated 17th seeded Perkiomen Valley 5-1 in Monday’s opening round
- Highlights of season were 6-2 win over Souderton on May 16, a win that snapped the Indians’ 11-game winning streak, and a 5-4 win in 10 innings over North Penn on April 26
- Patriots won four of six games to close out regular season
- The Patriots were shut out just once this season (7-0 to Hatboro-Horsham on April 29). Eight of nine players in East’s lineup closed out the regular season hitting over .300 with two players batting over .400.
Players to watch: Ali Vavala (Center Field), Laura Murray (Shortstop), Brittany Aughenbaugh (First base), Caroline Schoenewald (Second Base), Julia Schoenewald (Catcher), Jayme Ziegler (Pitcher), Sierra Huckfeldt (Pitcher), Jess Haug (Third Base), Allie Chase (Left Field), Sam Gladnick (Right Field), Kaylynn Johnson (DP)
Coach Erin Scott says: “I’m planning to tell my team that we have nothing to lose, and we can compete with this team. If they play how I’ve seen them play and are able to offensively produce and play clean defense, it will be a good game. I’m really proud of the season they’ve had so far and excited to prepare for Wednesday. Monday’s win was my first playoff win as a head coach, and we have a great group of kids this year, and we’re having a lot of fun – I don’t want it to end yet.”
Pennsbury
- 17-2 overall, 13-1 SOL
- Defeated Neshaminy 3-2 on Monday to capture sole possession of the National Conference crown as well as the district’s top seed.
- Highlights of the season included a pair of wins over Neshaminy – Monday’s 3-2 win and 5-3 win on April 30. The Falcons also earned a 4-3 win over Central Bucks South on May 2.
- Only SOL loss came at the hands of Council Rock North with Falcons’ second loss was a non-league loss to Toms River East
- Falcons have won 15 of 16 to close out season
Players to watch: D’Anna Devine (Catcher), Keli Bunda (Center Field), Mackenzie Obert (Shortstop), Jess Greenewald (Second Base), Christina Bascara (Third Base), Suzanne Swanicke (First Base), Val Buehler (Pitcher), Dannielle Fox (Left Field), Savanna Grantham (Right Field)
Coach Frank McSherry says: “We have one day to prepare. We lost in the second round last year, and we just said to them – ‘Remember last year. Just remember last year.’”
#15 Upper Darby at #2 Hatboro-Horsham
Upper Darby
- 16-4 overall
- Defeated Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-2 in Tuesday’s opening round district game.
- Finished second to Haverford in the Central League
- Split with Haverford during regular season, winning early season meeting 4-2 on April 11 but falling to the Fords 9-3 in their regular season finale on Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham
- 12-2 SOL Continental Conference champions
- 17-2 overall
- Won 10 of 11 games to close out season
- Only losses came at the hands of Souderton (4-1 on May 3) and North Penn (2-1 on April 20 in eight innings)
- Hatboro is the defending district runner-up
Players to watch: Melissa Spinosa (Center Field), Chrissy James (Third Base), Julie Wambold (Catcher), Danielle DiFilippo (First Base), Val Sadowl (Shortstop), Kelsey Koelzer (Left Field), Heather Lutz (Right Field), Jackie DiPietro (Second Base), Maggie Shaffer (Pitcher)
Coach Joe DiFilippo says: “Upper Darby is a very good team, and we have to be on top of our game to advance. As always, we have to take one game at a time and win the one that is in front of us. We cannot look past Upper Darby. Hopefully, the long layoff between games will not affect us.”
#20 West Chester East at #4 Neshaminy
West Chester
- 15-6 overall
- Upset American Conference championship Wissahickon 7-0 in opening round district game that saw pitcher Brittany Andraos allow just two hits while striking out eight and walking none.
- Finished fourth in Ches-Mont League after capturing league title in 2010
- Lost three of five games to close out regular season after winning first six to open season
Neshaminy
- 15-3 overall, 12-2 SOL
- Finished second to Pennsbury in National Conference standings
- Won six of eight games to close out regular season
- Fell to Pennsbury twice in conference play, most recently on Monday night in a contest to determine district seeding and conference crown.
Players to watch: Sarah McGowan (Pitcher/Third Base), Courtney Clee (Second Base), Brianna Guidos (First Base), Lauren Quense (Third Base/Pitcher) Julia McGovern (Catcher), Laura Altenburger (Shortstop), Carly Coleman (Left Field)
Coach Dave Chichilitti says: “We talked about it after (Monday’s loss to Pennsbury) – we have to let this loss go. We can’t let this define what we’ve done. We’re focusing on letting this go and refocusing on the new season. We set some goals that we’d still like to attain.”
#22 West Chester Henderson at #6 Souderton
West Chester Henderson
- 11-9 overall
- Notched a 1-0 upset of 11th-seeded Council Rock North in 10 innings behind the five-hit effort of freshman pitcher Lauren Butts in an opening round game Monday
- Finished fifth in the Ches-Mont League
- Season highlight was a 2-1 win over previously undefeated Bishop Shanahan on April 29.
