North Penn notched a convincing win but Pennsbury came up just short in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament. North Penn/Whitehall photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
#1-2 NORTH PENN 9, #11-2 WHITEHALL 0
The Knights scored two runs in the first and added two more in the second. That was more than enough for Mady Volpe, who allowed just one hit in the complete game shutout win. It was the sophomore ace’s third shutout of the postseason, and her line in this one was dazzling – Volpe allowed just one single while striking out 15 and walking two.
“She again pitched well,” coach Rick Torresani said.
In the bottom of the first, the Knights capitalized on a pair of Whitehall errors as well as singles by Jordan Pietrzykoski, Jamie Beer and Volpe (RBI) to push a pair of runs across.
The Knights’ lead grew to 4-0 in the second. Back-to-back doubles by Pietrzykoski and Amanda Greaney (RBI) highlighted the inning. Elia Namey contributed an RBI single.
A five-run fourth put the game completely out of reach. Highlights of the frame included a leadoff double by Sophia Collins as well as RBI singles from Pietrzykoski and Carley DiGiuseppe.
All told, the Knights collected 10 hits in a winning effort.
“The girls came out and did what we asked them to do,” Torresani said. “In Thursday’s game (a district title loss to Downingtown West), they were really popping up a lot. We really worked hard Saturday on hitting ground balls or hitting line drives, and that’s what they did today.
“They hit the ball hard, they hit the ball on the ground, and they hit line drives.”
Pietrzykoski ignited the Knights with a 3-for-4 effort that included a double, RBI and four runs scored from her spot in the number two hole. Volpe was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
“Everybody contributed – we only had one player that didn’t get a hit,” Torresani said.
North Penn (22-2, 11-1 SOL) will face District 3 champion Central Dauphin in a quarterfinal game.
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#2-1 HAZLETON 2, #1-3 PENNSBURY 1
A successful season came to an end for the Falcons, who managed just two hits. Their only run of the game came in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Karli Haines that knotted the score 1-1.
But not for long.
Hazleton came back and won it with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth.
“There was a short popup in the outfield that should have been caught, and then we had a fly ball – we gave the kid a double, but it really should have been two errors,” coach Frank McSherry said. “Their pitcher spotted her ball well. Her ball broke a lot, and she had a good changeup.
“They’re a really good team. They had some big hitters, which we kept under check for the most part. They made all the plays defensively and probably took two or three hits away from us. They really played a gem of a defensive game.”
Ainsley McClure absorbed the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits while striking out nine. She intentionally walked one batter.
Pennsbury closed out its season with an 18-5 record. The Falcons captured sole possession of the SOL National Conference title with a perfect 12-0 record. It was quite a turnaround from last year’s seven-win season.
“It was a surprise for us,” McSherry said of his team’s turnaround. “We knew that the young kids coming in were good players, but we didn’t know how they’d respond playing varsity, but they really responded well.
“They did a great job adjusting to varsity ball. I think that with our senior leadership – it was really a good combination.”
The Falcons started four freshmen in Tuesday’s loss – McClure, Riley Mahony, Caitlyn Martell and Quinn McGonigle. Anchoring the squad was a strong senior class that included reserve catcher Nicole Middleton.
“She was like another coach – she was just awesome,” McSherry said. “We nominated her for the Unsung Hero Award just because she did such a great job, had such a great attitude, helped the younger kids. She was a gem.”
Other seniors on the squad are Sierra Daley, Carley Parsons, Karli Haines – all of whom were in the starting lineup. Alex Rishel, a four-year varsity player who was injured for a lengthy stretch this season, and Lily Hochhausler also contributed to the team as well.
“There were a lot of great parts in that senior class that really helped the team come together - that was awesome,” McSherry said. “They were good kids, they were all really good kids.”
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