Mohawk makes most of 2nd chance in PIAA softball playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, June 14, 2018 | 11:57 AM

Mohawk softball coach Brad Hruska is a sixth-grade math teacher in the school district, and he likes to take lessons from the classroom and apply them to the field.

“The philosophy as a teacher is if kids get all the right answers all the time then no one is really learning anything, and we took that with us into coaching,” Hruska said. “We talk about how a loss is like missing answers on a test, and sometimes it takes a loss to learn the lesson at hand.”

A loss to Frazier in the WPIAL semifinals was a tough lesson for the Warriors, but like good students after a bad quiz they went out and aced their next few tests in the PIAA playoffs.

Now they have a final exam between them and their first state title.

Mohawk faces District 3 champion Upper Dauphin in the Class 2A state final at 11 a.m. Friday at Penn State's Nittany Lion Softball Park.

It's the first time a softball team from Mohawk will play for a state championship and the Warriors are the first program from the school to play in a PIAA final since the 1970 boys basketball team, which lost 73-50 to Avon Grove in the Class A final. A Mohawk team has never won a state title.

The Warriors (18-2) were the fourth-place team in the WPIAL entering the state tournament. They beat District 9 champion Cranberry, 10-5, in the first round, District 10 runner-up Cochranton, 5-2, in the quarterfinals and District 6 champion Mt. Union, 3-1, in the semifinals.

It was a slew of upsets that started with a team meeting following the Frazier loss.

“We played a bad game against a good Frazier team in the semifinals. When we came back, we told the girls that God has bigger plans and if you want to take the ride with us we'll keep coaching, you keep working hard and we'll see where we go,” Hruska said. “The coaches left and the girls took over. One thing we believe in as coaches is that we can only lead them so far. Coaches lead good teams, but players lead great teams. We've had sophomores, juniors and seniors step up over the last couple of weeks. They've done it together to get us in the state final.”

A pair of sophomores — Kaylee Boring and Trinity Voss — did plenty of damage against Mt. Union in the semifinals. Boring had three hits and Voss struck out 10 and allowed only three hits in the circle. Boring also homered and drove in four runs in the opening round win. She's hitting close to .700 in the playoffs, and Voss has yielded three runs over her last 14 innings pitched.

“Kaylee got off to a slow start and (assistant) coach Hank (Pezzuolo) made a couple of adjustments with her on the tee and in the cage,” Hruska said. “About a third of the way through the season she just started to hit the ball. She went from hitting .295 the first couple of weeks to ending the regular season at .515. She's a player that you don't get very often. She can lay a bunt down and take first, then steal second for you and then she can hit a 250-foot home run the next time up.

“Trinity is the definition of hard work paying off. Last year, she was the pitcher behind her sister (Tristan). We threw her a couple of times, and she was really inconsistent. She had a lot to work on. Coming into this year, we didn't expect much, but we were going to work with her. Trinity, God bless her, she just took the reins and wanted to work hard every day. I'm so proud of her.”

The Warriors have received contributions up and down the lineup. Robert Morris recruit Madison Shiderly, Courtney Upham, and sisters Ashley and Alyssa Young have all made big contributions during the run.

“Everyone on this team has stepped up for us during this run,” Hruska said. “As coaches we're praying and we're practicing to have a game where we are all on the same page and have one of those games that are just epic.”

Upper Dauphin (16-8) went 4-8 to start the season, but has reeled off a dozen consecutive victories. Lexi Weaver struck out 10 batters in a 4-1 win over Bristol in the semifinals and Lea Lenker had three hits, including a double. Like Mohawk, the Trojans are seeking their first state title. They were runners-up in Class A in 2007 and '08.

Mohawk departs for State College Thursday morning. They plan to enjoy the moment from the time they arrive.

“We're going to go out to dinner, get some ice cream and take a walk around the field,” Hruska said. “We're going to soak it all in, because we can't take this for granted. It may not ever happen again.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Mohawk