Former pitcher expected to be next Hempfield softball coach
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Wednesday, October 6, 2021 | 12:32 PM
Hempfield Area High School pitcher Tina Skelly prepares to deliver a pitch against Montour High School during the PIAA AAA Semifinal Playoff game at California University of Pennsylvania on June 11, 2001. Montour advanced to the PIAA State Championship game with the 4-0 win.
Hempfield has recommended a candidate to replace legendary softball coach Bob Kalp, who resigned in July after 25 seasons.
The next coach, if approved at a voting meeting Oct. 18, will be Tina (Skelly) Madison, who was an assistant under Kalp for one season.
Madison worked with pitchers because she was an outstanding one when she played for Hempfield from 1998-2001. She went on to pitch at Penn State for two years.
She also has been active as a travel softball coach.
Kalp said Madison is one of the top five pitchers in Hempfield history, and that is saying something because of the program’s rich history in the circle.
“She is the best person for the job,” Kalp said. “She is young and knowledgeable and she will do a good job. The program is in a good spot for her.”
When she was Tina Skelly, she went 52-6 and struck out 598 for the Spartans, winning a WPIAL title in 1998 and a PIAA title in ‘99. Her career ERA was 0.27. Her strikeouts are second all time at Hempfield behind Jaci Kalp (997). Her wins rank third behind Morgan Ryan (73) and Jaci Kalp (61)
Madison’s 12 career triples rank first at Hempfield.
The Spartans were WPIAL runners-up in 2000 and ‘01, and PIAA semifinalists in ‘98.
Bob Kalp, 76, won seven WPIAL championships and four PIAA titles and finished with a record of 431-111-1. He began as an assistant in 1991 and took over the team in 1997.
Hempfield won five straight WPIAL titles from 2015-19 and three straight state titles from 2016-18, all in the state’s largest classification.
Last season, Hempfield went 12-6 and lost to Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL 6A first round, 2-1.
“We lost our last game,” Kalp said. “There is nowhere to go but up.”
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Hempfield
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