Penn-Trafford moves baseball, softball games to Sunday at Seton Hill

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, April 19, 2018 | 4:06 PM

Spring has lost its way and winter refuses to release the area from its icy clutches. We get it.

For nearly a month, the sideways weather has tortured local baseball and softball teams with an almost daily disruption in WPIAL schedules. Some teams have already scheduled doubleheaders and others have simply bagged attempts to make up nonsection games.

But now, a few local teams are venturing into the tail-end of the weekend to play at an unusual site. Desperate times …

Penn-Trafford announced it will play baseball and softball games Sunday on the artificial turf fields at Seton Hill.

Both of the recently postponed games are set for 3 p.m.

The Warriors baseball team (4-3, 2-1) will take on Plum (6-3, 2-2) in a Section 2-6A game, while the softball team (7-2) faces Hempfield (5-0) in an intriguing nonsection matchup.

“We want to get it done,” Penn-Trafford athletic director Kerry Hetrick said. “Luckily, we have great neighbors down the road with great programs that want to help us out.”

Hetrick said Penn-Trafford was not “pressured” into playing Sunday. Rather, “(The facilities) were available and it becomes a bonus and a great thing for our student-athletes to play a game at Seton Hill,” he said.

WPIAL softball teams must have section games finished by May 8, baseball by May 10. However, the league has moved those dates in the past.

“Extreme conditions require extreme measures,” Hempfield softball coach Bob Kalp said. “Twenty years ago, it would have been an issue (playing on a Sunday). These summer teams play on Sundays all the time.”

Hempfield had previously planned to practice Sunday.

Seton Hill will host the WPIAL softball championship games next month.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Hempfield Area, Penn-Trafford, Plum