Franklin Regional softball reflects on postseason upset

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, June 1, 2018 | 4:40 PM

The flame still burns for the Franklin Regional softball team as the Panthers will have to carry the torch of another bitter postseason defeat through the offseason.

After finishing tied for the Section 1-5A regular-season crown with rival Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional received a first-round bye. The Panthers fell flat during the 11-day stretch between the end of the regular season and their first postseason game.

“We did not play a meaningful game for 11 days,” coach Jim Armstrong said. “Maybe (the first-round bye) was not a blessing. Maybe because we're a little young, and older teams do better. It's ridiculous to have to wait for so long, and the kids lose focus. It hurt us, hitting-wise.”

Armstrong is scratching his head looking for reasons why No. 4 seed Franklin Regional (14-7) didn't perform well in the postseason. The 4-0 loss to No. 5 Connellsville in the quarterfinals was unexpected.

Even though the surroundings were familiar, Armstrong had a bad feeling when he learned the site of his team's opening quarterfinals matchup against Connellsville was at Plum. With the outfield fence standing 191 feet down both lines, he didn't want to lose on a short homer.

“The only bad feeling we had was that we were playing at Plum,” Armstrong said. “We knew that we didn't want to play at Plum because of the home runs. We call them ‘Plum home runs,' and we say, ‘Is the game going to be decided by a Plum home run?' ”

There were four no-hitters pitched the day Franklin Regional played Connellsville. One of them was against the Panthers.

“We're young, and I think (Connellsville's Mia Burd) definitely pitched a great game against us,” Armstrong said.

But one game does not make a season, and the Panthers proved they were worthy of the No. 4 seed and the bye.

Franklin Regional brought its 2-1 record from Florida in late March and parlayed it into a seven-game winning streak before falling to nonsection rival Mt. Pleasant, 8-0. The Panthers' two section losses came at the hands of Kiski Area, 1-0, and Greensburg Salem, 2-0.

The Panthers stumbled down the stretch. Franklin Regional dropped four of its final six regular-season games, including an 11-0 loss to nonsection foe Norwin.

“It was tough the last few games, and we really didn't do what we did at the beginning of the season,” Armstrong said. “I really can't put my finger on it. We came back from Florida playing well. We always feel like we can come back, and for whatever reason we didn't in those games.

Chrissy Kemerer's two homers in the Panthers' 13-9 come-from-behind win in mid-April over rival Penn-Trafford gave Franklin Regional the upper hand in the section race. Armstrong pointed to the victory as one of a few key moments this season. Kemerer led the Panthers in homers this season with five.

Mallory Halleck led the Panthers in RBIs (26), runs scored (15) and batting average (.417). Angalee Beall was a force from the circle. The junior Point Park commit had an 11-3 record this season with 109 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA.

“This year was a challenge … but each year there's a different team dynamic,” Armstrong said.

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Franklin Regional