Hempfield softball notebook: Freshman Lauren Howard scoring runs at record pace

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | 12:24 PM

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Lauren Howard is as promising a freshman as any Hempfield has put in the starting lineup.

The third baseman known as “Lou” already has her name in the program record book.

Howard scored two runs in Monday’s semifinal win to break a record shared by Ali Belgiovane (2017) and Laura Fox (2018).

Those girls scored 34 runs in a season. But Howard, who shared the top spot with Belgiovane and Fox for about five days, moved in front with 36 runs scored.

“Insane confidence is what you see with her,” coach Tina Madison said. “There is a reason I said before the season that she was going to break records here.”

Said junior first baseman Emily Griffith: “Whatever (Howard) had for breakfast, I want some.”

Elite company

Thursday’s winner will tie the state record for PIAA softball championships.

Hempfield and North Penn have four state titles apiece, but that is one behind two other programs.

Parkland and Pennsbury have five titles apiece.

Hempfield has the most PIAA titles among WPIAL teams.

A faithful fan

Longtime Hempfield coach Bob Kalp, who won more than 400 games, seven WPIAL titles and four PIAA championships, has been following the Spartans’ run.

He has been to just about every playoff game in person, bundling under a blanket and umbrella in Loretto on Monday while following other games on the GameChanger app.

Away team

Hempfield won’t get to bat last Thursday, but batting first suits Madison well.

Hempfield will be the away team on the scoreboard against North Penn.

Madison had lamented about losing coin flips to determine home teams throughout the state playoffs, but a predetermined home-away decision has the Spartans hitting first.

“I like it,” Madison said. “It’s hard when you’re in the field first. If you can get a run right away, it can be huge.”

Group effort

Large coaching staffs have become just as much a part of Hempfield tradition as trophies, and this year is no exception.

Madison, in her second season, has five assistants.

Rick Shaheen, the top assistant who guides the Spartans from the first-base box, is the pitching coach.

Ali Belgiovane, the former Spartans leadoff hitter and run-scoring shortstop who brings championship experience, is the junior varsity coach.

Her father, Alex Belgiovane, and Bobby Madison, Tina’s husband, join Dean Howard as volunteers.

“Our staff, they all bring something different,” Tina Madison said. “Rick calls an excellent game. Dean and Bobby help keep things under control and keep the girls confident. And Ali and Alex are just staples in the program. They all have been great.”

When Hempfield went 27-0 and won everything in 2017, Kalp had a 10-person staff.

Past champions

Hempfield’s four PIAA titles came in 1999, 2016, ’17 and ’18.

The Spartans beat teams from Districts 4, 1, 2 and 11.

In ’99, they toppled Williamsport, 2-1, then beat Avon Grove, 1-0 (eight innings) in ’16; Hazleton, 5-3, in ’17; and Parkland, 4-3, in ’18.

In 2018, ’17, and ’16, the Spartans doubled down with WPIAL and PIAA championships. In ’99, they lost in the WPIAL semifinals to Trinity before making a state run.

County titles

Five schools from Westmoreland County have won PIAA softball titles.

Hempfield leads with four, Mt. Pleasant has two (2017, ‘21), and Penn-Trafford (2019), Yough (2016), and Valley (2011) all have one apiece.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield