ROUND 3: North Penn, Haverford meet again for PIAA-6A championship

Two of North Penn’s goals this season were winning a District 1 championship and getting to State College for the PIAA-6A state championship game.

The Knights came up short of winning a district title, falling to Haverford in the quarterfinals. They used that loss as motivation to rattle off five straight wins – the first two in the District 1 playback bracket and the last three in the state playoffs – and achieve their goal of going to Penn State University.

North Penn will have a chance to avenge its District 1 playoff loss, as it’s set to face Haverford for the PIAA-6A state championship at 4 p.m. Thursday at Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park.

The teams met twice this season and each won once. North Penn won, 4-1, on April 24 while the Fords took the D1 playoff meeting, 5-0, on May 27.

North Penn pitcher Mady Volpe was dominant in the first meeting. She took a perfect game into the seventh inning and finished with 15 strikeouts.

In the district quarterfinals, Haverford scored three runs on Brooke McKeown’s inside-the-park home run and another on Kerri McCallum’s conventional solo shot. Pitcher Emma Taylor, who hit a walk-off home run against Pennsbury in the state semifinals Monday, held North Penn scoreless on seven hits to go with nine strikeouts. Only one of the five runs Volpe allowed was earned.

Since their postseason meeting, which was North Penn’s second loss of the season, Volpe and the Knights have posted five shutouts during the five-game winning streak. They defeated Hatboro-Horsham, 1-0, to clinch a state playoff berth and topped Pennsbury, 6-0, to secure District 1’s fifth seed. In states, North Penn beat Northampton, Penn Manor and Canon-McMillan 7-0, 4-0 and 10-0, respectively.

In those five shutouts, Volpe held her opponents to 15 total hits across 33 innings.

Offensively, the Knights have found success in a variety of ways. Bri Wilmot had the game-winning hit against Hatboro-Horsham. Sarah Sabocsik and Gianna Cimino both homered against Pennsbury. Cimino, a freshman, added two doubles against Northampton and a two-run double against Penn Manor. Sophia Collins’ two-run home run highlighted a strong offensive game against Canon-McMillan.

After Haverford beat North Penn in the District 1 quarterfinals, it lost to Neshaminy in the semis, 4-1. The Fords bounced back with a 12-3 win over Quakertown to earn the district’s No. 3 seed. In the state playoffs, Haverford defeated Hazleton, Spring-Ford and Pennsbury 2-0, 5-3 and 2-1, respectively.

In 2019, North Penn beat Haverford twice, including an 11-0 five-inning win in the district quarterfinals.

For live updates during the game, follow reporter Andrew Robinson on Twitter @ADRobinson3.