CB East topples North Penn
TOWAMENCIN >> In offense-numbing cold, Tara Harper’s bat showed plenty of life.
“I felt really good,” the Central Bucks East second baseman and No. 2 hitter said after Tuesday’s clash with rival North Penn. “I hadn’t been doing so well and just came out here today and did really well.”
Harper legged out two infield singles, doubled to deep left and laid down a perfect bunt to cap off a 4-for-5 performance, helping to lead the Patriots to an 8-2 win over the Lady Knights in a Suburban One League Continental Conference battle.
On a windy, 39-degree day at North Penn, the Patriots put together an impressive performance against the defending conference champs.
“It was one of our team goals and we accomplished that today,” Harper said.
After Melanie Lauro’s RBI single gave the Lady Knights (1-1 conference) a 1-0 lead in the second, East plated three in the third off NP starter Bri Battavio to push in front for good.
Harper got the inning started with a single, with winning pitcher Teresa Haug, Alyssa Catron and Kayla Ventura all driving in runs to put East in front, 3-1.
The Lady Knights sliced the margin to 3-2 in the fourth when Katie Beer knocked in a run, but three North Penn errors in the fifth derailed any comeback hopes.
“That’s not North Penn softball, so we’ve got a lot of work to do,” coach Rick Torresani said. “Our heads were not in it today.”
Harper’s towering double to left brought in a pair to cap a five-run fifth and complete the scoring for East, which is off to a 2-0 start in the conference after a .500 finish in the Continental a year ago.
The Patriots host Hatboro-Horsham Thursday while the Lady Knights host Quakertown that same afternoon.
“We did well (in a win over CB South last Wednesday), who I think is a very good team, but today we didn’t compete,” Torresani said. “But it’s early and this is the way we started out last year. So we’ll see what happens.”
