There was a belated celebration for members of the Hatboro-Horsham High School softball team team on Sunday evening when the squad infiltrated a local Dairy Queen to congratulate each other for making the District One playoffs.
Nothing like a few Blizzards to prepare for Monday afternoon's 4 p.m. first-round game with Perkiomen Valley High School in Collegeville — a team that HHHS defeated 6-5 in the second round of last season's playoffs.
It has been a perilous journey for a young Lady Hatters team (10-8) that bears the expectations of their predecessors. That is what happens when you reach the PIAA 4-A state championship three times in a six-year period and win two titles.
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It also is the legacy of a school that has dominated the Suburban One League/Continental Conference — the toughest loop in Pennsylvania — on a consistent basis over the past decade.
One of H-H's competitors, North Penn veteran coach Rick Torresani, likes to say that people don't remember what you do in March, but how you finish in June.
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In other words, what does your team accomplish in postseason play?
At the mid point of the 2014 campaign, it appeared that Hatboro-Horsham was positioning itself for another Continental Conference crown and a high seed in the District One playoffs.
The Lady Hatters finished the first half of conference play just one game behind eventual champion Souderton in the standings and looked forward to a second meeting with the Indians on the road in the second game of the second half.
What happened on that Monday afternoon in Franconia seemed to set the tone for the rest of the regular season. The Lady Hatters were three outs away from a victory, with a 6-4 lead, that could have positioned them for another conference title when three errors gave Souderton new life in this pivotal game.
The last error, a dropped foul pop-up with two outs could have sealed the win. A pitch later, Souderton hit a walk-off grand slam that won the game 8-6, sending the Indians spiraling to championship and the Lady Hatters careening into a free-fall.
Hatboro-Horsham had already endured a 3-2, eight-inning loss at North Penn when umpires blew two calls that led to three unearned Maiden runs. The winning run scored on what should have been an inning-ending out at home plate, with the crew chief explaining he was late for his Passover dinner that evening.
And there was another 3-2 loss four days before the Souderton game to Central Bucks East that ended in an eerily similar fashion to the Patriots' 3-2 win in the quarterfinals of the 2013 District One playoffs — a loss that had knocked the Lady Hatters out of the state tournament.
Two game-ending double plays in the 10th inning of an International Tiebreaker.
Hatboro-Horsham was also an out away from a win at arch rival Central Bucks South when a series of bloop hits allowed the Titans to overcome a 4-1 deficit and escape with a 5-4 victory.
With a 6-2 record before the second CB East game, the Lady Hatters dropped five of eight contests before winning two out of three in the final week of the regular season to slip into the playoffs.
But the postseason is all about second chances.
North Penn won the 2012 District One title and advanced to the 2013 PIAA 4-A semifinals after a middle-of-the-pack finish in the Continental Conference each season.
CB East, another mediocre team in conference play, used the springboard of that win over Hatboro-Horsham to capture the District One crown last season and reached the state quarterfinals before running into the hot bats of North Penn.
The rigors of the Continental Conference toughens teams up before the playoffs and the Lady Hatters are just as capable of making a run as any of the five conference teams — along with Souderton, North Penn, CB East and CB South — that are still playing.
SCOUTING THE LADY HATTERS
It has taken the H-H coaching staff most of the season to figure out its best defensive configuration, with newcomer Megan Hallock taking over in left field after a failed coaching experiment to put her at shortstop and third base for most of the season.
Remember that Hallock was an all-state performer in South Carolina as a center fielder last year before transferring to Hatboro-Horsham.
Along with that move, dependable Jaynie Black has been changed from second base to third base and freshman Kylie Flagler has been installed in her more natural position of second base after splitting time at first base earlier in the year.
Several other things must fall into place for the Lady Hatters to make a deep playoff run.
Coach Joe DiFilippo has struggled to find a consistent batting order this season, with both Hallock (.300 batting average, .338 on-base percentage) and right fielder DeAnna Moyer (.222, .344) both seeing time in the lead-off spot.
