TOWAMENCIN – “It’s going to be a really exciting season.”

In the midst of a 5 run 2nd inning from his offense, Head Coach Rick Torresani had a moment of realization of how special this team could truly be. While exclaiming out loud that the season trajectory is clearly trending up, his All-State pitcher senior Mady Volpe showed the versatility she possesses by driving in 2 with a single. Coach was able to dive a bit deeper into the mid-game reflection after the victory. 

“That was me just seeing our team chemistry,” Torresani said.  “We may not win everything we want to win, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. With the way they are playing right now, who knows what we’ll end up winning?”

There’s something to be said about this Lady Knights team. After today’s 9-0 win over Central Bucks South, they have now outscored their opponents 29-3 for the year. Since the first game, a 1-0 win over Quakertown, they have yet to have a game decided by less than 6 runs. A perfect start to the season so far has Torresani very optimistic and rightfully so. 

Wednesday’s game started with Volpe sitting down the Titan hitters in order with no problem. The bottom half of the first had the Knights be able to get a couple of base runners, but not able to drive them in. Volpe repeated the 1-2-3 inning she had in the first and got through with no trouble.

North Penn got things offensively in the second. 5 runs got put on the board and were kickstarted by senior Rachel Lowry and sophomore Julia Shearer. Lowry drove one run-in with a fielder’s choice and Shearer followed up with an RBI of her own on a sac fly. Junior Sophia Collins scored on a passed ball to make the lead 3-0. Volpe drove in the last runs of the inning with a 2 RBI single, stretching the lead to 5-0. 

Volpe turned it around and struck out the side, not giving a chance for South to respond. Freshman Gianna Cimino got her bat going with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, extending North Penn’s lead to 6 runs. After seeing the side retired dealt with handily by Volpe, the Lady Knights tacked on another run as Collins drove in senior Carley DiGiuseppe with a fielder’s choice. 

Top of the 5th had Volpe earn her 10th, 11th, and 12th, strikeouts of the game. This game was just as dominant as any other for the Coastal Carolina commit, but still very entertaining to watch for anyone in attendance. For the 4th straight inning, North Penn got a run on the board. Senior Marissa Palumbo came home on a passed ball and Shearer put a perfectly placed bunt in play, which scored a run. Shearer elaborated on her offense and the team’s performance. 

“I have just been trying to stay within myself,” Shearer said. “We get the offense going and it translates into Mady’s pitching. We look good right now.” 

Shearer’s bunt gave the Knights their 9th and final run. Volpe dealt with the last two innings, picking up 4 more strikeouts in the process. Volpe did see a little trouble in the last inning when South was able to load the bases. The senior worked her way out of it and sat down the Titans final batter on strikes. Torresani talked about how this win signaled his players starting to get in their groove and looking sharp defensively. 

“Now everybody is hitting the ball,” Torresani said. “Everybody is in the game and just defensively, we are playing really good. We had some clutch hits, played the small ball, and stole. It worked out well.”

The Lady Knights will look to continue their hot start to the 2021 campaign this Friday against Central Bucks East.