Doylestown – 400 wins is not something coaches aim for. It’s something that just happens after years of doing what they love. Endless hours of preparation, scouting, and practice can lead to someone earning the chance to get an accomplishment like this. The North Penn Lady Knights coach achieved the feat today against CB West. 

“It’s an honor to coach these girls,” Torresani said. “To have my friends and family here for everything is amazing. To win 400 games as a coach, is beyond my belief.” 

A coaching career that started at Bishop Mcdevitt has turned into more than just a career. Torresani has built a legacy in southeastern Pennsylvania. For the last 21 years, North Penn has made the playoffs every single year Torresani was at the helm. That type of success does not come easily and is driven by a great coach as well as hard work and dedication.

“It is hard work,” Torresani said. “It’s all about tradition and once the culture and tradition is developed, the kids just follow suit. That’s what all my teams have done since day 1. They all bought in.” 

Torresani is the head coach, yet he immediately recognized all the people who may not get any shine but were key parts on his road to 400 wins. 

“All of my assistant coaches, I can’t say enough,” Torresani said. “I’m glad for getting this opportunity from Don Ryan—Bill Bartle too. If it wasn’t for them putting up with me and backing me, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

400 could not have come in a better fashion as star senior pitcher Mady Volpe threw a 4 inning no hitter on the mound. Torresani and Volpe have a special relationship and it was clearly very touching for the coach to get that milestone victory with such a dominant effort. 

“To throw a no hitter in my 400th win, it’s special,” Torresani said. “Mady will be in my heart forever. She is just a humble player and you would not know she is such a great talent just by looking. She has a lot of talent.” 

Volpe was far more focused on the team and the milestone victory than her own outstanding performance. 

“Coach has been a huge part of my life,” Volpe said. “I appreciate everything he has done for me and the team. It’s really cool to be a part of his 400th win.” 

Volpe’s performance combined with an offensive explosion handedly took care of CB West 16-0 (4). Sophomores Bri Wilmot and Sara Sabocsik both hit home runs. Junior Sophia Collins had 2 RBIs, senior Rachel Lowry went 2-3 with 3 RBIs and sophomore Julia Shearer had 2 doubles and a single to go along with 2 RBIs. 

“The girls just came in and pounded the ball,” Torresani said. “They were excited for the moment and wanted to come out and win the game.”

Both teams started quietly as neither side got anything going in the first inning. After Volpe drew a leadoff walk in the 2nd, Wilmot came up to the plate and sent a ball over the fence to put North Penn on the board. 

“Bri hurt her thumb pregame,” Torresani said. “She got right back out and hit a home run. It’s great to see.” 

Freshman Gianna Cimino advanced to third after a single, which set up Collins’s RBI double. Lowry followed right up with a single to drive in Collins. Shearer smacked a double of her own to left, bringing home Lowry and the score to 5-0. After Sabocisk drew a walk, sophomore Anabelle Smink drove in Shearer with a single. A 6-run second inning gave Volpe the breathing room she needed. 

“Getting those runs was definitely big,” Volpe said. “It gave the team a lot of energy and took the pressure off of me.” 

Clearly no pressure was felt from Volpe’s perspective. Even after sitting for that long, she came back out and struck out the side, something that has been way too common for her. Cimino led off the next half inning with a single. After a steal and wild pitch, Cimino found herself on 3rd and Collins drove her in with a sac fly to deep left, extending the lead to 6-0. 

Volpe did see a bit of trouble in the 4th inning. Two walks gave West some baserunners, but Volpe shut the door with back to back strikeouts to leave any scoring threat stranded on base. 

Another big inning for North Penn kicked off with a single by Shearer. Following a flyout, Simink took a pitch off the foot, placing runners on 1st and 2nd. Wilmot stepped back up with 2 outs and lined a single into center that scored both runners. Cimino doubled but Wilmot was held at 3rd due to a good throw from the outfield. Senior Carley Digiuseppe cleared the bases with a double and gave North Penn an 11-0 lead. 

Lowry hit a ground rule double a couple of batters later that scored 2 more. Shearer came up for the second time in the inning and hit a RBI double. Sabocsik launched a long 2 run shot over the fence to put an exclamation point on an explosive inning. 

“Sara just came up and did the same thing as Bri,” Torresani said. “It definitely was a long one and was great for her.” 

After the mercy had been reached, all Volpe had to do was what she did best and draw outs. She did that easily and struck out the heart of CB West’s lineup to end the game. A dominant performance on both sides truly caught Torresani’s eye. 

“It was just the whole team,” Torresani said. “The whole team just played really well and it’s great. They just went out and played North Penn softball.” 

Coach Torresani will look to get win 401 and officially start the countdown to 500 wins, this Friday against Hatboro Horsham. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00.