North Penn hands Hatboro-Horsham first loss in eight-inning thriller

HORSHAM >> Carley DiGiuseppe stepped into the batter’s box in the top of the eighth inning ready to be a senior.

The Knights hadn’t gotten a leadoff batter on all game against Hatboro-Horsham ace Kendal Leitner, but they had made her work by grinding out at-bats. DiGiuseppe did just that, battling through 11 pitches before belting the next to left-center for a leadoff double and the spark her team needed.

DiGiuseppe’s double led to a manufactured run and Mady Volpe and the defense did the rest as the Knights handed the Hatters their first loss, 1-0 in eight innings Friday in a superb game between two teams ranked in the top four of District 1 Class 6A.

“I didn’t want to let my teammates down and (coach Rick Torresani) told me ‘be a senior,'” DiGiuseppe, the Knights’ left fielder, said. “I wanted to step up, I wanted to support my team and I just wanted to take some pressure off. I relaxed, stepped in and did what I did, saw the pitch and I swung.”

Friday’s game saw the two ace hurlers practically go pitch-for-pitch, with Leitner tossing 135 pitches in a 10-strikeout effort while Volpe threw 134 times, punching out nine. Offensive opportunities weren’t plentiful either, so every runner that did manage to reach base felt like a prized commodity as both teams searched for an elusive run.

The Hatters (13-1, 6-0 SOL Liberty) felt like the benefited plenty from the game even if the final outcome didn’t go in their favor. Leitner, a junior right-hander, started listing contributions around her and ended up listing every other teammate in the starting lineup as she did. With wins over Souderton, Pennsbury and Quakertown to their name and Friday’s effort against the Knights (14-1, 6-0 SOL Colonial), Hatboro-Horsham feels like it can play with the best in the district.

“For our varsity team, only 11 girls tried out and all 11 made it, so this is our team and we proved we can stay with teams that have 80 girls try out for their softball team,” Leitner said. “We can stay with anyone if our heart is in it, and that’s something we always do.”

A big part of Leitner’s success was her ability to keep runners off the bases early in innings. The righty’s first seven outs came via strikeouts but even as the Knights started grinding in the box, Leitner kept her cool. She won a 13-pitch battle with Julia Shearer in the third and an 11-pitch duel with Annabelle Smink in the fourth during a stretch where Knights hitters fouled off 21 total pitches but she held the potent North Penn offense to just three runners before extra innings.

“I did it the same exact way I go against any other team and any other pitcher,” Leitner said. “I have to keep it the same, keep the same mentality. (Volpe) is a person the same way I’m a person, so I just tell myself to always play like you’re having fun.

“You know even a walk can score, so being able to take away that first batter was huge and kept us in the game.”

Of course, the host offense had to work just as hard to get anything off Volpe. Hatters senior Kristen Myers had the most success, drawing three walks and hitting a single out of the leadoff spot but Hatboro-Horsham didn’t get its first hit until a one-out single by third baseman Amya Lundy in the fourth.

Hatboro-Horsham didn’t get anyone past second base until the bottom of the seventh and Volpe got some excellent defense behind her to go with her handful of usual timely strikeouts. The Coastal Carolina recruit credited her defenders for always staying ready behind her and the infield players for coming up with some vital outs.

“As a team, this was a playoff-atmosphere type of game we definitely wanted to have,” Volpe said. “For myself, it was definitely a pressure situation of, my team was getting on base but not producing so I had to go back them up and I think I was able to do that and keep my composure as well.”

The Hatters seemed to have a chance to score in the bottom of the seventh, but a miscommunication at third base kept the lead runner there instead of going home, though Hatboro-Horsham coach Kelly Krier noted the Knights had got the ball in fast and it would have been a close play at the plate. A good defensive play by Sophia Collins and Bri Wilmot on the next batter ended the frame, one of a handful of chances in the game that went North Penn’s way and against the Hatters.

“These girls give their all,” Leitner said. “Kristen was in the outfield diving all over, Abby (Waeltz) was blocking everything behind the plate, I mean she hurt her hand trying to keep a ball from getting away, I could go on about everyone, it’s just amazing to have that as a team.”

Regardless of the outcome, Krier had high praise for her team, which starts just two seniors.

“This is a big game and a big stage for a young group of girls and my assistant Rachel (Gieringer) and I are just proud of them, they did not stop, they did not quit and picked each other up,” Krier said. “They worked to get better each inning and like Kendal said, she’s delivering but she also knows she has the whole team behind her.”

After striking out her first time up, DiGiuseppe hit a ball to left that required a diving grab by Myers in the fifth inning so by the time the North Penn senior dug in to start the eighth, she felt pretty secure in her approach. The at-bat, which features seven pitches fouled off, ended with DiGiuseppe smoking one into the outfield and making a good slide into second to avoid a tag.

Jaclyn Diaz came in to run, but DiGiuseppe had no problem joining her teammates at the fence cheering as her pinch-runner moved up on a sac bunt by Collins before beating a throw home on a bunt by Rachel Lowry.

“As soon as the ball went through and I ended up on second, I knew how happy everyone was and the energy went 10 times higher,” DiGiuseppe, a Bloomfield recruit, said. “I love that Jackie was able to get into the game, score and be a part of what we were doing. I was cheering just as hard as she was when I batted, so it was awesome to be a part of that.”

Volpe said she’d like to see the Hatters again in the postseason, a sentiment Leitner heartily echoed.

“Not every game is going to be easy, there are good pitchers like this we’re going to face so we have to stay energized, relax, do what we know we can do and play North Penn softball,” DiGiuseppe said. “Games like this, they really show how much we can push through when things are hard if we stay together as a team.”

NORTH PENN 1, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 (8)
NORTH PENN 000 000 01 – 1 2 0
HATBORO-HORSHAM 000 000 00 – 0 5 0
2B: NP – Carley DiGiuseppe.