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Health & Fitness

Sadowl's 3-Run Blast Leads Lady Hatters to 6-2 Decision Against Pennridge

Val Sadowl's power, Maggie Shaffer's pitching and small ball propels Hatboro-Horsham to another Suburban One League/Continental Conference softball victory at Pennridge.

Hatboro-Horsham High's softball team got a rare chance to play under the stars Monday night in a Suburban One League/Continental Conference game against Pennridge, but no one shined brighter than Lady Hatter Val Sadowl.

The senior shortstop, who is headed for Connecticut next season, slammed a three-run homer some 250 feet to left-center field in the third inning to give Hatboro-Horsham an early 4-0 lead and the Lady Hatters held on for a 6-2 victory to remain perfect on the season.

Sadowl just missed another four-bagger in her next at-bat, driving the center fielder to the fence to make a catch and rob her of another blast. 

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Maggie Shaffer gave the Lady Hatters another stalwart performance in the pitching circle, allowing just one hit and one walk, with six strikeouts in five innings.  

Usually known more for her control than the speed of her fastball, the senior hurler was popping the glove of catcher Daria Edwards so hard that you could hear the thuds from the junior varsity diamond across the park.

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But things still got a little bit precarious for Hatboro-Horsham in the sixth inning when left-handed reliever Nicole Casagrand struggled with her control and got touched for a pair of runs to cut the lead to 4-2. 

After loading the bases with a two-out walk, Casagrand coaxed the next batter to send a comebacker to the circle and threw her out for the final out of the inning. 

Having already shown their ability to score with power, the Lady Hatters turned to the short game to tack on two more runs in the seventh and pull the game from harm and Casagrand had an easy bottom of the seventh to finish off the win.

Second baseman Jackie DiPietro (3-for-4, three runs scored) started the seventh with a nice bunt down the third base line and a brief hesitation on the throw was enough to allow the senior speedster to beat it out for a base hit.

After one bunt from third baseman Chrissy James rolled narrowly foul on the first-base line for what would have been another bunt single, James dropped down a sacrifice that was so well-placed that she was out by just a half-step at first base and DiPietro was able to beat a throw to third base.

With one out, the threat of a suicide squeeze from first baseman Maria Spinosa was on all of the Rams' minds and Pennridge moved its defense in to defend against it. But Spinosa beat the defense by popping her bunt attempt perfectly over the second baseman's head to score DiPietro.

Heather Lutz followed with a line drive that the right fielder got a glove on, but couldn't catch as it sailed over her head. Lutz ended up at second and Spinosa scored with the final Lady Hatter run.

DiPietro, James and Spinosa also combined to get Hatboro-Horsham on the board as the first three batters of the game when DiPietro singled and stole second, James sacrificed her to third and Spinosa earned the RBI with a fielder's choice.

The Lady Hatters finished with nine hits, including a double off the bat of left fielder Kelsey Koelzer.

"I told the girls afterwards to understand that we haven't played our best game yet," H-H coach Joe DiFilippo said of his team, which improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. "That's the thing that is exciting." 

Hatboro-Horsham hosts 1-3 Central Bucks West at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but it is hard for the Lady Hatters not to think about a Thursday game against Continental Conference co-leader Central Bucks South (7-1, 4-0), also at home at 3:30 p.m.

"CB South has a really fine team and it should be a great game," said DiFilippo. "We just have to come out and play our game."

CB South was held to four hits at home on Monday in Warrington, but pitcher Haileigh Stocks out-dueled freshman Jackie Bilotti for a 3-1 victory to delete the Maidens (4-3, 3-1) from the ranks of the conference unbeatens. 

Hallie Bilker stroked an RBI double and Alyssa Virginio contributed a two-run single as the Titans took charge with a three-run second.  

In junior varsity action on Monday, Hatboro-Horsham took a 1-0 lead early and trailed only 2-1 into the fifth inning before things unraveled in an 11-1, sixth-inning loss to Pennridge. 

Emily Wallace singled to lead off for the JV Hatters in the second inning, stole second base and went to third on a wild pitch. Wallace alertly scored when the catcher's throw sailed over the head of the pitcher on a return toss to the circle. 

But Hatboro-Horsham (2-6, 0-4) was only able to manage two other base runners, one on an infield single by center fielder Maggie Leisch and another on a base hit to left by second baseman Jackie Locke in the sixth. 

Wallace kept things close with her pitching, allowing only one earned run through four innings, but the JV Hatters made five errors in the final two innings to allow Pennridge to finish off the win in six innings with the 10-run rule. 

Before that meltdown, Hatboro-Horsham had made several sterling defensive plays.

Bria Cashman turned an unassisted double play in the third with a backhanded stop of a line drive and Cashman made a nice tag to conclude another double play in the fourth when Leisch made a nice, running catch and fired to third to cut down a base runner. 

Leisch would have had a second assist in the game, but for a dropped throw in the infield.

There was also a nice rundown play between catcher Anna Mitchell and Cashman that started on a throw to the plate by left fielder Jessica Carroll.

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