#1-1 Hatboro-Horsham vs. #1-2 Pennsbury
Where: Penn State University
When: Friday, June 17, 1 p.m.
Hatboro-Horsham
• 25-2 overall
• SOL Continental Conference AAAA champions
• Won 12 in a row since loss to Souderton on May 3
• In the last meeting between the two teams - in the District One AAAA title game, the Hatters earned an 8-5 win in eight innings.
Players to watch: Melissa Spinosa (Center Field), Chrissy James (Third Base), Julie Wambold (Catcher), Danielle DiFilippo (First Base), Valerie Sadowl (Shortstop), Kelsey Koelzer (Left Field), Heather Lutz (Right Field), Jackie DiPietro (Second Base), Maggie Shaffer (Pitcher)
How they got here: The Hatters defeated Neshaminy 2-0 in Tuesday's semifinal contest, plating a pair of first-inning runs when Valerie Sadowl delivered a two-run double with two outs. Maggie Shaffer took care of business on the mound, allowing six hits while striking out five and walking three.
Coach Joe DiFilippo says: "The first time we played them we had a bad three innings, and they had a bad three or four innings.It's two very good teams, and it's either going to be a 1-0 or 2-1 game, or it could be a 9-8 game."
Looking ahead: Don't expect to get a whole lot of response out of the players when the subject of Friday's title game comes up in conversation.
"Actions speak louder than words," senior Julie Wambold said.
And that just about sums it up for a Hatter squad that has quietly and without fanfare gone about the business of winning softball games. Twenty-seven times the Hatters took the field this season. Twenty-five times they emerged victorious.
They already own conference and league titles and are looking to complete the trifecta on Friday.
Anyone looking for a key to the team's success - according to coach Joe DiFilippo - need look no further than the three senior captains.
Wambold, Danielle DiFilippo and Melissa Spinosa might not say a whole lot, but they certainly know how to get the job done.
"I'm not a coach who's in the building all day, so I really had to depend on the three of them for communication," the Hatters' first-year coach said. "There's never been a time where - with the weather and changing practice times, I just text these three, and it gets done."
Beyond that, the three senior captains command respect.
"The other kids know if there's a problem they can go to them, and it's a direct pipeline to me," DiFilippo said. "You know what's great - they've actually handled problems that I haven't had to get involved in. They'll tell me there's a problem going on, and I come in - it's handled, it's done, it's taken care of. To keep the girl drama off a softball team is big."
All three - according to DiFilppo - have decidedly differently leadership styles.
"You look at the three of them," he said. "Melissa - you can hardly get a word out of her, but the kids respect her.
"Danielle will say anything to anybody and will take the brunt of the fallout. Julie does it from the humorous side. She's the lighter side. When there's a problem, and the three of them are involved in it, it usually ends up in a big joke."
For the seniors, the realization that they are coming very close to the end of remarkable high school careers is just beginning to sink in.
"It's kind of crazy," Danielle DiFilippo said. "I didn't even think about it as my last game."
In truth, the reality that their team is playing for a state championship has not hit home for many of the players.
"I'm still surprised," junior Chrissy James said.
"It still hasn't hit me that Friday is our last game," Valerie Sadowl added. "We're all excited to play, but it kind of feels like another game.
"It's a state championship, but it just hasn't hit me."
Ask the players the key to Friday's game against Pennsbury, and they echo similar sentiments.
"Staying focused - just going out and playing our game," DiFilippo said.
"Play good defense," Spinosa said.
"Do the same stuff that we have been doing," Wambold said.
"It's going to be a good game," DiFilippo said.
That much is all but assured when the District One champion and runner-up will do battle on the state's biggest stage.
Pennsbury
• 23-3 overall
• SOL National Conference champion
• District One Class AAAA runner-up
• In the last meeting between the two teams in the district title game - Hatboro earned an 8-5 win in eight innings.
Players to watch: D'Anna Devine (Catcher), Kelsi Bunda (Center Field), Savanna Grantham (Outfield), Mackenzie Obert (Shortstop), Jess Greenewald (Second Base), Christina Bascara (Third Base), Suzanne Swanicke (First Base), Val Buehler (Pitcher), Danielle Fox (DP), Taylor Bidlingmaier (Outfield), Michelle George (Outfield)
How they got here: The Falcons defeated District 7 champion Latrobe 7-4 in Tuesday's semifinal round. After Latrobe ace Alexa Larkin fanned the first five Pennsbury batters she faced, Mackenzie Obert collected a single. Senior Savanna Grantham followed with an RBI triple, and the Falcons were off and running, opening up a 7-2 lead before Latrobe scored a pair of seventh inning runs off winning hurler Val Buehler. Obert led the offense with a near-perfect 3-for-4 day at the plate.
Coach Frank McSherry says: "It should be fun. Hopefully, we'll play a better game than we did the last time. One of my assistant coaches said last night, 'That Hatboro game might have been the best thing that happened to this team.' It would certainly be nice to be district champions, but the lessons they took from that game - they understand what they can't do and what they need to do, and they certainly have done it since that game. I think they learned some things about themselves, and it can only help us."
Looking ahead: Imagine having an opportunity to avenge your most disappointing defeat.
Although they might not have seen it coming when they fell to Hatboro in the district title game, the Falcons - thanks to their impressive march through the state playoffs - will have an opportunity to do just that when they take on the Hatters in Friday's title game at Penn State.
"That was one game we definitely want to get back," sophomore Christina Bascara said. "We knew it wasn't one person that was messing up or wasn't in it. It was kind of a vibe - the whole team wasn't in it that day. It wasn't flowing as well as it usually does.
"Right after that, we knew we could pick it up and come back even stronger. It was something to learn from, that's for sure."
Since that loss, the Falcons have outscored their opponents 24-6 in the state tournament. The only blemish on their record since they fell to Council Rock North 7-1 on May 5 was their loss to Hatboro in the state title game.
"They only saw what Pennsbury was like on a bad day," sophomore Suzanne Swanicke said. "At Penn State, hopefully, they're going to see us at our A-plus game.
"It's going to be a tough game, but we can do it."
Friday's game - showcasing District One's finest - will be played in the brand new softball stadium at Penn State.
"It's going to be very exciting," senior Kelsi Bunda said. "Coach has told us it's only three months old, and to have a chance to play there, especially in the state finals is exciting.
"We're really going to have to stay disciplined at the plate and not make errors in the field and help out as much as we can."
Playing Hatboro again, according to Bunda, is an opportunity the Falcons didn't think they'd get.
"It's amazing because we wanted this," she said. "Hatboro is a revenge game, and that's what we want to do."
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