Penn-Trafford softball still packs offensive punch

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, April 19, 2018 | 6:15 PM

Denny Little learned his lesson in the season opener when he had senior outfielder and Penn recruit Emma Nedley bunt in her first at-bat.

“Naturally, she did it well,” said Little, the Penn-Trafford softball coach.

Warriors assistant Rich Ginther, though, looked at his coaching compatriot like he just punted on first down.

“(Ginther) said, ‘What on Earth are you doing? Don't bunt her,' ” Little said, hearing the exclamation point and realizing he may have goofed. “I agreed. This is a girl who improved her ball exit speed over 15 miles per hour during the winter months. The next time she stepped up, I put my hands away and didn't give any signs. She responded with a 225-foot shot to straight-away center.”

Little's point: There is no need to overcoach a team with such a great amount of offensive pop. Save the small ball for emergencies. Big-swinging players like Nedley help make the hit parade go.

“She's going to Penn. She is smarter than me,” Little said with a smile. “She could probably coach the team better than me, too.”

The Warriors saw eight seniors graduate, six of whom went on to college careers. It was a group that helped the Warriors produce 215 runs — 10.8 per game. The team put up 10 or more in 13 games.

Those players are gone, but the offense hasn't dwindled. Penn-Trafford still knows how to use the business end of the bat.

The Warriors (7-2, 7-1 Section 1-5A) have outscored opponents 87-29 — an average of 9.7 to 3.2.

“Our offense hasn't skipped a beat,” Nedley said. “Although the weather has not been in our favor. We have been using our inside space to focus on the little things. Those end up being the game-changers when we get outside.”

P-T began the week ranked No. 4 in Class 5A by the Tribune-Review before getting outslugged by Franklin Regional, 13-9, on Wednesday.

The team has topped the 12-run mark four times.

“We have some really competitive girls coming through our system right now,” Little said. “The kids work really hard on hitting. We have two assistant coaches, Ron Prady and Mike Cleland, who pitch live to these girls every day. The poor guys have been hit everywhere on their body by softballs. I think they started naming the bruises that each girl has given them.”

Little said senior leadership has been a key to early-season success. Five seniors — Nedley, Maura Mallon, Becky Mertz, Sammy Smith and Marissa Auel — have been dependable captains and a group with playoff experience.

Mallon led off the bottom of the seventh with a hit and scored the tying run in a 5-4 win over Kiski Area.

Smith was playing well before she suffered an injury against Armstrong.

Through eight games, junior Morgan Nedley led the Warriors with a .435 average, two home runs and 12 RBIs, and Emma Nedley was hitting .400 with nine RBIs.

Mallon had a team-high 13 runs and was hitting .423.

The team had a .384 average with 17 doubles and six homers.

The gaudy numbers are more of a reflection of disciplined hitting, Nedley said, than free-swinging at-bats.

She said batters are more “selective” than patient.

“Our main focus has been on two-strike hitting and how to approach the situation,” she said. “We have also looked at a reset for our brains when stepping into the box.

“We have been jumping on the first strike rather than letting ourselves get in a hole, but we are prepared to fight if we do get to two strikes.”

Little knows his lineup can hit, but he wants a mental approach to catch up to its bat speed.

“We are not looking too far in the future and leaving the past behind,” Little said. “The girls have been trained to w-i-n: focus on “what's important now.” If the girls keep that mentality the whole season, then they should reach their goals that they set as a team back in early March.”

And score a ton of runs along the way.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Penn-Trafford