Shaler notebook: Titans softball falls short of postseason

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Tom Sorce didn't have much chance to evaluate what he had on the Shaler softball team before the season began.

Weather forced a number of postponements. Then after one nonsection game to open the schedule, the Titans played five straight Section 3-6A games.

While Shaler won four of its final six contests, the Titans finished a game short of the postseason, snapping a string of 12 consecutive appearances.

“We didn't have a chance to feel things out with game situations like you can in nonsection games,” Sorce said. “The gym didn't give me the opportunity to showcase them. For me, personally, and I'm sure for other teams it was pretty hectic. It hurt us in the end, as far as I'm concerned. We did pretty well the last seven games of the season.”

Shaler (6-10, 3-7) finished one game behind North Hills for the final playoff spot. The Titans missed opportunities to sneak in, losing three section games by one run.

Carly Hregdovic, Lily Buckshaw, Victoria Grayson and Tori Martrano all made second-team all-section for Shaler.

With one year down, Sorce believes Shaler will take a step forward next season.

The Titans have a strong lineup returning and will also get an influx of young players.

“I have 26 kids coming up,” Sorce said. “We have a large eighth-grade class coming up. I coached those kids through seventh grade and travel ball. It should make for an opportunity for us to do better.”

Lacrosse seeks growth

Attrition was the Titans' biggest enemy this season in boys lacrosse. Shaler's varsity roster started with 26 kids but dwindled to 17 by the end of the season.

The Titans ended the season with a six-game losing streak and finished with a 4-13 mark.

That has Shaler coach Bill Wightman focused on getting numbers up. The goal is to have 15 players in every freshman class.

“I'm putting a summer program in place,” Wightman said. “I invite every age group from K to 12 for a weekly practice with coaches to go over different drills as a way to build the program up not just for the high school but for the younger groups. We ended up getting new players into the program which is going to help us out in the long run.”

Shaler's defense was solid, ranking 22nd out of 45 teams in the WPIAL by limiting foes to 8.59 goals per game.

Offensively, though, the Titans struggled being limited to 6.06 per contest, ranking 33rd. Wightman was happy with Shaler's effort.

“I think the kids really filled in well as the season went on,” Wightman said. “We didn't have enough players to make a run at it. They kept fighting until the end even though they were dead tired.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler