TOWAMENCIN- Looking at Jackie Bilotti and Rick Torresani standing next to each other, it’s easy to mistake these two as proud father and daughter, and it wouldn’t be wrong to call them family.

“He’s like a dad to us,” claimed senior pitcher Jackie Bilotti, “He’s been so supportive. He encourages all of us to be better and he loves all of us. Even outside softball, he’s willing to help us with anything.”

“I like the father figure aspect,” responded coach Richard Torresani, “I expect a lot out of them.”

In this young 2015 softball season, the player and coach have already reached significant career milestones. Bilotti pitched her way to her 50^th career win last week and Torresani followed that with his 300^th win as the softball skipper.

COMING OF AGE

Torresani, in his fifteenth year coaching the Maidens and twenty-second year coaching high school softball, first met his pupil during one of his camps before Bilotti even tried out for the high school team.  While the coach quickly realized that she was a very talented pitcher, no one expected her to take over the pitching duty during her freshman year.  However, Vicky Tumasz’s injury opened the door for an opportunity.  Bilotti, despite missing the first two weeks due to basketball, stepped up and emerged as a star.

“She came in as if she was a senior,” said Torresani.

As a freshman, Bilotti was nothing short of outstanding. While she started out losing three of her first five games, she rebounded to win 16 games with a 1.46 ERA, and 73 strikeouts in 149 innings. One of her biggest moments came at her first postseason game ever. Despite the jitters, the freshman kept her cool and went on to pitch one of the best games of her young career, no-hitting Ridley in the first round. This achievement, despite the pressure, did not come as a surprise to Torresani.

Despite her many individual awards, such as 2013 Times Herald Player of the Year, 2014 All-Intelligencer Softball Player of the Year, 2014 SOL Softball All-League Continental Conference selection and honorable mention in the Class AAAA All-State coaches’ team, the District Title as a freshman was Bilotti’s proudest moment in her illustrious career.

“My biggest achievement would be winning district freshman year because that was our biggest team achievement,” exclaimed the senior pitcher. “We didn’t go in expecting to win it, but once we were there, we were like ‘we are not losing.’ That was pretty cool for our whole team.”

“She never shows emotion. She just has a calm personality. She knows what she needs to do. She obviously thinks about that before the game, so she knows when she gets into the game she knows what she’s supposed to do and just goes out and does the job. Nothing fazes her. If she gives up a hit, she just goes after the next batter. She gives up a home run, which she rarely does, she just goes after the next batter. When we’re winning 10-0, she goes after the next batter like it’s 0-0. Her personality never changes.”

Bilotti, while keeping her demeanor, was excellent at concealing her emotions.

“I remember being so nervous,” reflected the pitcher,  “all day, I couldn’t focus in school but I think that has to do a lot with my team and how they will be able to hit and score runs so that makes it so much easier to pitch in game. It makes me more confident knowing that the team has your back. It kinda came naturally. I try to block everything else out and just pitch. Sometimes that can be a good thing and sometimes that can be a bad thing.”

Her warrior-like mentality comes from two of the biggest influences in her softball career – Shane Victorino and her father. They have consistently stressed the hustle and respect as the most integral part of the game.

“Shane Victorino was always one of my favorite players because of how he plays and hustles all the time,” said Bilotti, “my dad has always pointed that out to me like even if you are not going to win the game, you play till the end and give hundred percent all the time. Even if he’s not going to catch the ball in center field, he’s always hustling after it, and that’s something I look up to.”

That kind of mentality is shared with everyone on the team, starting with the coach, who now has 300 wins under his belt.

“One of the most memorable wins actually happened few days ago,” stated Torresani, “ we went nine innings, and it started to rain, but the kids never gave up. They never gave up and we had a player get injured, one of our main players got injured during the game and the person that went in for her followed right in and did her job.”

FOSTERING A TEAM MENTALITY

The team identity gives more trust and responsibility to each and every player. Everyone has a voice on the team and anyone can go to anyone for anything. Two captains, Jackie Bilotti and Rebecca Christoffers, especially have more privilege and responsibility than others.

“The captains, for me, are extension to the coaching staff. I rely on them a lot because when there is a problem, whether it’s family problem, it’s a boyfriend problem, then I expect them to come to me and talk about it. Then we’ll go if we need to talk to the young lady and we’ll just sit down and talk to them. But they’re an extension to me. I go over everything with them, whether I’m making a change in the lineup, whether it’s practice or whether it’s workouts in fall and winter, they’re all involved in it. I just believe that they’re gonna be the one that’s gonna make this work. It’s not me, it’s them. It’s their team, it’s not my team. I’ll direct them, I’ll show them, I’ll teach them, but it’s there team and I’ve never had a problem with what the captains have been doing. It’s just awesome.”

