Penn-Trafford returning to championship form

Penn-Trafford is coming off a 23-win season and a PIAA Class 5A championship in 2019, and many expected the No. 2 Warriors to be just as good, if not better, in 2021.

So when his team started out with a 1-3 record through four games after a 16-0 start in 2019, Penn-Trafford coach Denny Little didn’t panic — but he knew somebody had to say something to keep the team on the right track. That’s where his assistant coach Rich Ginther comes in.

“Once again, Richie, like he did in the state championship run, came up big for our team,” Little said. “He listed the state champions from 2016, which were Hempfield and Yough, then in 2017 it was Hempfield and Mount Pleasant. In 2018 it was Hempfield, and in 2019, it was us.

“He said, ‘ Girls, iron sharpens iron. Let’s go do it.’ And I could see their eyes light up.”

Ginther’s reasoning for listing out the state championship credentials of all those teams is simple — all three of the Warriors’ losses so far this season came against a team with at least one state title in the past five years.

Penn-Trafford opened its season with a 6-5 loss vs. Class 3A No. 1 Mount Pleasant, then defeated Class 6A No. 2 Norwin, 10-5, in a performance that looks better and better as the Knights continue to rack up wins. The Warriors followed that up with back-to-back losses, though — a 10-9 defeat at Class 6A No. 4 Hempfield and a 5-2 loss at Class 4A No. 3 Yough.

Little didn’t come into the season expecting to go undefeated, though. He wanted his team to face the toughest schedule possible to get ready for another deep playoff run, and he believes the early season adversity might have been just what the doctor ordered.

“The only alarming thing about it was, we’re giving up some home runs, and we’ve got to fix that,” Little said. “Losing points out your weaknesses. And you learn from it. It’s almost better to learn from it early and fight that adversity early so you can come through it.”

Judging by its recent performance, Penn-Trafford seems to have learned a lot.The Warriors (6-3) have since won five games in a row by a combined score of 44-7, improving to 5-0 in section play and building a comfortable lead in the standings after a pivotal 4- 2 win at Latrobe on Tuesday night.

The usual suspects are getting it done for Penn-Trafford, with senior outfielder Brooke Cleland leading the way with a .458 batting average and a whopping 6 home runs, 13 RBIs and 12 runs scored. Senior catcher Emma Little, the coach’s daughter, is also hitting .458 with 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 8 runs, while senior third baseman Allie Prady is batting .556 with a home run, 4 doubles, 8 RBIs and 9 runs.

After filling a late-innings role as a shutdown closer as a freshman in 2019, Mia Smith has emerged as the team’s No. 1 starting pitcher as a junior. She’s joined in the rotation by fellow junior McKenzie Rapp and sophomore Sarah Yamrick, who also starts at shortstop.

Little knows his team still has a long way to go to repeat its 2019 success, but he’s feeling confident that the Warriors will be battle-tested and ready to go once the competition really heats up.

“I really didn’t know what to envision going into the year,” Little said. “I knew the talent we had, but potential can be a very dirty word if the girls don’t realize that potential and come together as a team.”

Ligonier Valley

The Rams waited more than 50 years to make their return to the WPIAL this season, and they’ve certainly announced their presence in style.

Led by junior pitcher Maddie Griffin, Class 2A No. 4 Ligonier Valley (6-0) is off to a red-hot start with no signs of slowing down. Griffin pitched four consecutive shutouts to start the season, including three no-hitters, before finally allowing her first two runs of the year in a 7-2 win vs. previously unbeaten No. 3 Serra Catholic on April 16.

Griffin then returned to the circle and hurled her fourth no-hitter of the season with 18 strikeouts in a 2-0 win at Steel Valley on Monday. In 38 innings pitched this year, Griffin has tallied 86 strikeouts with 8 walks and has allowed only 2 runs on 6 hits.

Hempfield

The five-time defending WPIAL Class 6A champions have had some ups and downs so far this season, but luckily for the No. 4 Spartans (5-3), reinforcements have arrived.

After starting the season with a 3-2 record while rotating a pair of freshmen in the role of starting pitcher, Hempfield’s ace Callie Sowers returned from a preseason thumb injury in a 13-1 win at Butler on April 13. Sowers then sat out the Spartans’ 15-3 loss to North Allegheny for precautionary reasons, but the 2019 all-area selection returned to pitch a shutout in a 1-0 win at Seneca Valley on April 16.

Waynesburg

Class 3A No. 5 Waynesburg may have been getting overlooked coming into the season compared to its Section 3 counterparts, but that likely won’t be the case any longer.

The Raiders (6-2) opened their season with a 9-3 loss to Belle Vernon, then rattled off five consecutive victories by a combined score of 61-18. After a 14-5 loss vs. No. 2 Southmoreland on April 15, Waynesburg bounced back with one of the most eyeopening wins of any team in the WPIAL this season — an 11-10 triumph at No. 1 Mount Pleasant on Saturday.