Seneca Valley softball gets one more go at defending champ Hempfield in WPIAL final
Hempfield’s softball team has become accustomed to overwhelming its opponents.
Thirteen of the Spartans’ 20 victories this season have come via the mercy rule. Two notable exceptions are the team’s two wins against Seneca Valley by scores of 5-2 and 4-3.
“It’s the little things that made the difference,” SV coach Joe DeCristoforo said. “In the 4-3 loss, there was an inning when we committed an error and gave up a walk in the same inning. Hempfield scored a run, and we ended up losing by a single run.”
The No. 2 Raiders (15-5) get a third shot at the top-seeded Spartans (20-1) when the teams meet at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game at California (Pa.) University’s Lilley Field.
Hempfield defeated Seneca Valley 1-0 in last year’s final and 2-1 for the crown in 2023.
DeCristoforo lauded his team’s recent efforts at the plate, especially in a 13-2 semifinal win over Pine-Richland last week. The Raiders carry a team batting average of .330, led by Paige Volz (.455), Abby Kalkowski (.397), Neve Miller (.391) and Julia Valasek (.380).
Kalkowski has hit six of the team’s 22 home runs, and Miller and Harlee Hornick both have five.
But the Raiders know Hempfield’s Julia Varhola is far from your average high school pitcher. A senior and first-year starter, she has tallied 147 strikeouts in 88.2 innings. In the two games against the Raiders, she allowed four earned runs on 10 hits, struck out 20 and walked two in 12.2 innings of work.
Like Varhola, SV pitcher Abby Kalkowski pitched sparingly last year. By her own admittance, she is not a big strikeout pitcher, but throws strikes and lets the defense behind her make plays.
DeCristoforo said his team’s fielding percentage is at .940, and the Raiders will have to be sharp in the field against a Hempfield team batting .399.
Sisters Jocelyn and Jayelyn Luft, both freshmen, lead the Spartans with batting averages of .515 and .494, respectively.
“That team hits the ball very well,” DeCristoforo said. “They make adjustments, not just game to game, but from at-bat to at-bat.”
The Spartans have stolen 79 bases and will place a lot of pressure on the battery of Kalkowski and Miller if they reach base.
Only the WPIAL champion advances to the state playoffs, which begins Tuesday, June 2, adding even more weight to Wednesday’s clash.
“We’ve played really well to get here,” DeCristoforo said. “To beat Hempfield, we need to do a lot of things right ... not get picked off, get the lead runner to the next base if we sacrifice, cash in on scoring opportunities when we get them.”