While the captainship holds great power, both Bilotti and Christoffers do not want to be a center of attention among the team.

“I think the biggest thing for me and Becky is to lead by example and make sure that we give something to follow,” said Bilotti.

Nonetheless, the privilege of being a part of this program demands very high standard.

“I expect them to represent North Penn. I expect them when we go away to represent North Penn well. I don’t want anybody turning around and saying ‘hey those guys from North Penn- they are nasty.’ That’s something we don’t do on our softball program. I expect the girls, when they are out in public, to represent North Penn. I tell them all the time that there are little girls watching them play. And when they are out in the public and you’re doing something stupid, that little girl could be there. And all of sudden they look at that. I had kids, little kids, come up to Jackie and they want her autograph. An assistant coach here, her little girl came up and said ‘I want to be like Jackie Bilotti!’ And I tell them that. I said ‘look at this! This is what little kids need. They need someone to look up to nowadays,’ and these kids do that. They are a beautiful, beautiful bunch of young ladies.”

COMMITMENT AND SACRIFICE

While a lot has come along with her spectacular achievements in the world of sports, the senior also had to pay a hefty price for them.

“It’s a big commitment,” stated Bilotti. “A lot of times, people ask me to hang out, and I have to say ‘no, I have softball.’ I guess that’s a downside of it, but it brought so many memories that I’ll never forget. My closest friends are on the softball team so that’s a big thing and most of my weekends are spent playing softball so it takes up most of my time, but I like it.”

Softball naturally became an everyday part of her life ever since her childhood.

“My sisters used to play it, and she’s a lot older than me so I was always at the field since I was really young and I always wanted to play. I never got tired of it,” commented Bilotti.

Her journey as a player began at the age of five, and she immediately fell in love with it. Ever since she was a little kid, she tried to do everything, from pitching to fielding and hitting, to prepare herself for the future. Thanks to her dedication, Bilotti, originally a shortstop, was able to be a star pitcher when the team needed it.

“My parents are always pushing me to do better, but they are never yelling at me for softball,” stated Bilotti. “They always encourage me and help me. If I want to get better, I’m the first person to say it. In school, my friends always say congratulations and encourage me to keep going which is awesome.”

CROWNING ACHIEVMENTS

Bilotti’s personality, her attitude, her experience, her leadership, her passion, her dedication and effort eventually helped Torresani clinch his 300th win and Jackie Bilotti reach the 50 win plateau, a feat that has not been reached before in North Penn High School softball history.

“It was a great honor. It was neat, and it was great to do it with these guys,” exulted Torresani.

“It was really cool,” commented Bilotti, “but the important thing is that the team wins. I was able to go out there and pitch because I had my team behind me.”

The senior will attend Arcadia to play either third base or shortstop and to study to become a teacher. Beyond that, she is hopeful that she gets into coaching, and possibly coming back to help at North Penn.

ACADEMICS FIRST

Torresani, on the other hand, is thrilled that Bilotti is keeping up with her academics.

“Education is number one because first of all, I’ve been around for long time and I see girls that do see sports first and they get the injury, and they are done. Or they don’t do academically well, and they think they’re gonna play in college and it just doesn’t happen. So I tell all my kids’ academic’s first. Because when you leave here, you know that when you go to a good college, and get your education you know you’re going to get a job. So you gotta get the education first. Now, I really preach that if you need help, get it. We’ll be down here and we’ll wait for you. If you need to hold practice out for help, get it. We want to make sure that all our kids are academically right, and that’s HUGE for me. If a coach doesn’t feel that way, maybe they shouldn’t be coaching. Because this is what they’re here for. I’ve had athletes who were really focused on athletics before academics and they come back to me and say ‘coach, I blew it.’ And I have kids who academically took that first and now they’re doing great. They are the kids who come back and I’m really proud of them.”

Torresani has evolved the program into a tightly knit family that strives not only for athletic success, but also for overall character. He has built a tradition of excellence and wants the players to identify themselves as proud North Penn students and athletes.

“I have a sign that I always put on the fence. It says ‘tradition never graduates,’” said Torresani, “we want to keep that tradition.”

Anyone that wants to be a part of the team must understand the special relationship these players form, and what the team is all about. Many former players come back to talk to the newcomers about the standard and expectation of the North Penn softball team. In this program, the coaches and the players are forming something very special. Above and beyond the records, the stats, and the championships, they have a family.