Central Bucks South defeated Pennsbury 7-0 to earn a spot in Friday’s PIAA Class AAAA title game at Penn State University. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Haileigh Stocks and her teammates have captured magic in a bottle.
Or at least so it seems.
Central Bucks South’s senior pitcher was nothing short of brilliant in Monday’s PIAA Class AAAA semifinal game against Pennsbury, tossing a no-hitter while striking out four. Only a two-out walk in the fourth inning to junior Christina Bascara stood between Stocks and a perfect game.
In the second inning, Stocks also delivered the hit that all but sealed the Falcons’ fate when she lofted a two-run home run over the center field fence, spotting the Titans a 5-0 lead on their way to a 7-0 win.
The no-hitter was the first of Stocks’ high school career, and this one vaulted the Titans into Friday’s state title game at Penn State University.
“After the first time through the lineup, I saw their swings, and I thought she had a chance at something special,” coach Dan Hayes said. “She was locating her pitches really well. She fell behind a couple of hitters, but she always seems to come back.”
Stocks and her teammates have been going about their business with methodical precision since falling to North Penn in a district semifinal game on May 29, outscoring their opponents 27-3 en route to four straight wins.
Monday’s masterpiece by Stocks was the crown jewel of the season for the Titans, who played the kind of defense behind their senior star that made life impossible for the Falcons.
“I thought we were definitely hitting her well,” Bascaro said. “We were swinging at a lot better pitches than we did the last time we played them (a 9-1 loss in the district third place game).
“It was one of those ‘at-em’ days where we were hitting it right at the fielders. Nothing was falling in, and it’s really hard to get a rally going, especially when you’re at a deficit.”
The Titans didn’t just field the balls hit right ‘at-em’ but also the balls that weren’t. Third baseman Morgan Decker delivered a pair of highlight reel defensive plays. The first came in the fifth when she not only fielded Dani Litwin’s grounder going to her left but also made the throw to first from her knees. One inning later, Decker made an impossible diving backhanded grab of Taylor Boltersdorf’s foul popup.
The Titans, according to Decker, were inspired by more than just the fact that a trip to the state title game was on the line.
“I knew she was perfect through three innings,” Decker said of Stocks. “I pick up on things like that, and everyone else does too.
“I think that knowing how well she was doing helped our defense step up to the plate. You’re no longer doing it just for the win, you’re doing it for a teammate as well, so that was huge.”
The Titans’ defensive effort was not lost on Stocks.
“Outfielder and infielders – everyone was working together and communicating,” the senior hurler said. “We went hard, and we didn’t really let up.”
A key to Stocks’ dazzling performance was her ability to stay ahead in the count as she regularly threw first-pitch strikes.
“That’s important, especially getting ahead in the count so you can throw your pitch and don’t have to come back down the middle,” Stocks said. “Getting ahead, I can move them off the plate a little bit more and make them stay on their toes.”
After a one-two-three first inning that saw Stocks throw just seven pitches, the Titans went to work offensively in the bottom of the inning. Stocks drew a four-pitch walk and then Decker was hit by a pitch. Lauren Klepchick roped a double to the fence in deep center, plating a run. Hallie Bilker drew a walk to load the bases, and a second run crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Carly Dudek’s RBI single put the Titans on top 3-0.
Jae Epstein got things started in the second inning when she legged out an infield single on a high chopper in front of the plate. Stocks followed with a blast over the center field fence to put the Titans on top 5-0, and the senior leadoff batter, who scored a pair of runs, acknowledged that she might have one of the best jobs in softball hitting in front of Stocks, Decker and Klepchick.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Epstein said. “Once I get on knowing I have Haileigh, Morgan and Lauren coming up, I just know I’ll be at third or score somehow.”
In the fourth inning, Alyssa Virginio drew a leadoff walk and moved up to second on Epstein’s sacrifice. Stocks followed with an RBI single that gave the Titans a 6-0 lead.
In the seventh, the Titans tacked on an unearned run. Epstein was safe on an error, and one out later, Decker lofted a shot to deep center that bounced off the top of the fence and bounced back in play for a double. Epstein raced home on Bilker’s groundout for a 7-0 Titan lead.
No one was happier to see a pitch she could at long last drive than Decker, who walked four times and was hit by a pitch on Sunday playing for her travel team.
“Then she comes out and hits me with a pitch today and I see four balls my next at-bat,” Decker said of Falcons’ pitcher Val Buehler. “I was like ‘Something needs to come to me.’
“It does get frustrating because the middle of our lineup – we’re not looking to walk, but at the end of the day, getting on base is the key. You can’t score runs if nobody is on base. It also helps that the people behind us capitalized and got us in. She can give us all the free passes in the world, and if we’re not getting hits behind them, it doesn’t make a difference. Both things were key.”
The hardest hit ball off Stocks came with one out in the seventh when Bascaro lined a shot that was snagged by centerfielder Epstein for the inning’s second out. Stocks’ no-hitter was in the books when Epstein caught a routine fly ball for the game’s final out, putting the finishing touches on a win that propelled the Titans to Friday’s state title game.
“It’s a long time coming,” said Epstein, who was part of the Titans’ 2010 run to the state title game. “I feel as though this team is more united. We work together better, and there’s more chemistry, and if we keep the momentum, no one is going to stop us.
“This is the last time a lot of us will be playing together. It’s one of those things – we’re not going to lose.”
Despite Monday’s disappointing outcome, the future is decidedly bright for the young Falcons, who had seven juniors in their starting lineup and only one senior – designated player Lauren Cregan.
“When we think about it now, next year is the year to do it,” Bascaro said. “We can’t hang our heads after this. Making it into the final four two years is hard. We have to give credit to that team.”
The Falcons, last year’s state runner-up, closed out a successful 2012 season with a 22-5 record.
“We told them they have a lot to be proud of,” coach Frank McSherry said. “Some of these kids were the nucleus of our team last year, and there are not a lot of teams that win 45 games in two years, and no other team has gone to the final four two years in a row. They have that to be proud of. They got beat by a better team.”
To read Rick Woelfel’s Pennsbury column, please click on the following PhillyBurbs.com link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/falls/pennsbury-s-buehler-fights-to-the-finish/article_53c081f0-62f3-526a-994e-7ac453498364.html
To read Bill Keen’s Central Bucks South column, please click on the following link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/warrington/decker-titans-defense-saved-stocks-no-no/article_bf03d6a3-9312-5bd7-a0e9-9897fda55134.html
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