North Penn strikes early, stays perfect with win over Pennridge

TOWAMENCIN >> There’s still a few weeks too go before the regular season wraps up, but North Penn coach Rick Torresani is not afraid to think about chasing perfection.

“Everybody keeps telling me you don’t want to go undefeated in the season,” he said. “And I said ‘Listen, if this team goes undefeated, what am I supposed to do tell them to lose a game?’ No.”

Wednesday afternoon, the Knights made it 11 wins in 11 games as they took advantage of a few Pennridge errors to score all of their runs in the first three innings and best the visiting Rams 7-1 for a Suburban One League Continental Conference victory.

“We just want to keep piling on the runs as we go on through the game,” NP junior shortstop Victoria Juckniewitz said. “That’s one thing coach stresses a lot on us cause we have the bats, we have the hitting and we have the chance like put in those runs for Mady (Volpe) and we come through.”

Pennridge out-hit North Penn (11-0, 6-0 conference) nine to eight but stranded 11 baserunners, including leaving the bases loaded in both the fifth and six innings.  The Rams’ lone run came in the top of the third on Mak Owens’ leadoff home run to center field to make it 4-1. But the Knights responded by plate three runs in the bottom of the frame to push their lead to six.

“They capitalized and the walks and errors which we weren’t able to do,” Pennridge coach Wendy Iadonisi said. “We left 11 people on base, which if you not getting any of those runners in, it’s not going to help you win a game.”

Owens’ solo blast was the only extra-base hit Volpe allowed as the NP right-hander got into a few jams but found away to work out of them. She struck out 12 and walked just one in earning the complete-game win.

“Changeup was working a lot,” Volpe said. “We were actually incorporating that a lot in the pitching and riseball’s working, too. I didn’t really throw a lot of screwballs today.”

In the fifth, Pennridge (6-3, 4-2) loaded the bases with two outs after an error and walk but Volpe got a strikeout swinging. The Rams packed the bases with one out in the sixth but Volpe picked up back-to-back strikeouts to maintain the six-run edge.

“We came out early and hit the ball, we scored some runs and then we sort of laid back and I told them that up there it wasn’t a clean game by us and that they’re a good team but we got to clean our game up,” Torresani said. “We’re 11-0, how can I get down on them? They’re playing hard, they played great yesterday (a 10-2 win over Central Bucks South), played a real clean game yesterday and they came out and Mady pitched OK, she did well, she kept us in it and got the strikeouts when we needed it.”

Juckniewitz finished 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored while Elia Namey went 2-for-3 with pair of singles and a runs scored for North Penn, which visits Souderton Tuesday.

“We have a two-game in the league so we have a little breathing room there,” Torresani said. “But I said, you know what, let’s go undefeated. Let’s show everybody that we can go undefeated into districts. Then we’ll see what happens.”

Morgan Henry was 2-for-3 for the Rams, which hosts Truman Wednesday.

Pennridge starting pitcher Makenna Patterson took the loss, allowing seven runs — four earned — on eight hits in six innings. She walked six and struck out four.

“I thought she did well. She was hitting her spots,” said Iadonisi of Patterson. “Again, the beginning our defense didn’t stand up as strong as what we have in the past or what we did in the second half of the game, so that hurt us some. I think walks at the beginning where hurting a little bit too and they capitalized on that. But I think overall she did what we expected her to do.”

After Volpe struck out the side in the top of the first, the Knights took a 2-0 lead in their half of the inning. Juckniewitz lead off with a walk with Jordan Pietrzykoski reaching on an error. After a wild pitch advanced both runners, Juckniewitz scored on Amanda Greaney’s RBI sacrifice fly to right. Two batters later, Jamie Beer’s RBI sac fly to center plated Pietrzykoski.

In the second, North Penn doubled their lead after Gianna Costello reached first on a two-out error. Juckniewitz dropped a double to left to put runners on second and third for Pietrzykoski, who brought both in with her single through the left side of the infield.

“Our offense, everyone stands in ready to swing and ready to put those runs up in the board,” Juckniewitz said. “We all look to put up RBIs and just go with it.”

Owens, the Rams’ No. 8 hitter, cut the margin to 4-1 with her side’s second hit of the afternoon — a leadoff solo homer over the center-field fence.

“She’s been hitting with power recently,” said Iadonisi of Owens. “She’s been more relaxed up to the plate, so I think that’s helped her. We’ve been moving her around a little bit trying to find a spot for her so maybe that’s a good spot with pitchers not assuming that an eight batter going to hit with power like that.”

Pennridge looked for more in the inning after two-out singles from Gianna Iadonisi and Madi Silber, but Volpe got a pop out to the shortstop to keep the NP lead at three.

North Penn proceeded to push its lead to 7-1 with a three-spot in the bottom of the third. Namey led off with a single, Beer followed with a walk. Volpe’s single drove in Namey from second with an error on the play putting runners on second and third.An Abbey Picozzi RBI ground out two batters later scored Beer while Costello’s raced to first for an infield single to bring home Volpe’s courtesy runner Lizzy Stark.

“The bottom of the lineup did great,” Torresani said. “And Abbey had a great at-bat when she hit the ball to right side of field and drove and run in and that’s what we preach about — give yourself up, drive the ball, hit the ball to the right side and you get a run.”

North Penn loaded the bases in the fourth with a one-out Namey single and consecutive walks by Beer and Volpe but the Knights couldn’t add to their lead — the Rams getting a force out at home on a fielder’s choice then a fly out to right to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth, Kiley Watson collected a one-out infield single then with two outs Madi Silber reached on an error while Henry walked to load the bases. Volpe, however, struck out the next batter.

The Rams again loaded the bases in the sixth. Patterson started the inning with an infield single with Catelyn Thrush following with a bunt single. With one out, an error allowed Wiss Chiapetta to reach first. But Volpe kept a clean frame by posting her final two strikeouts.

NORTH PENN 7, PENNRIDGE 1
Pennridge           001 000 0 — 1 9 5
North Penn        223 000 x — 7 8 3
WP: Mady Volpe 7 IP 9 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 12 SO.
LP: Makenna Patterson 6 IP 8 H 7 R 4 ER 6 BB 4 SO.
2B: NP-Victoria Juckniewitz; HR: P-Mak Owens.
Pennridge: Owens RBI, R; Morgan Henry 2-3.
North Penn: Juckniewitz 2-3, 2 R; Elia Namey 2-3, R; Jordan Pietrzykoski 2 RBI, R.