- Lost three of five to close out the regular season, including a 10-0 loss to Downingtown West on Saturday
Souderton
- 14-4 overall
- 10-4 SOL, tied with CB South for second place behind Hatboro-Horsham in Continental Conference standings
- Won 11 straight before losing to Central Bucks East 6-2 in regular season finale
- Highlights of the season were second-half wins over Hatboro-Horsham (4-1 on May 3), North Penn (2-1 on May 12) and Central Bucks South (2-0 on May 13)
- The Indians, who lost five starters from last year’s team to graduation, did not receive a district berth last year.
Players to watch: Liz Parkins (Pitcher), Mollie Burrell (Catcher), Brittany Beebe (First Base), Lauren Urbanski (Third Base), Sarah Derstine (Shortstop), Meghan Weisel (Center Field)
Coach Courtney Hughes says: “The team was so excited to see how all their hard work paid off in a great seed for the district tournament. These girls have been desperate to show what they’re capable of, especially after being kept out of the tournament last year. We’ve developed into a really close-knit team. The girls can look around and point out anybody, knowing that is the girl that could get it done for us today.
“We were supposed to play West Chester Henderson last week, so in actuality, we’ve been preparing for them for a while. The players are chomping at the bit to play, especially after getting used to playing four games each week. It has given us a chance to rest and refocus and set goals for what we want to do here on out.”
#10 Downingtown West at #7 Central Bucks South
Downingtown West
- 14-5 overall
- Finished second to Bishop Shanahan in Ches-Mont League
- Season highlight a 2-0 win over Chest-Mont champion Bishop Shanahan, the tournament’s third-seeded team, on May 11.
- The Whippets have won five in a row and nine of last 10 games with only loss in that span a 6-1 loss to North Penn on May 7.
- Defeated Penncrest 2-0 in opening round district game.
Central Bucks South
- 14-5 overall
- 10-4 SOL, tied for second with Souderton in Continental Conference standings
- Won six of nine to close out season
- Defending District One AAAA champions
Players to watch: Fran Carrullo (Pitcher), Haileigh Stocks (Shortstop/Pitcher), Morgan Decker (Third Base), Lauren Klepchick (Catcher)
Coach Jennifer Robinson says: “Our team has renewed energy getting ready for the playoffs. After a post-regular season meeting, the team verbalized what they thought it was going to take to be successful in the playoffs. We have amped up our practices and have really been focusing on coming together as a team to find the chemistry that will carry us through the post season. We will rely on strength of pitching, keeping errors to a minimum, the hitting that we have really been working on, and most importantly for us…team unity.”
#24 Interboro at #8 North Penn
Interboro
- 11-7 overall
- Champion of the Del Val League
- Final team to earn tournament bid
- Upset ninth-seeded Haverford 7-3 in a district opening round game
North Penn
- 13-6 overall
- 8-6 SOL, finished fourth in the Continental Conference standings
- Season highlighted by wins over Central Bucks South (4-1 on April 14), Souderton (6-0 on April 18), Hatboro-Horsham (2-1 on April 20), Lansdale Catholic (7-0 on April 29) and Downingtown West (6-1 on May 7)
- Maidens rolled to a 6-1 record in conference play in the first go-round but were just 2-5 in the second time around.
Players to watch: Kellianna Bradstreet (Pitcher), Taylor Marchozzi (Third Base), Stephanie Kulp (Center Field), Jess Mower (Catcher), Michelle Holweger (Second Base), Jen Halcovage (Shortstop), Erin Maher (Right Field)
Coach Rick Torresani says: “This team has one goal and only one goal in mind. The best way I can explain it is what a person said to me who I respect and who has been at North Penn for a long, long time. He said, ‘Coach, win. Just win.’ ‘We are North Penn.’”
District One Class AAA
#10 Pope John Paul II at #7 Upper Merion
Pope John Paul II
- 8-9 PAC-10, 9-9 overall
- Seventh place team in PAC-10
- Highlight of season was a 3-2 win on April 11 over Spring-Ford
Upper Merion
- 7-4 SOL, 11-4 overall
- Fourth place team in American Conference
- Won six of eight to close out regular season
- Highlight of season was 6-0 win over Wissahickon on May 10
Players to watch: Nicole Battaglia (Third Base), Melissa Kulp (Shortstop, Capt.), Nicole Priest (First Base), Bianca DeLuca (Left Field, Capt.), Jenny DeSimone (Catcher), Nikki Ross (Pitcher)
Coach John Whitney says: “We have to really play good defense right off the bat – pitching and defense, getting into the flow of the game, and hopefully, we can get something going offensively. I know the pitcher they have is very good. We have our work cut out for us. We just have to play really good defense and hang in the game and see if we can scratch out a couple of runs.
“I told the kids – learn whatever you can this year. I think this team will be right back here next year. I’m losing my two senior captains – three seniors total, so this is a very young team. I thought the way we played this year might happen next year, but they clicked in and did exactly what we wanted them to do with the ninth grade pitching coming along as quickly as it did. We started fielding the ball well, and that’s something we didn’t do last year, and we struggled. They’re just a little bit ahead of schedule. They’re young, but hopefully this playoff game will help us and give us some experience.”
- Log in to post comments
0
