Highlands softball team hopes to continue brilliant season in PIAA playoffs

By: Michael Love
Saturday, June 5, 2021 | 5:27 PM

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This been a season of firsts for the Highlands softball team.

The Golden Rams capped the regular season with their first section championship since 2005 and secured their first playoff victory since that same season. Highlands played in its first WPIAL semifinal May 26 and competed in its inaugural WPIAL championship game Wednesday.

Despite a last-inning 2-1 loss to Beaver in the battle for WPIAL gold at Cal (Pa.), the Golden Rams still have a lot to play for as they enter their first PIAA tournament at 2 p.m. Monday against District 9 champion Clearfield at Heindl Field in DuBois.

“We’ve gone further than we’ve ever gone before, and we’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we know we can do more,” said slick-fielding junior shortstop Jess Cekada, who made several key plays in the WPIAL title game to keep Beaver runners off the base paths. “We’re really excited for states and what we can do there.”

The team took a break from practice Thursday as the Class of 2021 took center stage at graduation. While the sting of Wednesday’s loss is fresh, Cekada, also an all-section soccer player, said the team has turned the page.

A spirited Friday practice seemed to re-energized the Golden Rams (16-5-1). Highlands rolled through the first two rounds of the WPIAL playoffs, shutting out Blackhawk, 12-0, in five innings before racing past No. 4 Montour in the quarterfinals.

The Golden Rams rallied for an emotional eight-inning triumph over No. 1 Elizabeth Forward before taking No. 2 Beaver to the limit in the championship game.

Highlands rallied again, this time to tie the Bobcats, 1-1, in the top of the seventh, but Beaver came back with a run in the bottom of the seventh to win its first WPIAL title since 2014.

“It was a tough game, like we knew it would be, and we gave it our all,” Cekada said. “We faced a really good, fast pitcher, and we did hit the ball. We tried to get on her, but we didn’t do it as well as we had hoped. We’ve put that game behind us the best we can and are practicing really well for Monday.”

Senior captain Kylie Zourelias, who started as a freshman in 2018, the last time Highlands qualified for the postseason, likes how the team is set up to make a run in the state tournament.

“We don’t think about these games as playoff games in terms of getting too stressed out,” she said. “We’re one big family, and we know we will face any challenge together and support each other. That has been the case all season, even in the playoffs. States is a continuation of that. We’ve been super comfortable going into every game.”

While Highlands is a newcomer to states, Clearfield is in the PIAA playoffs for the second season in a row.

In 2019, the Bison captured the District 9 Class 3A championship then went on a run to the state semifinals. They clipped WPIAL champion Avonworth, 2-1, in the quarterfinals.

Clearfield made the move up to Class 4A and hasn’t skipped a beat with 15 wins in 20 games this season.

It earned a spot in the PIAA main draw with a 10-0 victory over District 5’s Somerset on Tuesday. Starting pitcher Emma Hipps, a junior, fired a no-hitter with no walks and 14 strikeouts in six innings.

It was her second no-hitter of the season. She owns a 1.65 ERA and 231 strikeouts through 119 innings pitched.

Jaycee Haidze, also a junior, has been solid for Highlands throughout the playoffs. In 27 postseason innings over four games, she surrendered just five earned runs and 19 hits while striking out 38.

“I think it comes down to continuing to prepare for this game like we have all season,” Haidze said. “We were well prepared for the game against Beaver. We just couldn’t put up the runs we needed.”

Beaver’s Payton List, a Virginia Tech recruit, limited the normally potent Highlands offense to just one hit, a Kassidy Cambal single, in the fourth.

The Golden Rams have shown the ability to hit up and down the lineup, and they have scored 10 or more runs 11 times this season.

“I am proud of this team and what we’ve accomplished so far,” Haidze said. “We wanted that (WPIAL) championship, but we got second in the WPIAL. We’ve worked so hard every game. I know that will continue in the state playoffs.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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