North Penn rolls past Williamsport in 6 to reach PIAA-6A semifinals

EDWARDSVILLE >> Julia Shearer knocked a hit into right field and after the ball slipped under the right fielder’s glove, the just-named Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year was sprinting around the bases.

“I was going up to the plate, I was like ‘I’m getting a hit right now, we’re going to get something going,” the North Penn softball junior said. “And doing that, once I saw it go under her glove I turned the jets on.”

The hit and error having already scored Reyna Doherty from first base, Shearer dashed around to complete a circuit around the base paths to give the District 1 champs a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning in their PIAA-6A quarterfinals against District 4 champion Williamsport.

“In my mind I’m like, ‘Go, go, go,” Shearer said. “It’s hectic but, you know, being safe at home makes up for all of it.”

North Penn’s bats kept adding runs from there Thursday afternoon at Wilkes University’s Ralston Athletic Complex.

Maddy Gronback’s two-run home run in the fifth put the Knights up 7-0 while Brie Wilmot finished things with a two-run walk-off double in the sixth as North Penn rolled to the semifinals with a 10-0 victory over the Millionaires.

“On the plate we were seeing the ball really well,” Wilmot said. “I think the outside pitches and the low pitches we were really starting to adjust to as playoffs went on. And I think we just have a lot of hype coming in, we really tried to work on it all practice – we’ve only been really doing hitting all practice.”

Shearer, who was announced Thursday at the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, finished 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored at the plate while in the circle the Maryland commit tossed a one-hit shutout, walking just one and striking out 11.

“There was some chattering fans that kind of ticked me off but that just played into how I was going to pitch,” Shearer said. “And I just wanted to go out there, throw my stuff, I wasn’t letting anyone get in my head and it kind of fired me up a little.”

Wilmot was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored while Gronback went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored for defending state champion North Penn (25-1), which earned its 13th consecutive win in advancing to Monday’s semifinal to face District 1-4 Spring-Ford, which defeated District 3 champ Penn Manor 11-4. North Penn rallied to beat Spring-Ford 5-2 in the district semifinals.

“We played great softball – everybody, from the bench all the way out,” Knights coach Rick Torresani said. “Everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do. And it’s ‘A’ game and I’m extremely pleased with everyone.”

Gianna Cimino was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored while Sarah Sabocsik finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored as North Penn collected 14 hits and scored a run in every inning but the first.

“The first inning, offensively for us, wasn’t great,” Shearer said. “We kind of got a little ticked off about it and putting fire under our butts that’s what got us going and then the second inning when we just got things going, that really helped.”

Williamsport (16-7) had just two baserunners with the Millionaire’s lone hit a leadoff infield single by Aubri Blair to right side in the top of the fourth. Blair went to third after a sacrifice bunt then groundout back to the pitcher but Shearer stranded her there with a strikeout to keep the Knights up 3-0.

The District 4 champs looked like they had another hit in the fifth when Kendall McAnelly knocked a ball through the right but NP right fielder Gronback threw her out at first.

“I was not going to throw a hitter’s pitch at all,” Shearer said. “If I walked them, I walked them but when they started to put the bat on the ball I was like ‘OK let’s pitch around the bat.’ And when I started getting more swing-and-misses, I just kept rolling. It just gave me momentum.”

Williamsport starting pitcher Taryn Reed took the loss, giving up seven runs – all earned – on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. She had no walks, hit one batter and struck out two.

“Coming into this we were saying to each other don’t take anything lightly,” Shearer said. “We don’t know this team, we’re not going to take them for granted. And coming out explosive like we did, that was really huge in our win.”

Gronback began the bottom of the fourth with a double to right then scored with two outs when Shearer sent a 3-0 pitch through the left side for an RBI single and a 4-0 lead.

“Jules knows what she’s doing all the time – 3-0, 0-2, whatever, just let her hit,” Torresani said.

The Knights extended their advantage to 7-0 with three runs in the fifth. Wilmot opened the bottom of the frame with a single to right center while Cimino followed with a double to left, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Sophia Collins then dropped a sacrifice bunt to bring home Wilmot.

The next at-bat, Gronback belted a two-run shot over the fence in left to put the Knights up seven.

“She’s come through many, many times,” said Torresani of Gronback. “I mean she won our first game in the districts with the three-run home run. She just comes through. She’s quiet, she’s intelligent and she has worked so hard to get out there cause she didn’t know she was going to be out there in right field this year.”

North Penn enacted the 10-run mercy rule with three more runs in the sixth.

Shearer connected on a one-out double to left then scored on Sarah Sabocsik’s RBI single.

Sabocsik was safe at second after an error on Annabelle Smink, putting two on for Wilmot The junior smashed a ball to right center that the outgoing right fielder could not haul in – the double plating both Sabocsik and Smink, sending the Knights down the Northeast Extension a little earlier for North Penn’s graduation Thursday night.

“I was really happy, I was really happy to see our seniors, how happy they were to finish early, get to graduation on time,” Wilmot said. “I was just really happy that we could show off today.”

Wilmot scored the game’s opening run after starting the bottom of the second with a single through the right side.

“I think I was seeing the ball really well,” Wilmot said. “I had a lot of confidence in myself. My teammates were really keeping me going.”

After a groundout to first, Collins’ single up the middle put runners on the corners for Gronback, who brought home Wilmot with her RBI groundout to first.

Doherty led off the bottom of the third with an infield single while Shearer followed with a single to right with an error allowing both Doherty and Shearer to score for a 3-0 Knights lead.

PIAA-6A Quarterfinals
North Penn 10, Williamsport 0 (6)
Williamsport 000 000 – 0 1 3
North Penn 012 133 – 10 14 0
WP: Julia Shearer 6 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 11 SO.
LP: Taryn Reed 4.2 IP 10 H 7 R 7 ER 0 BB 2 SO 1 HB.
2B: NP-Shearer, Gianna Cimino, Maddy Gronback, Brie Wilmot; HR: NP-Gronback.
North Penn: Cimino 2-3, R; Gronback 2-3, 3 RBI, 2 R; Shearer 3-4, RBI, 2 R; Wilmot 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R; Sarah Sabocsik 2-3, R.