Moniteau seniors have been unsung heroes
CHERRY TWP — Alyssa Dailey walked off the softball field at Moniteau High School for the last time on a sun-drenched Tuesday afternoon.
That realization didn’t hit her immediately.
“It was definitely strange,” said Dailey, one of two seniors on the PIAA Class AA championship-game bound Warriors. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet. It hasn’t even felt like I’ve graduated. We’re out of school and our ceremony was last week, but I’m still playing softball.”
It was the last practice on their home field for Dailey and fellow senior Courtney Sowinski and both made sure to appreciate the moment.
It’s been a steady climb for both. As freshmen, they played for a Moniteau team that went 15-5, but lost to Curwensville in the first round of the District 9 playoffs.
The Warriors have won the district Class AA title the last three seasons, logging a record of 64-4.
After losses in the first round of the state playoffs as sophomores and juniors, Dailey and Sowinski are on a team that is headed to the PIAA Class AA title game.
Moniteau will play defending Class AA champion Holy Reedemer at 3 p.m. Thursday at Penn State University.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” Sowinski said. “It’s been everything we’ve talked about since we were little and we came through. We’re going to be the team that stands on the Penn State University field and it feels amazing.”
After the District 9 championship game win over Cranberry, Dailey and Sowinski were hoisted on the shoulders of their teammates and whisked off the field.
It’s become a tradition to give the seniors a ride after a district crown.
“(Alyssa and Courtney) mean the world to us,” said junior Cortney Claypoole, who is leading the team with six home runs and 50 RBI this season. “We’ve been playing with them since we were 8 and 9 years old. They’re not even like teammates anymore. They’re our sisters and we wouldn’t have made it this far without them.”
Dailey, a second baseman, hits seventh in the potent Moniteau order that is batting .484 as a team this season.
Sowinski, a left fielder, bats eighth.
They are often overlooked, but have been unsung heroes for the Warriors this season.
“They’re team players and they don’t complain,” said Moniteau coach Dan Beebe. “Both of them bat near the bottom of the order and are willing to do whatever it takes to turn the order over because they want to win.”
Dailey is batting .462 with four doubles and 16 RBI. Sowinski carries a .327 average with a home run into the state title game.
Both seniors said they felt confident this team could advance this far this season.
“We’re pretty superstitious,” Dailey said. “When we beat Ellwood City, the WPIAL champion (in the state quarterfinals) 11-0, and the runs we scored in the first four innings were 2-0-1-6 — 2016 — we knew this was the year.”