The idea to turn Hallock, a strong right-handed hitter with some pop in her bat, into a left-handed slap hitter has been met with only sporadic success. In the three games where Hallock has been allowed to bat right handed, she had a three-run, game-deciding homer against CB East and a key double in a rout of CB West.
Moyer has had most of her success batting ninth this season, but the bottom of the batting order has struggled to produce runs on a consistent basis, though designated hitters Brynn Griffith and Charlotte Coulson have combined to provide a home run and two doubles from the sixth spot in the past four games.
Black (.444 batting average, .507 on-base percentage) and center fielder Jen Cader (.508, .561, .881 slugging percentage) have been white hot in the two and four holes in recent weeks and first baseman Jackie Locke (.353, .403) has been consistent most of the season in the fifth slot.
H-H is going to need shortstop Daria Edwards to have a big postseason to go deep in the playoffs. The Towson University-bound senior was one of the state's most dangerous prep players as a junior, combining with the graduated Heather Lutz to give the Lady Hatters tremendous power in the middle of the order.
Edwards has a team-leading four homers this season, but has driven in just 12 runs, despite a .365 batting average, a .515 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage.
Teams have learned to combat Edwards with breaking stuff and off-speed pitches, many times out of the strike zone.
During the first half, the team received exceptional pitching with junior Lexie Campbell (2.20 earned run average) as the starter and sophomore Kaeli Simmons (2.85 ERA) coming in out of the bullpen.
But the coaches have seemed to have a quick hook on Campbell in recent games after letting her pitch out of jams earlier in the season and Simmons has been in a recent slump after closing out several games with saves in the beginning of the year.
Hatboro-Horsham needs both pitchers to get back on track to keep the Lady Hatters in games.
Hard-throwing freshman Taylor Sciubba and the even-keeled Griffith are also available in the circle.
Bridgette Schaffer has seen most of the action behind the plate as a sophomore, backed up by freshman Lisa Lang.
Jamie Mroz started most of the season in left field for the Lady Hatters and has provided some clutch hitting and steady defense.
Andrea Baldus is a versatile infielder and an option off the bench for a team that hasn't utilized its depth as efficiently as it should have this season. Baldus also was an effective pitcher during another stage of her career.
Two junior varsity players were added to the roster on Friday, shortstop Meghan Fitzgerald and catcher-outfielder Emmy Rivkin, a pair of sophomores. Fitzgerald is a good hitter with some power, while Rivkin was one of the hottest hitters on the JV Hatters at the end of the season.
The PERKIOMEN VALLEY MATCHUP
At least 21st-seeded H-H will know what to expect from Perkiomen Valley on Monday, after that second-round encounter last season.
The No. 12 seed finished third in the PAC-10 Conference, behind No. 4 seeded Spring-Ford and No. 16 Methacton. Owen J. Roberts also made the field from the Pac-10 as the No. 18 seed.
After a 3-3 start, the Vikings (14-5) won 11 games in a row before a pair of late-season losses to Methacton, which went on to win the PAC-10 tournament last week.
Coach Don McLaughlin is in his sixth season at the helm of the PVHS program and has relied heavily on pitcher Emily Oltman, who pitched against Hatboro-Horsham in last season's playoffs. Oltman has a quirky delivery and uses a riser effectively.
Other players to keep an eye on for the Vikings include shortstop Anamarie Bruni, backup pitcher and second baseman Rachel Helverson, third baseman Kelsey Impink right fielder Brenna Sermarini, catcher Noelle McCullough, utility player Alex Haines, center fielder Abby Wild, left fielder Nicole Bangert, first baseman Shannon Beattie and left fielder Haley Streeper.
The winner of Monday's game draws one of the legendary teams in PIAA 4-A softball, Pennsbury, in the second round at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in a road game. The Frank McSherry-coached Falcons are seeded fifth after sharing the SOL/National Conference title with top-seeded William Tennent.
Whoever survives the second round will play again Friday at 4 p.m. for the right to go to the state playoffs, most likely against Spring-Ford.
