As they have all season, Penn Manor's softball team put forth their best effort but came up against a team that had a little more. The Comets' season ended with a respectable 4-0 loss to North Penn in the PIAA 6A State Quarterfinals in Boyertown on June 10. The loss leaves them with an impressive 21-5 record overall.

"Anytime you win 20 games in a season, you're doing pretty well," said head coach Dave Stokes. "That number is tough to make because you have to win some playoff games."

The Comets came into the post-season with a 17-3 record and picked up three playoff wins against two losses.

As for their meeting with North Penn (24-2), the Comets could not solve the Knights pitcher Mady Volpe who piled up 13 strikeouts, including the side in the seventh, and surrendered just two hits.

"Coming in we heard that Volpe had 295 strikeouts on the year," noted Stokes. "That's more than Brittany Hook had her freshman year for us. She finished with 276 which is the L-L League record."

Kaelin Gable singled in the second and Tori Hook added a base hit in the sixth for Manor's only hits.

North Penn, on the other hand, pounded out 13 hits but managed just four runs as the Comets buckled down defensively. Gianna Cimino belted a two out, two-run double in the third to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. They widened their advantage in the seventh with an RBI base hit, with another run scoring due to an error on the play.

"Bella (Peters) did a nice job," said Stokes. "To only give up four runs is a solid effort. We took her out in the seventh and brought in Emily Riggs. She gave up a hit to left field, but Kylie Goss threw a runner out at home by probably three steps, so we did some good things."

Volpe struck out eight of the nine batters she faced from the second to the fourth inning.

"We came up against a pitcher who pitched a style we haven't seen all year," Stokes stated. "She threw with good velocity and had a good change-up. It's hard to beat a pitcher that can get 16 to 18 outs a game by herself.

"Sophia Rineer led off the game with our hardest hit of the day and they had an error on the play," he recalled. "But then we made two strikeouts.

"I was really pleased with this group. What disappoints me most is that as good as we were, we didn't win any hardware. I felt this group deserved a bit more, but it wasn't in the cards. Our record is one of the best in Penn Manor history," he added. "Two times, with Brittany Hook pitching, we had at least 20 wins. It would have been nice to come away with something to put on a banner."

For their efforts, the Comets were well represented in the recent all-star voting, with five making the top 18 in the section. Those included seniors Kaelin Gable (third base, .471 batting average), Tori Hook (catcher, .532 avg.), Sophia Rineer (shortstop, .414 avg.) and Madison Trout (first base, .397 avg.). Emily Riggs (second base, .563 avg.), a junior, also made the top 18 while Bella Peters (3.24 ERA, 84K and 26W at the time of voting) was an Honorable Mention selection.

"This group will be missed and will be tough to replace," noted Stokes. "Without Covid causing us to miss a season, we would have had the same infield for three straight years. I don't think that has ever happened in my 30 years of coaching.

"We return Riggs, who will probably step in to pitch, along with outfielders Kylie Goss, Audrey Patterson, and sophomore Bria Booth. But we have sophomores Maddie Mitchell and Katelyn Ream along with four notable freshmen (Kira Green, Jordan Bailey, Janelle Bowmaster and Reagan Soboleski) that we anticipate stepping in."

This year's group holds the school record for most home runs in a season with 30. "We had eight different players connect for multiple home runs," Stokes pointed out. "Emily led that group with seven and Tori had five. But Audrey, Kaelin, Sophia, Madi, Bella and Kylie also chipped in with at least two each. This group worked hard in the weight room and worked hard at practice. They were always there early and often stayed late. I really enjoyed this group."