Volpe dominant in win over Zephyrs
Mady Volpe picked up the complete game shutout victory by striking out 15 batters and allowing only 1 hit.
TOWAMENCIN- After a district final loss, the Knights have turned their focus to the bigger goal of going on a state championship run and got off to a good start with a 1st round victory.
The North Penn Knights (22-2) beat the Whitehall Zephyrs (15-11) 9-0 in a stellar win in the 1st round of the state tournament.
The Knights got the critical first runs of the game on the board in the bottom of the first. Jordan Pietrzykoski scored after an error by Whitehall’s second baseman, Rachel Arner. Later, Mady Volpe drove in Gianna Costello, who was courtesy running for Amanda Greaney, with an RBI single.
The Knights continued to build the lead in the 2nd inning. Greaney ripped a double down the left field line that scored Pietrzykoski, who hit a double of her own. Elia Namey followed with a single that scored Costello and the Knights had a 4-0 lead.
Sophia Collins led off the 4th with a long fly ball that just barely stayed in the park as Collins cruised in to 2nd base with a leadoff double. She scored on Pietrzykoski’s single. With the bases loaded, Carley DiGiuseppe was hit by the pitch and brought in Pietrzykoski. An error by Lindsey Ganrys brought in 2 runs for the Knights and finally an RBI single by Lizzy Stark made the score 9-0.
“We talked about hitting the ball in the ground, hitting line drives, and that’s what we came out and did because we wanted them to field the ball. If they fielded it, great, if they made mistakes we were gonna capitalize,” Head Coach Rick Torresani said.
Volpe was absolutely masterful in the win with pinpoint command and a well-used repertoire of pitches. She picks up the win in her complete game shutout and 1-hitter. She had 15 strikeouts and walked 2.
“I think we just needed to regroup as a team. The only competition we have is ourselves right now and if we keep playing like we did today, I think we’ll be really good,” Volpe said.
The Knights will play in the quarterfinals Thursday where they will meet the winner of Central Dauphin vs North Allegheny.
“Same thing, just make contact and hit the ball hard on the ground. Make them field it. Mady will hopefully keep us close and we’ll see what happens,” Coach Torresani said on his message for the next game.