TOWAMENCIN-  After a 9-0 outburst in the 2^nd round of district playoffs, the Knights followed it up with a mercy rule victory to advance to the district semifinals.

In the quarterfinals of district playoffs, The North Penn Knights (20-1) beat the Haverford Fords (19-5) 11-1 in 5 innings.

The bottom of the lineup got the 6-run rally started in the 2^nd inning, when the Knights had 12 plate appearances.  Designated hitter, Lizzy Stark, hit a single, that was misplayed in the outfield, to drive in Mady Volpe for the first run of the game.  Stark came in to score after a throwing error from Haverford’s catcher, Haley Greenwald.  Then after the third error of the inning, Sophia Collins came in to score.  With the bases-loaded, Jamie Beer drew a walk to bring in a run.  A sharp ground ball hit by Carley DiGiuseppe plated another run.  Finally, Volpe worked out a walk to bring in the 6^th run of the inning.

“We scored some runs and that’s what you gotta do.  You gotta take advantage of what they are gonna give you and then don’t let up,”  Head Coach Rick Torresani said.

The Fords put up their lone run of the game in the top of the 4^th inning.  It came off of the bat of Tess Smiley, who legged out a triple, to score Amber Moscoe.  Except for the 4 hits and 1 run she allowed, Volpe had another masterful game as she had 8 strikeouts and picked up the win.

“Fastball was pounding the zone, changeup was working, my riseball was working really well,” Volpe said on her balanced repertoire of pitches.

Volpe wasn’t just affecting the game in the circle however, as she had a big-time game from the plate.  In the bottom of the 4^th, Volpe roped a double to the fence to bring in two runs and made the score 8-1.  Stark followed with an RBI after another single and error to left field.  Volpe came up to bat in the 5^th inning and poked a ball just fair of the right field foul line to score 2 runs and end the game on the mercy rule.  Volpe was 3-3 with 2 doubles, a walk, 2 runs, and 4 RBIs.

“I was just seeing the ball really well.  I knew [Emma Taylor, Haverford’s pitcher] was throwing all outside, she didn’t pitch me anything inside, so I just got up on the plate and drove it where the ball was placed,” Volpe explained.

The Knights will be back in action Tuesday for the semifinals against the third seeded, Pennsbury Falcons.  With the win Friday afternoon, the Knights locked up a spot in the state tournament.

“It is relief to know that now we’re in.  We can relax a little bit, have a good practice on Monday morning and then come out Tuesday and just give everything,” Coach Torresani said.