Shaffer No-Hits Lansdale Catholic for 5 Innings in 7-1 Win

The weather didn't arrive sunny-side up for the Hatboro-Horsham softball team on Monday afternoon, but the Lady Hatters didn't let the blustery conditions at home get in the way of an impressive 7-1 victory over Lansdale Catholic.

Facing a Crusader team that had won the Philadelphia Catholic League championship for the first time in school history last season and advanced to the PIAA 3-A quarterfinals, Hatboro-Horsham (2-0) passed this early-season test with a combination of timely hitting and strong pitching from .

Shaffer blanked Lansdale Catholic for five innings without a hit, while striking out eight and then turned the game over to Emily Wrenn, who had already earned a two-hit, 10-0 victory for the Hatboro-Horsham junior varsity earlier in the afternoon.

Lansdale Catholic broke up the no-hitter with a clean single to left in the sixth off Wrenn and ruined the shutout by manufacturing a run in the seventh on a pair of scratch hits and a fielder's choice.

But by then, the game was not in doubt, due to the Lady Hatter bats.

Hatboro-Horsham got to the Crusaders' top-notch hurler Mary Kate Scott for a single run in the second and two more in the third before breaking the game open with three runs in the fourth, keyed by a double from right fielder Nicole Casagrand.

Heather Lutz sparked the attack with a double and a triple in three at-bats, while lead-off hitter Jackie DiPietro was 2-for-3 with two singles and shortstop Val Sadowl stroked a triple as the Lady Hatters finished with six hits.

"We played very well," said Hatboro-Horsham High School coach Joe DiFilippo. "We are hitting the ball well. If we continue to hit the ball like this, we are going to have a fun season."

About the only negative was the cold wind that forced temperatures into the 40s, just three days after Hatboro-Horsham had opened the season on an 80-degree afternoon in a 7-1 victory over Harry S. Truman High School.

"I really would have liked to play (Lansdale Catholic) on a nice day," said DiFilippo.

The cold and wind didn't get in the way of a quick win for the Lady Hatter junior varsity squad (1-1). Wrenn's curve, drop and devastating change-up were complimented by plenty of hitting by a JV team that had struggled in an 11-7 loss on Friday to Truman High.

The Lady Hatters put this game away with a single run in the bottom of the fifth inning to engage the 10-run, mercy rule.

Freshman left fielder Emily Wallace smacked her first home run to right-center field in the fourth inning, while shortstop Lexy Campbell and center fielder Maggie Leisch stroked a pair of hits each.

Both Hatboro-Horsham teams will be back in action on Wednesday against Conestoga Senior High School and again on Thursday against Crestwood. Both games are at home, beginning at 4 p.m.