North Penn’s Sokol continues solid postseason, adds late insurance in PIAA-6A first round win
TOWAMENCIN >> With Jaclyn Diaz beginning to break toward second base, Casey Sokol did not have time to be hesitant at the plate.
“I knew even if it was going to be remotely close I was going to swing and be on time,” North Penn softball’s junior designated player said. “Cause I knew if I fell down 0-2, I know she has a riseball and knowing myself, I wouldn’t’ve swung but there would’ve been more of a chance that I would’ve.”
Visiting Governor Mifflin pulled to within 2-1 on a Kayla Williams solo home run in the top of the sixth inning of Monday afternoon’s PIAA-6A first round matchup.
But Diaz kept the bottom of the inning going with a two-out walk then Sokol came through on the hit-and-run – her two-out single to right center field allowing Diaz to score from first, giving the Knights back a two-run edge.
“(Gov. Mifflin pitcher Carly Angstadt) was throwing a lot of rises, a lot of up in the zone,” Sokol said. “And from my first at-bat when I popped up I got under it of course from a pitch up in the zone. So I was just like ‘OK I need sure to make sure to stay on plane and make contact.’”
Sokol’s RBI single added some insurance and a bit of late positivity for the North Penn bats after four scoreless frames.
“It’s just a playoff game, of course you’re not going to run-rule people in playoffs,” Sokol said. “It’s playoffs, they got here for a reason. So all coach said is we win and advance. It doesn’t matter how, we just win and advance as a team.”
The Knights scored twice in the bottom of the first after a Brie Wilmot groundout and an error while Julia Shearer pitched another gem, striking out 18 and allowing just one hit in a 3-1 victory.
“She was a good pitcher, she was spinning the ball, she must’ve scouted before, she knew what to throw to all of us,” said Shearer of Angstadt. “But it was about making adjustments and we didn’t that game but it happens. She was a really good pitcher though, credit to her.”
And while North Penn has won by bigger margins in reaching 25-0, Knights coach Rick Torresani is through with style points. It is now the win-and-advance portion of the season and the District 1 champs are in the quarterfinals for a fifth consecutive state tournament. North Penn faces District 2 champ Hazleton – a 5-4 winner over Plymouth Whitemarsh – Thursday at a site and plate to be announced.
“I’m just done with that,” Torresani said. “They’ll be people out here that are going to say ‘Hey, why didn’t you 10-run it? Well you know what, it’s playoffs. Oklahoma doesn’t 10-run everybody, they try but they don’t.”
Sokol, batting eighth in the lineup, collected two of the Knights’ five hits against Angstadt, a senior right-hander committed to Salisbury University. Sokol finished 2-for-3, her first hit a two-out single to right center in the fourth.
“It hard as a DP, especially cause I know my role is hitting,” Sokol said. “So getting that in that DP position just is so important to me and it’s so important to the team, especially cause even if I do make a mistake I can’t make myself up in the field so hitting for me is just really important knowing that I’m the DP and that’s my role on the team.”
Sokol began the postseason going 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the 11-0 win over Methacton in the District 1-6A second round. She went 2-for-3 with two runs in the quarterfinals as the Knights rolled past Ridley.
In the semifinals, Sokol provided the walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th as North Penn edged Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-2. She capped districts by collecting an RBI groundout in a 5-0 victory over Haverford in the final.
“That’s why she’s batting eighth because when it comes down to it when your eighth hitter can come through and your ninth hitter that’s huge,” Torresani said. “And Casey’s been doing it all year, that’s why first team all-league and she’s batting over .400.”
Shearer threw a perfect game in the district final but started Monday’s state opener hitting the leadoff batter. After a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second, Shearer registered consecutive strikeouts.
The Knights’ two runs in their half of the first proved to be enough for the senior lefty, who only allowed just one more batter to reach base – Williams in the sixth on her two-out solo homer to left. Shearer, however, ended the top of the inning with a strikeout then sealed the win striking out the side in the seventh.
“We just have to reconvene, practice tomorrow, get our stuff together, get our approach together,” Shearer said. “I’m confident in the next game, I feel like we’re going to come back and everyone’s going to change our approach and get ready to hit.”