O'HARA TWP — In Wednesday's WPIAL Class 6A softball semifinal, Hempfield and Seneca Valley weren't just playing for a spot in the championship game. Both teams were fighting to save their season.

Only the top two teams in the district will move on to next month's state playoffs.

So when Hempfield's Laura Fox sent a pitch over the fence in left field to break a scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the ninth inning, it must have hit the Raiders especially hard.

Seneca Valley had a chance to rally in the bottom of the inning, but Hempfield pitcher Callie Sowers, who finished the game with 12 strikeouts, one walk and just four hits allowed, retired the Raiders in order to cap the 3-0 win at Fox Chapel High School.

“I believe we're good enough to go to the state playoffs,” said SV coach George Trew. “One of the umpires told me he thought so, too, but it is what it is.”

Raiders' senior pitcher Claire Zimmerman shouldered the loss despite a very strong outing. She blanked the Spartans (15-6) through eight innings and appeared headed for a scoreless ninth.

She walked Hanna Pavsek with one out and Sowers with two away. That brought Fox, Hempfield's senior center fielder and leadoff hitter, to the plate. Her blast keeps Hempfield's hopes alive of winning a fifth straight WPIAL title and a fourth consecutive state crown.

“She's had a lot of big hits for us. That's her third home run of the season,” said Hempfield coach Bob Kalp, who had to watch several early scoring chances slip away.

The Spartans stranded a runner in scoring position in four of the first five innings.

“We get a girl on, bunt her over and drive her in. That's classic Hempfield softball, has been for years,” said Kalp. “We weren't able to do it today. Talk about frustrating.”

But Sowers never allowed the Raiders (15-6) to take a lead.

“She was ineffective as a freshman last year,” said Kalp, “but worked her butt off. Plus, she can do something that a lot of players can't and that's just blow it by people.”

Sowers had several impressive plays made behind her. A prime example came in the bottom of the eighth.

SV's Julia Ehrman singled with two outs before pinch hitter Izzy Roule lined a pitch toward the right-center gap. But Fox got a good read, dove and snagged the ball to end the threat.

“That ball gets down, it rolls to the fence and Julia scores,” said Trew. “We win the game. Defense was solid today on both sides.”

Zimmerman's last outing for the Raiders yielded a heart-breaking loss, but Trew will not soon forget the stability she brought to the circle. She was the team's top pitcher her last three years.

“She had a great career,” he said. “She kept us in games day in and day out. We just didn't help her today with the bats.

“It's tough when you make one mistake pitch and end up losing the game.”

Hempfield 000 000 003 — 3 6 0

Seneca Valley 000 000 000 — 0 4 1

W: Callie Sowers 9IP (12K, 1BB). L: Claire Zimmerman 9IP (4K, 4BB).

Hempfield (15-6): Laura Fox 1B HR 3-RBI, Jessica Persin 1B, Emma Hoffner 1B, Olivia Persin 1B, Sowers 1B

Seneca Valley (15-6): Julia Ehrman 1B, Maddie Gross 1B, Madison Hans 1B, Maura Pasquale 1B