Central Bucks South and Pennsbury will square off in Monday’s PIAA Class AAAA semifinal softball game.
Central Bucks South and Pennsbury are hardly strangers.
The two teams squared off in a district third place game on May 31 that saw the Titans roll to a 9-1 win over the Falcons.
Eleven days after their worst defeat of the season, the Falcons will have a chance for redemption, and this time the stakes will be a whole lot higher. Instead of playing for third place and seeding in the state tournament, the two teams will be fighting for a coveted berth in Friday’s state title game at Penn State University.
The Falcons, according to Christina Bascara, are in a much better place than they were in late May when – on the heels of a loss to Bishop Shanahan in the district semis – they fell to CB South.
“That was definitely uncharacteristic of us,” the junior third baseman said of the lopsided loss to the Titans. “They played a good game, but I know we weren’t on top of ours, so we’re hoping that based on the last two games we’ve played – which were a lot better – that it will be a lot different outcome.”
South’s Morgan Decker, for one, doesn’t view her team’s big win over the Falcons as anything close to an advantage when the two teams do battle on Monday.
“It’s always hard to play a team the second time because you never know,” the senior third baseman said. “On any given Sunday. You could beat a team easily one day, and then they would come back and stomp all over you the next.
“I think Pennsbury has a great team, and we have to come prepared.”
Just as the two teams are not strangers to each other, they also are not strangers to life among the state’s elite. Two years ago, CB South advanced to the state title game, and last year, a young Falcon squad advanced to the state championship game where they fell to Hatboro-Horsham.
“I think we’re more pumped up this year,” junior Jess Greenewald said. “We know what we have to lose because last year we lost it, and we don’t want to lose it again.
“Last year we kind of didn’t know what was happening because we were so young, and we had never been there before. Now, we’re almost there again, and we don’t want to let it go.”
According to Greenewald, last year’s heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Hatters in a game the Falcons appeared to have won has served as motivation for this year’s squad.
“Oh man, it was really tough, especially the way it happened,” Pennsbury’s second baseman said. “Literally, right after we lost, we couldn’t stop thinking about this year, and we couldn’t wait for this year.
“We would have played the next day if we could have. We got a little taste of it last year, and we want it this year.”
The Falcons entered the season wearing the mantle of both district and state runner-up.
“Last year I would say we had a pretty flawless season,” Bascara said. “I guess it’s hard to keep a streak going where at some point things start going wrong, but if it had to fall the way it did, those were the two games to lose since we were already in states. Hopefully, we got the bumps out.”
If getting to the state title game once is tough, getting there twice in a row is even tougher.
“It’s a lot of pressure, knowing what’s expected of us,” Bascara said. “But when we’re out on the field, it’s all the same game, and we know what we’re capable of doing. We enjoy playing, and if we do bring our ‘A’ game, it’s going to be a close game.”
The Falcons are coming off an emotional 7-6 win in nine innings over Lower Dauphin. In that game, the Falcons twice saw leads slip away, including in the eighth inning after they opened up a 6-3 lead only to watch Lower Dauphin tie it with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Undeterred, the Falcons scored the game winner in the top of the ninth.
“That was a really big thing for us,” Bascara said. “(Coach Frank) McSherry told us he was proud that we didn’t cave in. We tried to stay on top and fight for that one extra run, but they were a really battling team.”
“It really boosts our confidence knowing that we didn’t deflate,” Greenewald added. “We came right back and we put another run on the board. It shows the heart our team has.
“When we have our winter workouts, coach is always saying, ‘Who’s going to last the longest? Who is going to win the nine-inning games?’ It’s who’s going to last the longest and who’s not going to deflate after something bad happens.”
While the Falcons boast a young squad, the Titans have eight seniors on their roster, including a trio of four-year starters – Decker, Haileigh Stocks and Lauren Klepchick.
“I don’t even know that being a senior has fully hit me yet,” Decker said. “I graduated, and I don’t think I realize it yet.
“It’s definitely different. You’re in a different role on the team. We have a ton of seniors, and we all take leadership roles, and we all step up to the plate a little bit, and it’s definitely a different atmosphere.”
This is the third trip to the state semifinals in four years for the Decker, Stocks and Klepchick.
“As a freshman, you come in and you don’t say anything,” Decker said. “You’re so intimidated, and you’re just happy to be there.
“No one expects anything of you, nobody knows who you are, so it’s easier in that sense, but at the same time, it’s so much more fun now because we all have a camaraderie.”
