Pennsbury and Hatboro-Horsham earned impressive wins in Monday’s PIAA Class AAAA opening round games. CB South and North Penn saw their games postponed until Tuesday.
Two SOL teams got their games in between the showers on Monday, and both emerged victorious. Pennsbury appeared to find its stride again after struggling in district tournament play, rolling to a convincing 6-1 win over District 4 champion Williamsport in a game played at Bloomsburg University at noon.
Hatboro-Horsham, which stranded five base runners in the first two innings, spotted Central Dauphin an early 1-0 lead but rallied for a convincing 9-3 win that sent the District 3 champions home for the season in a game played at Lebanon Valley College.
North Penn and Central Bucks South saw their games postponed. The district champion Maidens will face Lower Dauphin, the third place team from District 3, on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Spring-Ford. Central Bucks South will face District 11 champion Liberty at Pates Park in Allentown on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
(1-4) PENNSBURY 6, (4-1) WILLIAMSPORT 1
The Falcons – seeded first entering the District One AAAA Tournament - were understandably frustrated after dropping back-to-back games to finish fourth in district play.
“We all thought it was really weird – it was very uncharacteristic,” junior Mackenzie Obert said of the Falcons’ sudden struggles. “We all got together over the weekend, and we all hung out.
“We figured we had to become a team, be friends and get back to the way it was at the beginning of the season. We just knew we had to come right out and win big. That’s what we tried to do today, and it turned out pretty well.”
After scoring just four runs in their previous four games combined, the Falcons exploded for 10 hits off of Gatorade PA Player of the Year candidate Alexis Bower.
“We hit the ball,” coach Frank McSherry said. “We played a little bit more like we did during the season. We got in a funk for four games where there was just no offense. “The kids were frustrated, and we were frustrated as a coaching staff. This was a good one today. Hopefully a new season has begun. They came out ready to play.”
The Millionaires got on the scoreboard in the second when they plated a single run, but according to Obert, it was not cause for concern.
“I thought we were pretty confident,” the junior shortstop said. “We all trust Val that she would get it done. (They scored the first run), but we figured we could always come back, and it pumped us up even more.”
The Millionaires’ lead was short-lived as the Falcons answered with three runs of their own in the top of the third. Christina Bascaro, Dani Litwin and Farryl Groder each contributed RBI singles, and the Falcons were just getting started.
In the fourth inning, Obert and Bascaro (RBI) both delivered triples as the Falcons put two more runs on the board to go on top 5-1. In the sixth inning, Obert and Jess Greenwald both contributed singles, and the Falcons took advantage of a Williamsport error to tack on a single run for the 6-1 final.
“It’s a new slate, a new beginning,” Obert said. “You have no wins, no losses, you’re starting states, and you’re starting over.
“We just saw it as – come out big the first game. We pumped each other up, we stayed positive throughout the whole game, and that’s what we have to keep doing.”
Val Buehler earned the win on the mound, scattering five hits – which included a pair of doubles to Bower.
“She did real well,” McSherry said of his mound ace. “She only struck out two kids, but they hit a lot of weak ground balls and a couple of weak popups.”
Obert, Greenwald, Bascaro and Litwin led the Falcons with two hits each. While the Falcons have been in an offensive slump, Greenwald has remained red hot and is 8-for-16 in her last 16 official trips to the plate.
“She has been consistently getting on base,” McSherry said.
The Falcons (21-4) will face the winner of Tuesday’s North Penn/Lower Dauphin game in Thursday’s second round.
(1-4) HATBORO-HORSHAM 9, (3-1) CENTRAL DAUPHIN 3
The Hatters didn’t take kindly to being shut out by Bishop Shanahan mound ace Kate Poppe in a district quarterfinal loss. For those who aren’t counting, the Hatters have exploded for 30 runs in the three games since then and look very much like a team on a mission.
Monday’s win earned the Hatters a date with none other than Shanahan in Thursday’s second round.
“This is a tremendous win,” junior Nicole Casagrand said. “We’re really proud of how we came back, and we’re excited to face Bishop Shanahan.”
If there’s pressure associated with being the defending state champion, the Hatters certainly didn’t let it show on Monday against District 3’s top squad.
“We never really feel any pressure,” Casagrand said. “It’s more like we want to win, we’re all motivated to do it, and our coach does a really good job of pumping us up. The coaches are really supportive of us, so we’re all in there together.”
The Hatters spotted the Rams a 1-0 lead in the first but erased that deficit in a hurry with four runs in the fourth. They upped that lead to 7-1 before the Rams scored two fifth-inning runs. Hatboro plated two runs in the sixth to put the finishing touches on the big win.
“I just think we came together,” Casagrand said. “We knew what we had to do.
“We were just looking to put the ball in play, and we knew the hitters we had would come through.”
There were offensive heroes galore for the Hatters, who pounded 14 hits off of University of Pittsburgh-bound Taylor Henry.
“We hit her pretty hard, but she’s a very good pitcher,” coach Joe DiFilippo said. “She got a little flustered, but we hit the ball pretty hard.
“Hey, we’re used to playing these games. Playing in District One and Suburban One, you have tough games all the time, and it’s good practice to get to this point. I don’t know what kind of games they play, but I know they don’t play up to the level of competition we play against.”
Casagrand led the Hatters’ hit parade with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate. Chrissy James had a double and single while Maggie Shaffer helped her own cause with a pair of singles. Daria Edwards also had two hits, Heather Lutz contributed a triple in the sixth inning, and Val Sadowl delivered one of the game’s biggest hits – a two-run double in the four-run fourth inning uprising.
“In the beginning of the game, we were trying to hit (Henry’s) pitch, and we weren’t trying to find our own pitch,” Casagrand said. “Around the third or fourth inning, we decided we were going to make her work us in the count and make her give us a better pitch. We just waited and laid off the high pitches.”
The Hatters hope to continue their torrid offensive production when they take on Shanahan and ace Katie Poppe in Thursday’s state quarterfinal game. In the initial meeting between the two squads, Poppe struck out 17 and allowed just one hit in the Eagles’ 1-0 win.
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