HARMONY - Fast-pitch softball is all about pitching and Seneca Valley has plenty of that.

The Raiders have plenty of hitting, too.

Seneca Valley is headed to the WPIAL playoffs with a team bating average of .334, a team on-base percentage of .488 and a five-game winning streak.

In the middle of it all are junior shortstop Aly Intihar and junior catcher Tina Mangola, the Raiders' Number 3 and 4 hitters.

"I haven't had a combination like them in a long, long time," Seneca Valley coach George Trew said. "The best news is they're only juniors."

Through late last week, Intihar was hitting .490 while Mangola was hitting .488.

Trew has been with the Raiders' softball program for 12 years. Only once during that stretch has Seneca Valley had two players hit over .500 in the same year. Brianne Morgan and Jen Ray pulled off that trick nine years ago.

"We would love to do that next year. We might even do it this year," Mangola said.

But neither is concerned about statistics. Both are concerned about winning. During the Raiders' five-game winning streak, they've outscored opponents 35 to 8.

"I think we're hitting our stride at the right time," Intihar said. "There are a lot of good players here."

This duo would know. Mangola has been playing fast-pitch softball since she was 8, when she was a member of the 10-and-under Pittsburgh Spirit. She has continued to play for the Spirit each summer and will play for its 16-under team this summer.

Intihar has been playing fast-pitch softball since fifth grade and has been a teammate of Mangola's with the Spirit since seventh grade.

Mangola lives in Cranberry Township. Intihar lives only minutes from there, along the edge of Zelienople."We're very close friends," Mangola said. "We have five classes together in school.""I've known Tina since first grade," Intihar said. "And I've always been around softball. My dad was showing me how to throw when I was three years old."Intihar has one of the strongest arms of any shortstop in the WPIAL, Trew said. She also carries a .965 fielding percentage, committing only three errors all season."Throwing a ball is mostly natural ability," Intihar said. "I've seen a lot of bigger girls who don't throw hard and smaller girls who do."Intihar has struck out only once in two years - and that's only because she had her wisdom teeth taken out."She was still on medication when she came back to play," Trew said."I was so mad," Intihar said of striking out. "I guess it was going to happen sometime."It hasn't happened since. Intihar and Mangola play softball all year round, including the fall ball program at Seneca Valley and winter indoor practice with the Spirit.Mangola has struck out only four times all year. She played center field her first year with the Raiders before switching to catcher last year."The coach needed a catcher during fall ball, so I tried it," she said. "I liked it, so I stayed there. You're right in the middle of everything."Both girls play other varsity sports. Mangola plays basketball and Intihar was a goalkeeper for the soccer team last fall.Both want to play Division I college softball down the road - but first things first."I like the team that's developing here," Trew said. "These girls play so well together and follow each other's example."They don't wait for the coach to arrive before beginning stretching exercises or practice. They pick up for each other and they work hard."While Mangola has played outfield and catcher, Intihar has played center field, second base and shortstop for the Raiders."You could put Aly at any position and she'd perform well defensively," Trew said. "She's just that type of player."Julie Marlowe, another junior, already has played third base, first base, designated hitter and left field in a Seneca Valley uniform."We have some girls like that," Trew said of the team's versatility. "Aly and Tina are at the heart of our success, but they're certainly not alone in there."Over the next year or two, this team could go a long way."