CB South rallied for a come-from-behind win over Hatboro-Horsham in a key SOL battle. To view photos of all the action, Please visit the Photo Gallery.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 9, HATBORO-HORSHAM 2
Lauren Klepchick is nothing if not a clutch hitter, so it was more than a little surprising when – with a pair of runners in scoring position, two outs, a base open and the Hatters clinging to a 2-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning – the Titans’ senior cleanup hitter actually saw several pitches to hit, including a called strike early in the count.
Then – on a fullcount pitch - Klepchick jumped on an outside pitch and lined it into right field for a single that plated a pair of runs to knot the score and forever change the complexion of Thursday’s classic SOL battle.
“I knew coming in that their coach knows what I like and knows how I hit,” Klepchick said. “I thought they were going to keep throwing me outside, and I just had to wait for a pitch that was in the zone because a lot of the balls were way outside. I just went with it to right field.”
Until the pivotal sixth, the Titans had managed all of one hit off Hatter mound ace Maggie Shaffer, and that was a lead-off slap single to right by Jae Epstein, who delivered the game winner in the seventh.
“Maggie is just a great pitcher all around,” Klepchick said. “She can move the ball up, down, in and out. Not only is she effective, but she knows what to throw certain batters.
“I felt as though we would come around eventually.”
The Titans’ sixth inning rally began when Ally Horvath legged out a bunt single to lead off the frame. Two outs later, she was still on first base, but Morgan Decker lined a two-out single to left and moved up to second on the throw, setting the stage for Klepchick’s big at-bat.
“I thought they were trying to walk her,” South coach Dan Hayes said. “(Hatboro coach Joe DiFilippo said) ‘You know what we’re doing here,’ and the next pitch was a strike on the outside corner, so I guess they decided they wanted to go at her.
“I certainly wouldn’t have. Not that the rest of the team hasn’t been doing it, but in a big spot like that, I’ll take her any time. She’s so solid.”
Klepchick’s hit knotted the score 2-2, and it looked as though extra innings were inevitable, but the Titans had other plans. Hallie Bilker poked a double to right to open the seventh inning, and the Titans had a pair on board after Carly Dudek delivered a bunt single.
Both runners advanced on Alyssa Virginio’s sacrifice bunt, but it looked as though the Hatters might escape unscathed when Shaffer came up with a clutch strikeout for the inning’s second out.
Epstein, however, slapped her second hit of the day into right field, plating a pair of runs.
“That was a big hit,” Hayes said. “I leave her on her own completely. She can do that, and she can lay it down and beat it out.”
Epstein acknowledged that opposing team’s unusual defensive alignments to take away the senior centerfielder’s short game pose a challenge.
“They normally play shallower, and that’s what makes it so much harder to place the ball where you want it to go,” Epstein said. “I try to hit the ball on the ground as much as possible.”
Epstein’s two-run single made it a 4-2 game, and the Titans were just getting started. Haileigh Stocks drew a walk, and that brought Decker to the plate for the game’s most electrifying moment when the senior power hitter lofted a monster blast that easily cleared the right field fence. This one was gone from the crack of the back, and the three-run blast put the Titans on top 7-2.
Klepchick followed and drew her third walk of the game, and the Titans had a pair on board after Kristya Marinelli singled to left. Two more runs crossed the plate when Bilker roped a triple to deep left, giving the Titans a commanding 9-2 lead.
Stocks tossed a one-two-three seventh to put the finishing touches on the big win. The senior hurler scattered four hits, fanned eight, walked a pair and did not allow an earned run. Stocks’ superb outing came 24 hours after she was touched for nine hits and six runs in South’s 7-6 win over Central Bucks East.
“I feel like she had a better warm-up before the game today,” Klepchick said. “I was working with her on her pitches, just moving her around a little bit more.
“We kind of have a connection on the field, and we know what we want to throw at certain times. We know a couple of players on their team, and we know what they can and can’t hit. I think me and her are very effective together.”
The Hatters actually appeared to be in the driver’s seat after opening up a 2-0 lead in the third. The inning began with Jackie DiPietro slapping a single to left, and Chrissy James, who has turned sacrifice bunts into something close to an art form, showed she also has some pop in her bat, lining a single to center. An error on Maria Spinosa’s sacrifice bunt allowed DiPietro to race home, and James crossed the plate with the Hatters’ second run when Shaffer collected an infield single.
The Hatters managed just two hits the rest of the way.
“Today they were better,” DiFilippo said. “We didn’t have it today.
“They’re a very good hitting team. Sometimes the ball goes to spots where you’re not. You can adjust everything you want to do, but a ball bounces by an outfielder – they score two runs. Our pitcher misses a spot, it’s a three-run homer.
“Lauren Klepchick hit ball four. She threw her bat at the ball – it happens. We were pitching around her. I wanted to see if she would chase anything. I don’t think it was a 9-2 game, but the score says what it is.”
The two teams boast identical 9-1 records, but the Titans are a perfect 6-0 in league play while the Hatters are 5-1. A rematch looms on the horizon.
“Sometimes losing is better than winning,” DiFilippo said. “Sometimes you need a wake-up call.
“There are worse things that can happen. We’re not in the playoffs yet. They beat us today, but we’ll see what they do in a couple of weeks. I still have all the faith in this team.”
The Titans, meanwhile, weren’t looking down the road. For one day, they savored a special win.
“I’m really, really happy and proud of them,” Hayes said. “Obviously, everybody has been thinking about this game. We don’t talk about it much, but we’ve been thinking about. I think it was all it was cracked up to be.”
“We have been looking forward to this game all week,” Klepchick added. “We had two tough games in the beginning of the week, and we wanted to end the week with a strong win.”
NORTH PENN 11, HARRY S TRUMAN 1 (5 innings)
The Maidens pounded out 11 hits on their way to the big win in the abbreviated non-league contest on Thursday. Morgan Wienusz was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs while senior Jess Mower was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Tigers managed just three hits off winning pitcher Jackie Bilotti. One of those hits was a double by Danielle Jones.
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