Senior ‘shortstop’ keys Steel Valley

Tri-State Sports & News Service

When Steel Valley’s Morgan Farrah went 5 for 5 with two home runs, a double and eight RBIs against Ellwood City May 1, coach Matt Janov said it was the best offensive performance he had ever seen.

He was quick to add that it wasn’t a surprise, though. He’s used to his star player and Colgate recruit leaving a bad taste in opponent’s mouths.

“Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore with her,” Janov said. “She’s been doing it for four years. I can’t imagine there’s anybody better.”

This season, Farrah is crushing the ball to the tune of a .689 batting average with five home runs and 29 RBIs. She recently set the Steel Valley record for career hits and has 125. Chelsea Rohan, a 2016 graduate who now plays at Seton Hill, held the previous record of 118.

Farrah said she’s lucky if she gets one good pitch to hit per at-bat. Usually, teams try to throw her outside, so she has crowded the plate a bit more this season and finetuned her opposite-field hitting.

“I’ve been really focused on hitting to right field,” she said. “I worked really hard on that in the offseason because I struggled with it last season.”

But for all that tenacity in the batter’s box, Farrah has shown a caring soul outside of it. Farrah, who was also a point guard on the basketball team, spends her summers coaching younger players in both softball and basketball. That’s her favorite part of playing sports, she said. It’s fitting that someone with such nurturing instincts routinely refers to her softball team as a family.

During her only week off this summer, Farrah will be taking a trip to a low-income community in rural Kentucky to build homes with a church group. She was sold when her best friend told her it was a humbling experience.

“I had the week off, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” said Farrah.

Her giving nature has made her an extremely coachable superstar. When the Ironmen needed a shortstop in her freshman year, Farrah happily obliged and has been there ever since, even though she is a catcher in travel ball and will probably be that at Colgate.

Janov also relayed a story from two years ago in a playoff game when Farrah went all out to make a diving stop on a ground ball up the middle so a runner could not score from second base. Anything to help the team. “She’s just an amazing kid, wonderful student, great team player,” said Janov. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. She’s never even had a moment of being even remotely negative.”

Norwin

Norwin has had a couple big wins as of late. At some point, maybe they need to stop being labeled as upsets? On May 2, the Knights knocked off Class 6A No. 4 Latrobe, 4-1. Then, two days later, they downed 4A No. 2 Yough, 6-5. In between, they crushed Penn Hills, 21-0.

Norwin (9-6, 7-3 in 6A Section 2 through Wednesday) has clinched a spot in the 6A playoffs and won five of its past six games. With the postseason right around the corner, the Knights have seen a night-and-day difference lately and the group’s confidence is trending upward.

“I think we’re finally realizing were a little better than we thought we were,” said coach Brian Mesich. “Hopefully, the confidence factor will keep increasing.”

Sophomore Victoria Shimko paces the offense with a .450 average. Leadoff hitter Hailee Culbertson is also stellar at the plate as well as a defensive wizard at shortstop. Pitcher Natalie Krzywiec boasts a 2.59 ERA.

After a soggy start to the season that featured too many postponements and too little time on the field, the Knights are hitting their stride.

“This has absolutely been the craziest spring ever,” said Mesich. “Being cooped up in a building then playing game after game has been a battle. Now, we’re battle tested.”

Leechburg

The streak continues. After setting a WPIAL record by making a postseason appearance for the 30th consecutive season two years ago, the Blue Devils (12-4, 11-1 in 1A Section 3 through Wednesday) are back in the playoffs again for season No. 32 in a row.

Leechburg won district titles in 1991, 1992 and 1995. with two tough losses against Yough and a one-run loss to Belle Vernon. But Rutherford marks it all down as a learning experience for the postseason and seasons to come, especially with a young starter on the mound.

“I still think there’s a lot for [Kailey] to learn and for her to progress in the years to come,” Rutherford said. “At this point, I give her a lot of credit that she hasn’t had this experience. It’ll be a test for her going into the playoffs to see if she can handle that type of pressure. She’s played a lot of tough teams so far. She’ll do well, and I’m really pleased with her continuation to improve and try.”

Over his career Rutherford has seen a pattern of kids starting to play travel ball at a younger age, which gets them ready to compete from the get-go in high school. Starting at an earlier age could be a product of seeking a scholarship to help combat expensive tuitions.

“It’s got to be a trend everywhere where these kids are starting to play travel ball at 9 and 10 now, and that didn’t happen years ago until they were like 12, 13, 14,” Rutherford said. “Now they’re playing travel ball at 9 and 10 and they’re getting that much more experience than the kids did years ago. It’s just putting them in a better position when they get to high school as freshmen.”

Elizabeth Forward isn’t the only high-caliber WPIAL team getting significant contributions from freshmen.

Freeport coach Sam Ross has freshman Maya Borghol (.419 batting average, second on team with three home runs, 6 for 6 in steals) starting in left field and freshman Emily Schmidt (.971 fielding percentage, .429 batting average, second on team with 15 RBIs) starting at shortstop. Club experience helped both adjust to the varsity level easily, Ross said.

“It was neat to see them come in as little freshies, neat to see them looking around like ‘Is this varsity?’” Ross said. “We condition a lot and they just fell right in place. There’s good continuity there with the older girls.”

Yough, undefeated in the same section as the Warriors, has three freshman starters helping to pave the way on offense: catcher Kaylyn Odelli (.420 batting average), center fielder Savannah Manns (.401) and right fielder Sammie McGhee (.407).

Cougars coach Dutch Harvey had five freshmen start in 2015, which is now this year’s senior class, though he usually only has one or two freshman starters. The Cougars have gone 58-11 the past three years. A product of success in

Lily Rockwell, Thomas Jefferson — A DP who’s batting .429 and slugging .714. Utility player has added 13 RBIs and two home runs. “Very powerful swing with a quietly fierce attitude,” coach Heidi Karcher said.

• Paige Truax, Thomas Jefferson — Second baseman batting 429. A lefthander who can slap and swing away with a quick release, leads team in runs scored with 13.

• Emma Hoffner, Hempfield — Already committed to Saint Francis, Pa., Hoffner is batting .455 with 12 RBIs for the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Spartans. She has caught 13 runners stealing so far.

• Olivia Ulam, CanonMcMillan — Second baseman committed to Saint Francis, Pa., batting .400 with 3 home runs, 3 triples and 12 RBIs.

• Rylee Evans, Frazier — A power hitter hitting .408 who plays both DP and first base. Has hit three home runs.

• Leah Logan, Avonworth — Catcher who has thrown out 5 of 6 runners stealing and has picked off two runners. Batting .419 as of Tuesday, adding 3 doubles, 2 triples and 17 RBIs.

• Skylar Fisher, Union — First baseman batting .571, adding 20 RBIs and two home runs on a 14-1 Scotties team.

• Haleena Blakley, Union — Batting .440, adding 13 RBIs and six doubles. 0.88 ERA in two starts on the mound.

• Brooke Cleland, PennTrafford — Left fielder and DP batting .444 with five doubles and two home runs, second on the team with 18 RBIs.