Torresani earns 450th win, North Penn stays perfect by shutting out Council Rock North

TOWAMENCIN >> North Penn softball’s potent offense could not break through against Council Rock North freshman right-hander Lucy Mills through three innings Tuesday afternoon.

But after Brie Wilmot began the bottom of the fourth by reaching on error, Gianna Cimino saw her opportunity to give the Knights a spark.

“I was just kind of like I got to get a hit here,” Cimino said. “We’re not making as much contact as we usually do so I just felt like I needed to get a hit, kind of get it going.”

Cimino connected for a double into the gap in right center field to put runners on second and third for Sophia Orth, who knocked in the first run of the Suburban One League crossover with a single to the right side of the infield.

North Penn extended its lead with three runs in the fourth and that was more than enough of a cushion for Julia Shearer, who struck out 14 in throwing a two-hit shutout as the Knights topped the visiting Indians 4-0 to give head coach Rick Torresani his 450th career victory.

“We’ve had only one game this season that was close like this,” Shearer said. “And I think this kind of set us straight that teams are out to get us and we have to play on our A game every single time. And I think the first few innings we were kind of set back – we weren’t expecting it, them to come out like that. But I think we locked in, we got a new plate approach and we figured it out as the game went on.”

The win improved the Knights to 12-0 (8-0 SOL Colonial) and gave Torresani his 370th victory at North Penn in his 23rd season leading the program. He also won 80 games coaching at Bishop McDevitt.

“Lot of great players, lot of great assistant coaches that helped me along the road,” Torresani said. “And I guess it shows how old I am, you know, being around so long. But this group is a special group and the coaches are special. They’re just a special group, I really care about them.”

Torresani’s 400th career win came in 2021, the Knights going 50-3 since that milestone with a PIAA-6A title in 2021 and a District 1-6A title last year. North Penn has won at least 20 games and reached the state tournament in its past four seasons.

Shearer, who went 2-for-3, led off Tuesday’s bottom of the fifth with a single with an error giving the senior an opening to sprint all the way to third. After a Sarah Sabocsik walk, Shearer scored to make it 2-0 when Annabelle Smink dropped a bunt for a base hit.

“We just got to adjust to the pitching and we got to think when we’re up at the plate and just put the ball in play and see what happens,” Torresani said. “And we didn’t do that until late and Julia got the hit and we were able to do some things, do a suicide squeeze and things that like that to win the game.”

A Wilmot walk loaded the bases for Cimino, who brought in a run with a RBI sacrifice fly to center. North got Wilmot out at second on the play but that allowed Smink to score, putting the Knights up 4-0.

“We kind of realize that we can’t go out there and think that we’re automatically going to win,” said Cimino, a junior second baseman. “There’s good teams out there and as you said everybody is going for us so I feel like just going play by play, pitch by pitch that’s how we win games.”

In the circle, Shearer posted her fourth straight shutout and 10th of the season. The left-hander retired the first nine North batters before Olivia Schlindwein started the top of the fourth reaching on an error. Shortstop Smink, however, snagged a liner on the next at-bat and threw to first for the double play.

With two outs, Zoe Hardy got to first after a dropped third strike but her courtesy runner was picked off on a throw from catcher Sabocsik.

“I felt strong,” Shearer said. “I was mixing all my pitches. I was just trying to blow it by them and that worked sometimes. And they would get hits but my defense was there to back me up. Shout out to Annabelle who made that crazy play, she saved the game. I mean, it was a team effort, everyone was locked in and we played really well together.”

Molly Sheehy began the the Indians’ half of the fifth with a single. A one-out Chelsea Seiler sacrifice bunt moved Sheehy’s pinch runner Alexa Pikul to second but Shearer struck out the next batter.

CR North (6-6, 3-5 SOL Patriot) got its leadoff on again in the sixth after Haley Edleman singled. An Ellie Bonn sac bunt advanced the runner to second only for Shearer to post consecutive strikeouts.

“You go through 20 games in a season, you’re going to always have a game like this where team’s going to play maybe a little bit above their heads and they’re excited and we don’t score early and then they figure ‘hey we got a chance.’” Torresani said. “But this team, other years, we might have lost this game, might have been a 1-0, oh my God what happened. But this team I don’t think that’s going to happen with this team. I think they’re too talented and they’re too dedicated to make sure.”

Mills took the loss despite a solid effort, giving up four runs – three earned – on five hits in six innings. She walked three, hit one batter and struck out three.

Both teams have SOL crossover contests Thursday, North Penn visiting Council Rock South at 3:45 p.m. while CR North hosts Pennridge at 3:30 p.m.

The Knights had two runners on with one out in the bottom of the first after a Sabocsik walk and Smink was hit by a pitch but a ground out to second and fly out to short had the game scoreless heading to the second.

North Penn’s first hit came with one out in the third on a single by Shearer. The Maryland commit proceeded to steal second only to be left stranded there.

In the bottom of the fourth, after Orth singled to the infield’s right side to score Jackie Diaz – pinch running for Wilmot – Orth stole second to put runners on second and third with no outs. Mills, however, kept it 1-0 with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout.

North Penn 4, Council Rock North 0
Council Rock 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
North Penn 0000 130 x – 4 5 1
WP: Julia Shearer 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 14 SO 1 HB.
LP: Lucy Milles 6 IP 5 H 4 R 3 ER 3 BB 3 SO 1 HB.
2B: NP-Gianna Cimino.
North Penn: Shearer 2-3, R.