Mother, daughter share playoff run at Thomas Jefferson
Tri-State Sports & News Service
When Heidi Karcher led Thomas Jefferson to a WPIAL title in 2014, her daughter Haleigh was an eighth grader who got to see it, but not experience the rush. When the Jaguars returned to the title game this season, it had a whole different feel for the Karchers.
“She was kind of sad she wasn’t on the team during that [2014] run and she always went to every games,” said Karcher the coach. “This was a big year for her. It was nice shegot to experience that,”
While the Jaguars ended up falling to two-time champion West Allegheny this year, it was still a high point for Haleigh, a junior catcher, and mom Heidi, who has coached her daughter since she was 8-years old. Heidi Karcher played softball at Penn State and Haleigh followed in mom’s footsteps. From playing catch in the yard to being a mother-daughter coach-player tandem on travel and school teams, Heidi said their love of the game has simplygrown over the years. Andthey aren’t done yet. In Monday’s PIAA firstround matchup against Twin Valley, Haleigh had two hits and two RBIs to keep the upstart Jaguars’ season alive witha 5-1 victory.
Haleigh, who has verbally committed to West Chester, is batting .417 for Thomas Jefferson, which made it to the district championship as a No. 11 seed. The young squad has gotten contributions from a stellar junior class and other underclassmen like sophomorepitcher Bella Bucy.
“I didn’t think at the beginning of the season we would be in the WPIAL title game,” said Heidi Karcher. “That’s a major accomplishment given our team is so young. As a coach, you don’t jump ahead. You take it one game at a time andtry to make the playoffs.”
The Jaguars (14-6) won their final three games of the regular season by a combined score of 18-1, then ripped off three upset victories to make it to the WPIAL championship.
“We started off the season really strong then had a lull in the middle where we weren’t really playing our best,” said Heidi Karcher. “We rebounded and came back strong.”
Union
Coach Anthony Conforti said that Sarah Seamans was reallyworking the plate in her team’s 10-0 PIAA Class 1A first-round win against Elk County Catholic. That begged the question, though, from whichangle?
Seamans was a force from the pitcher’s circle and the batter’s box, as she struck out 14 and helped her cause by going 2 for 4 with a home run anda pair of RBIs.
Let’s start with her pitching. Seamans’ fastball and spin pitches were accurate all game, keeping her opponents offbalance throughout.
“She was just spot on,” said Conforti. “When we wanted her to hit the corner, she hit the corner. She worked the plate back and forth, up and down.”
She got into a jam once, but worked her way out of it. When an ECC player led off thefourth inning with a triple, Seamans got the next batter to pop out. Then, she snagged a line drive comebacker and doubledoff the runner at third to halt the threat. Seamans, who is batting .740 said Conforti, showed no signs of slowing down late. After being intentionally walked in her previous at-bat, Seamans finishedthe game with a bash.
“She hit that ball probably about 260 feet,” Conforti said. “And it came in the seventh inning.”
Seamans is a Division I recruit who will play at St. Francis (Pa.) next season. The slugger will fit right in, as the Red Flash led the the nation in homeruns earlier this year.
Union (18-3) is in the state playoffs for the first time in schoolhistory.
Class 2A
Of the six classifications in the WPIAL, Class 2A is alloted the most state playoff teams withfour spots. But after Monday’s opening round, only one remained. WPIAL champion Laurel, runner- up Frazier and Chartiers-Houston stumbled in the first round. Only Mohawk, the fourth and final WPIAL squad to make it to states, advanced with a 10-5 triumph against District 9 championCranberry.