NEWTOWN, Pa. — For the past few years the Council Rock North High School softball team had been banging on the door when it played sister school Council Rock South. On Monday afternoon, Rock North kicked that door down for its first win over Rock South since 2021. Ending a series of frustrating ne ar misses against the Hawks, Council Rock North beat Rock South, 4-2, in a key early season game in the Suburban One National Division. The win lifted Rock North to 6-2 and it was just the second loss of the season for Rock South, which was a division champion and a Class 6A state finalist a year ago. The biggest star in this one was freshman right Mia Kiskurno. She gave up 10 hits, but she was consistently able to record the key outs when they were needed the most. This included the top of the seventh when she got out of a jam with her seventh strikeout to leave runners stranded on second and third. “Mia was amazing today,” said Rock North coach Susan Yee. “In her first North-South rivalry game, she really kept her nerves at bay when she needed to, and got out of jam after jam, including digging down deep to close out the game with a K while having the tying run in scoring position. That’s amazing for any player but absolutely unbelievable for a freshman.” Another standout for the Indians was speedy lefty lead-off batter Kayla Ripper. Batting well over ,500, she ignited in her team in the bottom of the first with a single to center. This led to a single by Olivia Schlindwein, a sac by Chelsea Seiler and a clutch two-run triple to right center by Sierra Klein. Zoe Hardy also doubled home a run in this inning as Rock North built up a quick 3-0 lead against returning All-Area pitcher Lexi Waring. Ripper also figured in her team’s fourth run in the second inning when she stroked an RBI single. To her credit, Waring rebounded  and pitched brilliantly the rest of the way to keep her team in the game. Rock North didn’t have a single base runner in the last four innings as Waring finished with a five-hitter and five strikeouts. Unfortunately, for Rock South, it wasn’t enough against the pitching of Kiskurno and an Indian defense that committed just one error. Rock South did get on the board when Julia Scannapieco singled home a run in the third and later added a run in the sixth when it had four singles, but Kiskurno was able to get out of this jam by getting the dangerous Scannapieco to ground out to third. There was some defense in there as well, including a diving catch with two outs by center fielder Zoe Hornstein that left another Rock South runner stranded in scoring position in the fourth inning. After Kiskurno got the first two outs in the top of the seventh, Rock South stayed alive on an error and a shot to right center by Shannon Williams that would have scored a run if the ball hadn’t bounced over the fence for a grounds rule double. No problem as Kiskurno came right back to get the final out in one of her team’s biggest wins in years. “Today was a huge day not only because it was a rivalry game, but it was also going to be a very telling game to see how our team would respond after being kicked in the teeth by Plymouth Whitemarsh (a 17-0 loss) last Friday,” said Yee. “After that game the girls showed a ton of character and demonstrated how far they have come in developing a positive culture over the past few years. That mental fortitude was absolutely pivotal in coming away with a win today.” Council Rock South (5-2) 001 001 0 – 2 10 0 Council Rock North (6-2) 310 000 x – 4 5 1 WP-Kiskurno. LP-Waring. 2B-Delise (CRS), Pesapane (CRS), Hardy (CRN). 3B-Ripper (CRN), Klein (CRN). ...read more read less