Sadowl, Hatboro get past C.B. South

The first time Hatboro-Horsham's Val Sadowl faced Central Bucks South pitcher Haileigh Stocks in their big Suburban One League Continental Conference softball game Thursday, Sadowl hit into a double play to end a first-inning threat.

"It was early, so I knew I'd get more chances with the bat," Sadowl said after poking what might have been the longest single of her career in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Hatters a 3-2 win over the visiting Titans.

The victory assured the Hatters of a share of the Continental crown. They can clinch it Monday with a win over North Penn. The No. 1 team in The Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania rankings, the Hatters are 11-2 in conference play (17-2 overall). The Titans fell to 9-3 in the conference with two games left.

The score was tied at 2 when Sadowl came to the plate in the seventh after Melissa Spinosa had led off with a single, moved to second on an error, and reached third on Chrissy James' sacrifice.

With two out, Sadowl lined a shot to right field that easily could have been extra bases.

"I wanted to redeem myself" for the first-inning double play," Sadowl said. "We were fired up after they tied the game in the top of the seventh."

The Hatters, with runs in the third and fifth innings, were rolling along with a 2-0 lead entering the last inning.

But Hatboro pitcher Meg Shaffer, who had yielded only two hits through six innings, walked Morgan Decker with one out to start the seventh. Stocks doubled to deep left-center to put runners on second and third. With two out, Kelly Culp singled to score both runners.

"I just wanted to get the ball through the infield," Culp said. "I figured if I got that, we'd have at least one run and somebody else could drive in the other."

When the Hatters left the field to bat in their half of the inning, coach Joe DiFilippo said he had a good feeling.

"These girls don't quit," he said. "They play every inning, and they were confident they could get one run."

Shaffer finished with a three-hitter, striking out six. Stocks yielded five hits and fanned two.

"We've been down before and come back. That's been one of the strengths of this team," Titans coach Jen Robinson said.

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WP: Meg Shaffer. LP: Haleigh Stocks. 2B: CBS-Stocks. 3B: Chrissy James.