Quakertown storms past Methacton in 7th to win District 1-6A opener 1-0

QUAKERTOWN >> For the second straight game, a seventh-inning storm struck the Methacton softball team.

Last Tuesday, it was a massive thunderstorm that postponed and ultimately cancelled the Warriors’ Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinal against Spring-Ford.

Monday, the storm came in the form of the heart of the Quakertown lineup.

A scoreless game turned in the bottom of the seventh with a string of hits from Nikki Vanelli and Maddie Moyer before catcher Halle Frederick played the hero with an RBI single to the right side to plate Vanelli and give No. 13 Quakertown a 1-0 victory over No. 20 Methacton in a District 1 Class 6A first round contest at Veteran’s Park in Quakertown.

The single run was enough for Quakertown pitcher Tori Caputo, who allowed five hits, no runs and struck out four in her complete-game performance.

“I felt like I was really on my game. Everything was working,” the junior said. “We didn’t really hear much about them, honestly, which I think helped us. It didn’t let them get in our heads much. We didn’t think individually about their lineup going into it. We just knew we had to play our game.”

That game for Quakertown (15-4) was steady pitching, flawless defense and timely hitting – the exact formula for winning postseason games.

Methacton senior pitcher Aubrey Seal took the hard-luck loss despite being the more dominant of the two aces in the pitcher’s duel. Seal, a La Salle commit, allowed only one hit and struck out seven up until the fateful seventh inning. She also went 2-for-3 hitting, including a double that led off the game.

Methacton had a big scoring chance of its own in the seventh inning on third baseman Taylor Angelillis’ leadoff triple. But the Warriors followed with two easy flies to first base before a grounder to third base wasted the runner-on-third-with-zero-outs opportunity.

The inability to get the timely hit ultimately ended the Warriors season, according to longtime head coach Cathy Miller.

“It’s kind of way the year was. We had some close games that we won by a run, some we lost by a run,” Miller said. “In some we hit, but overall our lack of hitting in crucial spots were a frustrating piece.”

That seventh-inning great escape by Caputo and company ignited what was to come with No. 3 hitter Vanelli, who recorded the inning-ending out in the top half, leading off with a single, being sent to third on Moyer’s double to right-center, before Frederick, the catcher, lined the game-winner to the right side.

“I think (the seventh-inning outburst) came from our energy,” Caputo said. “We took it right from the top of the inning and we took that energy and momentum right into our lineup.”

It was a largely unfamiliar spot for the Panthers, who put up their share of runs while going 11-3 in the Suburban One League American Division

Nevertheless, the tight spot left them unafraid.

“I think we’re OK in those positions,” said Caputo, who upped her record to 15-4. “We know when to turn it on and come up with the clutch hitting, like right there (in the seventh), those three hits, we’re able to string them together and when the pressure’s on we’re ready.”

Methacton finished the season 12-8 – a drastic improvement from the previous year’s 6-14 – and qualified for the PAC playoffs, only to have that run halted by last week’s horrendous weather that forced the cancellation of the tournament. Their semifinal with Spring-Ford was tied 0-0 through six innings, just like Monday’s playoff game. Seal was the star of both with scoreless innings abound.

“She pitches her butt off and hits the heck of the ball,” Miller said of the standout who pitched sparingly this season upon recovering from rotator cuff surgery.

While Seal and her senior classmates depart, Miller sees quality of those who will return like junior shortstop Abby Penjuke (1-for-3), Angelillis (1-for-3, triple) and sophomore Caroline Pellicano, who handling pitching duties throughout the year in Seal’s absence.

“It was a nice mix of juniors and sophomores and they have a good collective attitude. We have some talent and good ballplayers coming up,” Miller said. “I’m excited because for the first time in a long time we’re going to have a lot of equal-ability kids, good players that you could platoon if you wanted and not lose anything.”