Everything coming together for North Penn as Knights get ready for PIAA-6A Semis

Things started very much the same way they’ve started all year.
“Mady being Mady,” North Penn coach Rick Torresani said after Thursday’s state quarterfinal, “and pitching really well.”
Volpe’s start allowed the Knights to finish in a very special place: 4-0 victors over Penn Manor and state semifinalists.
“Looking forward to Monday,” Torresani said.
The Knights are now preparing for a Monday showdown with western power Canon-McMillan, which defeated Neshaminy 5-3 on Thursday.
The PIAA-6A semi will be held at 2 p.m. out at Mechanicsburg High School on Monday. On the other side of the bracket, Haverford squares off against Pennsbury at 3 p.m. at Spring-Ford.
North Penn, trying to get back to the state final for the first time since 1985, is playing well in all areas.

In addition to her stellar pitching, Volpe is also playing with confidence at the plate, and attacking each at-bat.
“That surprised me more than anything,” a smiling Volpe said of her two hits on Thursday. “I wasn’t doing too well before. I just went up with a new approach: just swing at the first pitch.”
And both were ones she liked. Amazingly, North Penn got a hit from every player in its lineup in the quarterfinal victory.
“Everyone produced, which is awesome,” Volpe said.
The Knights played rock-solid defense, had timely hitting, and Volpe never let Penn Manor string anything together.
North Penn outscored its first two state-playoff opponents 11-0.
“It feels great. I told them, ‘one more win. One more win, and we’re there. That’s all it’s gonna take, is one more effort,'” Torresani said of reaching the state final.
The Knights have been a perennial power under Torresani’s guidance and are now in line for their finest hour.

Team unity is key.
“They don’t wanna let her down and she doesn’t wanna let them down,” the coach said of Volpe’s relationship with the players around her. “They just feed off of each other, and they’re very close. And that helps a lot.”
A regular-season loss to Pennsbury and a setback against Haverford in the district quarterfinals were the only bumps during a 24-2 ride.
“I felt like the two losses really just helped us learn,” Volpe said. “It was a good learning experience for us. And I feel like we’ve really come out and showed who we are as a team.”