Despite heavy losses, Hempfield still strong

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Hempfield softball was set to face Penn-Trafford on March 22, it had been two years, almost to the day, since the Spartans had lost a game.

Down seven starters from last year’s undefeated team, including current Notre Dame pitcher Morgan Ryan, that’s a lot of pressure.

Hempfield lost that game, 7-3 — but for senior pitcher Maddie Uschock, tasked with replacing Ryan, the loss actually did some good. The Spartans’ 46-game win streak was snapped, yes, but it seemed a new era could begin.

“We were playing so tense, so careful,” Uschock said of the beginning of the season. “And when we got over all of that, after that loss some of that pressure was removed.”

The next game, Hempfield beat a good Latrobe team, 31, going on to win six games a row. The Spartans are 11-1 through Monday’s games.

“Whenever we went out to play Latrobe it just seemed like we played for ourselves,” Uschock, who has a 1.08 ERA through Tuesday’s games, said. “The whole vibe felt different. I feel like that was a huge turning point.”

Hempfield, softball powerhouse that it is, won WPIAL Class 4A championships in 2015 and 2016. The Spartans won a PIAA Class 4A championship in 2016 and won a Class 6A championship last season, capping an undefeated 27-0 season with a PIAA championship. It may appear to be a rebuilding year, though coach Bob Kalp doesn’t like the term.

“I never call it a rebuilding year,” Kalp said. “We’re just playing younger players.”

Ryan, now at Notre Dame, limited opponents to 20 earned runs, finishing with a 1.00 ERA in 140 innings pitched, tallying 9.95 strikeouts a game.

The Spartans also lost strong hitters Jordan Bernard and Autumn Beasley from last year’s team, which was known for hitting for power.

“Morgan was definitely a big blow, but there were seven of them who left,” Kalp said. “It wasn’t just Morgan, there were seven seniors who graduated. We really got gutted, as they say.”

Hempfield is young this year, with sophomore Olivia Persin starting at second base and sophomore Ashley Orischak at DP and as fourth outfielder. There’s also freshman Emma Hoffner, who has committed to Saint Francis, Pa., at catcher, batting .400 after 12 games.

Kalp’s expectations stay high despite the roster turnover, but in a different way than you’d expect.

“I don’t set goals and expectations like ‘Win the section, do so much in the WPIAL, win the state,’ we don’t do it that way,” he said. “My expectations are working as hard as you can every day and every drill, and making progress. Those are my expectations. If we work as hard as we can every day, I will take the outcome.”

This year, the Spartans have hit just two home runs. Without that power, they’ll look to play small ball and manufacture some offense.

The team’s confidence has grown stronger as the season has gone by, Uschock said.

“I feel like now, we’re all looking at each other and we’re like ‘Why not us? Why can’t we do it again?’ Uschock said.