Namey’s grand slam, Beer’s walk-off home run lead North Penn past CB East in 5

TOWAMENCIN >> With one runner on base and the North Penn softball team two runs away from enacting the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth inning, Elia Namey’s shot to left field look to be on its way to finishing Wednesday afternoon’s contest with Central Bucks East.

But the hit came up tantalizingly short of clearing the fence and leaving Namey with a double.

“I thought it was close,” the senior said. “I think it might have just been too much of a line drive to go over but I thought it might have gone out but no.”

The Knights did not have to wait much longer to celebrate a walk-off victory. On the next at-bat, Jamie Beer blasted a three-run home run to left to cap a 14-3 Suburban One League Continental Conference win over the Patriots.

“I had full confidence that Elia was going to do something big,” Beer said. “I thought that was going over but when it didn’t I was just like ‘Well someone’s got to do it.’ So I said why not it be me. Let me try and do it for the team and then it just happened. I wasn’t expecting a home run, I was just looking for a single.”

CB East jumped out to a 3-0 in the top of the first on Camille’s Larson’s three-run home run to left center. But North Penn (5-0, 3-0 conference) answered with five runs in the bottom of the innings, the first four coming as Namey connected on a grand slam to center.

I was just waiting for a strike,” Namey said. I was pretty sure that was a 3-2 count that one or I had two strikes on me and I was just waiting for something to hit.”

Namey went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored while Beer reached base on all four of her plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a walk, double and three RBIs as the Knights scored at least one run in all five innings on a windy afternoon in posting 14 runs for a second straight game.

“I called the wrong pitch, I should of called an off-speed pitch and with the wind blowing out she got a hold of it, got up in the air and went out,” said North Penn coach Rick Torresani of Larson’s home run. “But this team doesn’t get fazed, they just keep coming back and hitting the ball.”

Knights sophomore right-hander Mady Volpe shrugged off the first inning and held the Patriots (0-4, 0-3) to just one hit over the final four frames and struck out 12 — including six of the final seven East batters — in a three-hit, complete-game victory.

“Definitely my changeup and my riseball was working,” Volpe said. “And just getting ahead was my number one thing. And just working and knowing my approach.”

CB East starter Soleil Dooner took the loss, the right giving up 10 runs — nine earned — in her 2 2/3 innings as she pitched the first then returning the circle in the fourth.

In the top of the first, Alyssa Catron was hit by a pitch while Amelia Larson’s two-out single up the middle brought up Larson, who knocked a three-run homer over the left-center field for a quick 3-0 lead.

North Penn, however, needed just four batters to take the lead for good. Victoria Juckniewitz led off the bottom of the first with a walk and after Jordan Pietrzykoski reached on an error another walk to Amanda Greaney loaded the bases for Namey. The senior first baseman proceeded to bring everyone in with her grand slam to center for a 4-3 lead. Beer followed with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-4 North Penn at the end of the first.

“We don’t really consider the score when we’re on offense,” Namey said. “That like the great thing about this team, nothing that happens to us gets us down. They (Owen J. Roberts) tied it up yesterday, we went further ahead (in a 14-6 win). They scored three on us and our goal is to always score runs every at-bat and we don’t really look anywhere past that.”

The Knights extended their lead to 8-3 in the second. After Juckniewitz was hit by a pitch and Pietrzykoski singled, Greaney’s RBI single to center brought home Juckniewitz. Pietrzykoski scored a wild pitch while Greaney’s courtesy runner Rachel Lowry came in on  Volpe’s RBI ground out.

Juckniewitz made it 9-3 in the third as ripped a triple into left to plate Lizzy Stark, who led off with a double to left center.

After Namey began the bottom of the fourth with a single, Beer doubled to put runners on second and third. Namey scored on a wild pitch with Beer making it 11-3 as she came home on an error on Stark’s two-out fly ball.

Greaney kept the bottom of the fifth going with a two-out walk. Namey double off the left-field fence, allowing Beer to end things with her three-run shot.