Lady Hatters Claim State Title

Hatboro-Horsham's Lady Hatters softball team re-earned the PIAA District I championship title Friday afternoon with a 4-3 win over Pennsbury's Falcons.

The Hatters last had the title in 2008.

In the championship game played Friday in Penn State, the Hatters took an early lead over the Falcons in the bottom of the first inning when a sacrifice fly by senior Danielle DiFilippo to right field brought junior Chrissy James home. The Falcons caught on early in the next inning when sophomore Christina Bascara scored a run after a single by senior Savanna Grantham. 

The teams remained at a tie until the top of the fifth when Falcons outfielder Michelle George, a sophomore, hit a home run, bringing the score to 1-2. 

Strong Falcons offense earned them a third run at the top of the sixth when Grantham hit a double, bringing senior outfielder Kelsi Bundt home. At the end of five-and-a-half innings, a Falcons’ victory looked promising.

A few defensive mistakes by the Falcons in the bottom of the inning, though, led the Hatters to earn three runs and take the 4-3 lead, turning the momentum of the game around. Highlights in the inning include a double to center hit by sophomore Hatter Heather Lutz and another double by senior Melissa Spinosa, which brought Lutz home for the second run of the game. 

The Falcons were unable to return the offense at the top of the seventh and a pop fly hit by sophomore infielder Jess Greenewald was caught by Hatters third base player James, leading to the third and final out of the game. 

In retrospect, it was that sixth inning that transformed the game for the Hatters. 

“Everyone has doubts, but we definitely brought the confidence up in the sixth,” captain Julie Wambold, a senior catcher, said.

Head coach Joe DiFilippo said it was Hatboro-Horsham Athletic Director Lou James’ pre-inning pep talk that turned the team around then.

“At that moment, they had to remember to believe in themselves,” Lou James said. He added it was one of the first times he had seen the team doubt itself.

DiFilippo, one of the captains, said all the team needed was a bit of refocus.

“When we came down to get focused, we started to enjoy it," she said. "We began to prove to ourselves that we were state champs."

Assistant Hatters coach Jamie Shaffer admitted it wasn’t the perfect game and neither team played its strongest defense.

“[The defense] was ugly, but it was effective,” Shaffer said. “But sometimes the ball bounces your way.” 

For JV Head Coach Kathy Lutz, who coaches the varsity team also, the victory had belonged to the Hatters since early in the season.

“I had faith in them the whole time,” she said.  “They’re all like my daughters  — [numbers] one through 17.”

Both Coach Lutz and Coach DiFilippo said it was the players that made it an easy year for them.

“All they needed was a little bit of guiding,” DiFilippo said.

This was his first year serving as Hatters' head coach. His daughter, who just finished her last season as a Hatter, said being able to play this season with her dad as head coach was enjoyable.

“We went out with a bang,” she said only minutes after Wambold referred to the victory as the exact same thing — a bang.

The Hatters ended the season with a 26-2 record, including the state championship win.