Lady Hatters Drop Finale, But Make District Softball Playoffs

GLEN MILLS, PA. — There were tears of disappointment shed in the Hatboro-Horsham High School dugout on Wednesday afternoon when Garnet Valley closed out a 7-4 victory over the Lady Hatters in the final softball game of the regular season for both teams.

But the bitter emotions of what three seniors — Charlotte Coulson, Daria Edwards and Megan Hallock — thought was their final game were replaced by tears of joy on Thursday night when that trio found out that HHHS had been selected as one of the 24 teams in the District One playoffs.

The Lady Hatters will open the playoffs by traveling to Collegeville for a first-round game against No. 12 seed Perkiomen Valley at 4 p.m. Monday. H-H beat PVHS 6-5 in the second round of last year's playoffs.

Hatboro-Horsham (10-8) will need a stronger effort on Monday in district play than what it turned in on Wednesday. For the second week in a row, a strong performance in a night game win was followed less than 24 hours later by a lackluster effort the following afternoon.

From the top of the first inning until the final out was recorded in the seventh, the pressure of trying to make the playoffs seemed to contrast that of Garnet Valley, which with no pressure played what observers said was the Jaguars' best game of the season.

Those who follow Bensalem regularly said the same thing about their team in H-H's 10-3 loss the previous week.

A bad strategical maneuver got Hatboro-Horsham off on the wrong foot right out of the gate when the Lady Hatters seemed poised for a big inning.

With one out, third baseman Jaynie Black narrowly missed her first varsity homer, banging a shot hard off the left-field fence for a double. Daria Edwards followed with a bunt single to put runners at first and third.

Coach Joe DiFilippo called for a double steal with the dangerous Jen Cader at the plate. Edwards headed for second, but the throw was cut off and Black was narrowly thrown out at home plate despite a strong slide away from the catcher.

With two outs and Edwards now on second, Cader delivered a triple for an RBI and a 1-0 lead. Cader took an extra base alertly when she saw that third was left uncovered as the ball was being returned from the outfield.

Jackie Locke followed with a sharp grounder that was fielded at first to end the inning, with the stolen base attempt probably costing Hatboro-Horsham as least one crucial run, if not more.

The Jaguars jumped ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the second with better execution on a couple of plays directly leading to the runs. 

Back-to-back singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases. Cora Snyder stroked a sacrifice fly to center, with Cader's throw arriving just a tick too late for catcher Bridgette Schaffer to nail Samantha Tomasetti at the plate.

Starting pitcher Lexi Campbell cut down another runner at home with a nice defensive play on a squeeze bunt, but that came after Maura Morrissoe beat out a bunt when the ball was fielded along the third-base line just as it was about to roll into foul ground to load the bases again.

Garnet Valley's lead-off hitter Addy Moskowitz worked herself to a 3-2 count and a walk for the second RBI of the inning.

Cader was at the center of things in the third. Black stroked a two-strike pitch to center for a base hit with one out and Cader bombed a two-run, two-out homer over the left-center-field fence on the first pitch she saw to make it 3-2 Lady Hatters.

But the hard-hitting Jaguars came right back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third on a hard double from Tomasetti (3-for-3, three runs scored, one walk), an RBI-single from Shannon Moore to center and Snyder's double to the right-center-field gap on an elevated two-strike pitch.

Kaeli Simmons replaced Campbell after a pair of one-out singles in the fourth and worked out of trouble, but the sophomore reliever wasn't as fortunate the rest of the way.

Garnet Valley struck for another run in the fifth when Simmons walked Moore, threw a wild pitch to get into scoring position. Moore stole third and then came home on Snyder's clutch single off the glove of Edwards at short.

Now trailing 5-3, Hatboro-Horsham scratched to within a run when Garnet Valley pitched around Cader and walked her leading off the sixth. Locke sacrificed Cader to second and designated hitter Brynn Griffith delivered a single to third.

It was Griffith's only hit of the day, but she easily could have been 3-for-3, with a line drive being snagged at short and a shot down the third-base line being stabbed by Moore for what would have been a lead-off double in the fourth.

It looked like H-H would be down by a run in the top of the seventh, with Hallock, DeAnna Moyer, Black and Edwards set to come up. But after two quick outs, Simmons gave up a shot to center to Tomasetti for a single on an 0-2 pitch and then watched Gabrielle Orusk launch an elevated 2-2 pitch over the left-field barrier for a two-run homer — the 11th and final hit of the game for the Jaguars.

Hatboro-Horsham battled back against Garnet Valley pitcher Nicole Clayton in the seventh.

Clayton, who scattered seven hits, got Hallock on a foul tip for strike three after falling behind 3-1, but then hit Moyer on the foot with a pitch and tossed another pitch to the screen to allow Moyer to advance to second.

But a shot to deep center for Black was tracked down by Moskowitz on the run to deny an RBI-double and Edwards' deep drive was also tracked down short of the fence in right-center by Moskowitz to end the game.