Monday’s all-SOL semifinal promises to be an interesting one between two squads who have been in this spot before.
“We just have to make sure we show up, and we continue to play the game we’ve played throughout the playoffs,” Decker said. “As long as we all come together – we create our team with our atmosphere, with the personalities we bring, the attitudes we bring to the game, so as long as everybody comes with a positive attitude ready to play and ready to win, I think we’ll do great.”
The Falcons are equally optimistic.
“I have all the faith in my girls,” Greenewald said. “I know we can pull it out. We went through some bumps, but we lost when we could lose, and we got them out of the way.”
“It’s exciting, but it’s not easy,” Bascara said. “We know we’re going to have to come out strong against Central Bucks South. We’re hoping that since we have come all this way that it pays off.”
(1-3) CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH vs (1-4) PENNSBURY, Monday at noon at Spring-Ford High School
Pennsbury
- 22-4 overall, 13-1 SOL
- National Conference co-champions with Neshaminy
- Defending district and state runner-up
How they got here:
- Defeated Pennridge 1-0 in second round district contest that saw Val Buehler toss a three-hit shutout and freshman Dani Litwin deliver the game-winning hit.
- Needed eight innings to defeat ninth-seeded Methacton 2-1 in a district quarterfinal game. Suzanne Swanicke, just back after a bout with bronchitis, delivered a two-out double in the eighth and then scored the winning run when Michelle George delivered a clutch single.
- Managed just one hit – an infield single by Suzanne Swanicke with two outs in the seventh – in a 4-0 semifinal loss to Bishop Shanahan.
- Fell to Central Bucks South 9-1 in district third place game.
- Pennsbury defeated District 4 champion Williamsport 6-1 in Monday’s opening round. Mackenzie Obert, Christina Bascaro, Jess Greenewald and Dani Litwin led the Falcons 10-hit attack with two hits each. Val Buehler earned the win on the mound.
- The Falcons won a 7-6 thriller in nine innings over Lower Dauphin. Christina Bascara, who had singled, scored the game winner when Farryl Groder delivered a two-strike, two-out single. Taylor Boltersdorf and Jess Greenewald led the Falcons’ 17-hit attack with three hits each while Bascaro, Suzanne Swanicke, Michelle George and Mackenzie Obert all had two hits. Val Buehler earned the win.
Players to watch: Val Buehler (Jr., pitcher), Mackenzie Obert (Jr., shortstop), Jess Greenewald (Jr., second baseman), Christina Bascara (Jr., third baseman), Suzanne Swanicke (Jr., first baseman), Michelle George (Jr., centerfielder), Farryl Groder (Soph., rightfielder)
Central Bucks South
- 20-4 overall, 12-2 SOL
- Continental Conference co-champions with Hatboro-Horsham
How they got here:
- Defeated #11Wissahickon 4-0 in second round district game. The Titans were led by the four-hit, nine-strikeout effort of Haileigh Stocks and the two-hit, two-RBI performance of Hallie Bilker.
- The Titans pounded out nine hits and benefitted from three errors (resulting in three unearned runs) to earn an 8-0 win over third-seeded Spring-Ford in the quarterfinals. Lauren Klepchick led the Titans with a 3-for-4 day while Hallie Bilker drove in three runs with a bases-clearing triple. Haileigh Stocks allowed just two hits in the shutout.
- Titans never led in their 4-3 loss to North Penn in a district semifinal contest. Morgan Decker led the Titans with a pair of hits.
- Rolled to a 9-1 win over top-seeded Pennsbury in the district’s third place game. Freshman Maddie Decker’s two-run double highlighted a six-run uprising in the fourth inning. Haileigh Stocks not only earned the win on the mound, the senior hurler also was 3-for-3 with a double to lead a 15-hit Titan attack.
- Haileigh Stocks had a pair of three-run homers and also earned the win on the mound in the Titans’ 8-1 win over District 11 champion Liberty in Monday’s opening round. Lauren Klepchick added a pair of hits, including an RBI double.
- Defeated District 12 champion St. Hubert’s 3-1. Lauren Klepchick delivered the game’s big blow, a two-run homerun in the fourth inning to spot the Titans a 2-0 lead. They added a single run in the fifth, using singles by Kristyn Marinelli and Jae Epstein (RBI). Haileigh Stocks was impressive in the win, allowing four hits while fanning seven.
Players to watch: Haileigh Stocks (Sr., pitcher), Morgan Decker (Sr., third baseman), Lauren Klepchick (Sr., catcher), Hallie Bilker (Jr., rightfielder)
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