Lady Hatters Come up Short in Softball Finale at Pennsbury

It seems ironic that one of the PIAA 4-A District One softball semifinals will be played at Hatboro-Horsham High School on Tuesday afternoon. But it will be one of HHHS's rivals, North Penn, that will be playing in the somewhat comfortable surroundings instead of the Lady Hatters at 4 p.m.

The 2014 softball season came to a disappointing end last Wednesday with an 11-6 loss on the road to Pennsbury in a second-round game that matched two of the most dominant programs in Pennsylvania prep history.

It will be a season that is remembered for what could have been, instead of what was accomplished. And for the second year in a row, the Lady Hatters (11-9 overall) will be sitting home for the state playoffs.

Two things led to Hatboro-Horsham's demise in its final game, one of them being a season-long struggle and another one being the case of bad timing.

A season filled with defensive lapses ended with errors and miscommunication playing a major role in two Pennsbury rallies that plated eight of the Falcons' 11 runs.

And Kaeli Simmons was thrust into her first career varsity pitching start in the midst of postseason pressure and facing the potent bats of perhaps the best hitting team H-H had faced all season.

Hatboro-Horsham did enough offensively to win this game, building leads of 2-0 in the first inning and 3-2 in the third, but the defense and pitching couldn't keep the Lady Hatters in the game.

Simmons, who had spent the season as Hatboro-Horsham's closer out of the bullpen, was started in another curious move by fourth-year coach Joe DiFilippo. It was the second time in two postseason games that DiFilippo decided to start a player who had not started a game all season.

Before the game, DiFilippo told radio broadcasters who were doing play-by-play of the game for a local radio station that he was wanting to give Pennsbury a different look, hoping that Simmons could throw off the timing of the Falcons with her off-speed stuff.

Unknown to even the coaching staff at game time was the fact that Lexie Campbell, who had started 18 of the previous 19 games and also one scrimmage, was hampered by a jammed finger on her right throwing hand, the result of cutting off a throw from the outfield in the 16-12 victory over Perkiomen Valley two days earlier.

Unable to grip the ball properly, Campbell struggled with her control, even in warm-ups, and managed just a four-batter appearance in the Pennsbury game. 

Normally pin-point with her control, Campbell hit a batter and walked two others in between a strikeout in the fourth inning of a game that Hatboro-Horsham trailed just 5-3.

With Griffith unable to pitch, due to tendonitis in her throwing shoulder and only the hard-throwing, but inexperienced freshman Taylor Sciubba left in the bullpen, DiFilippo was forced to send Simmons back into the game.

When Simmons returned after giving up five runs and five hits in the first three innings, she should have gotten out of the base-loaded jam when she coaxed back-to-back pop-ups from two dangerous hitters, Marguerite Salamone and Dani Litwin.

Salomone was retired for the second out of the inning on a nice running catch in foul ground by third baseman Jaynie Black, who had to evade Falcon coach Frank McSherry to make the play.

But Litwin's pop to short right turned into disaster when the outfield didn't call off second baseman Andrea Baldus on a catchable ball. Baldus made a tremendous effort to make a diving, over-the-shoulder grab in short right field, but the ball ticked off her glove for a bloop hit for Litwin and two runs scored.

Fiona Link followed with a huge blast over the fence in left for three more runs, a homer that was nearly brought back by Megan Hallock, as the senior crashed heavily into the barrier with her left, gloved arm completely over the fence.

Hallock was shaken up by the contact as the ball glanced off her glove and it was a 10-3 game.

Hatboro-Horsham battled to a 2-0 lead in the first when Pennsbury starting pitcher Casey Boltersdorf — playing herself with a broken finger on her left, pitching hand — hit DeAnna Moyer and Daria Edwards with pitches in the first inning.

Jen Cader then delivered a booming double to the left-center-field gap to score Moyer with the first run of the game.

Jackie Locke put the ball in play with a grounder to second for another RBI, but Brynn Griffith's hard shot to first was fielded for the final out of the inning.

Hatboro-Horsham's momentum didn't remain intact for long. Simmons walked Bailee Zaccaro on four pitches and Salamone slammed a home run well over the center field fence to tie the game just two batters into the bottom of the first.

The Lady Hatters took the lead again in the third when Black took advantage of a bad hop to third base to beat out an infield hit and Edwards followed with a double to center for the RBI.

The chance at a bigger inning died when Edwards was thrown out at third, trying to stretch her hit into a triple.

Poor defense proved costly in the bottom of the third when Zaccaro popped up in foul ground, but received a second chance when the ball was dropped for an error.

Reminiscent of the loss at Souderton, when a dropped foul pop-up on what would have been the final out of the game was followed by a grand slam off Simmons for a game-winning hit, Zaccaro drilled a pitch off the top of the center-field fence for a double, coming ever so close to a home run.

She was singled to third by Salomone, who quickly stole second base. Two outs later, that pair was still on the bases when Faryl Groder lined a single to left and advanced to third when the ball rolled all the way to the fence for a two-base error.

Simmons stopped her motion on a pitch to Maddie McQuaid for a balk that allowed Groder to score and make it 5-3. McQuaid nearly delivered another home run, with Cader making a catch while leaning against the center field fence for the third out.

After the three-run third and five-run fourth, Pennsbury (14-7) only managed one additional run, but with a seven-run lead, Boltersdorf settled down to throw strikes and get outs with the pressure off.

Hatboro-Horsham managed two runs in the fifth to cut it to 10-5, but easily could have had more.

Hallock started the inning by drilling a line drive to Litwin for an out, but Moyer followed with a sharp single to center and Black doubled, both on two-strike pitches. Edwards plated both of the runners with still another two-strike hit up the middle.

But Cader grounded out sharply to short on a 3-0 pitch and Locke was robbed of an infield hit whence was called out at first on a play she appeared to beat out.

The Lady Hatters came up for the final time in the season, trailing by six runs in the top of the seventh. But after Moyer was hit by another pitch with one out, Black was retired on a shot to Litwin at first and Edwards walked, Cader had a foul tip settled into the glove of Salamone behind the plate for a third strike to end the year.

Pennsbury came ever so close to another state tournament berth on Friday, blowing an early 6-3 lead before losing 7-6 in eight innings at fourth-seeded Spring-Ford — a team that had split games with Perkiomen Valley during the season.

The loss meant the end of the careers of three Hatboro-Horsham players, Edwards, Hallock and Charlotte Coulson, but the rest of the varsity roster should return in 2015, with much competition for positions and the chance to make another run at Suburban One League/Continental Conference, District One and PIAA 4-A honors.

Edwards was on the bench and Coulson was in the stands three years ago as freshmen when the season ended with the Lady Hatters beating Pennsbury for a state title at Penn State, so it will be up to another group of players to carry on the Lady Hatter legacy.

And as North Penn, a 4-2, eight-inning winner over William Tennent on Friday, tries to move closer to its second district title in three years, at least the Maidens will have a Hatboro native in the pitching circle.

Junior Jackie Bilotti will give the game at Hatboro-Horsham at least a little more local flavor.