Resurgent Penn Hills softball team proud to be part of playoff race

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, May 1, 2022 | 10:01 AM

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Maura Wade won’t pout in the circle or outside of it.

When it comes to Wade’s time with the Penn Hills softball team, she wants to show the Indians aren’t ready to revert to old habits.

While Penn Hills isn’t always technically perfect, the Indians are never boring. Through April 27, Penn Hills won four of six games, outsourcing opponents 63-9. In two of the Indians’ setbacks this season, Penn Hills has lost 8-7 and 10-9 slugfests to Section 1-5A opponents Indiana and Franklin Regional.

“We never let the negative show,” said Wade, who pitches and plays third base. “We don’t let them see us when we’re down. We want to encourage each other to keep trying and focus on the next play.”

Being resilient and unwilling to fold when games take unexpected turns has Penn Hills in the playoff race. The Indians (4-4, 3-4) are in a position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Penn Hills had a one-game lead over Plum (3-9, 3-6) with four section games left to play.

The Indians scored their first victory over the Mustangs in 13 years, 18-8, during the first meeting between the schools this season.

One challenge for Penn Hills is one of the four remaining section games it has left will be lost due to forfeit. The Indians, who already forfeited one game to Kiski Area early in the season, will see the second forfeit added to their overall and section record.

The forfeit against the Cavaliers is an administrative decision because of a dispute between the two schools following an alleged incident earlier this spring over racist taunts at a volleyball match at Kiski.

But Penn Hills will have three more opportunities to win its way in.

While the Indians’ games can be wild, coach Ashley Banner and her coaching staff are constantly working on improving the team through teaching. What is most important is identifying what the issue is, not who caused it.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable,” Banner said. “We just want to see how to move forward. We want to recognize the problem, fix it and move forward.”

Catcher Lauren Sipple noticed a change in the team during the preseason. When practice started, she had a feeling the collective group would be able to push Penn Hills in the right direction.

“Everyone contributes,” said Sipple, who is hitting .526. “It’s not like it’s just the top half of the lineup hitting. I knew in the preseason that we would have a better record this year. Everyone wants to be here and has the desire to win.”

Kiera Mack leads the team with a .778 batting average. Abella Gray is hitting .522 and Wade is at .440.

Wade is happy Penn Hills has more depth in the circle this season. Isabella DeCarlo has been pitching as well and has taken some of the workload away from Wade, allowing her to play in the field more.

Having the ability to produce big numbers on offense has the Indians believing they can rally from a deficit.

“We try to tell them to take it one inning at a time,” Banner said. “We want to win each inning. The team needs to hit the ball well and get the ball in to make sure we don’t give up extra bases. That’s about communicating.”

What Wade would like to communicate is announcing to her classmates Penn Hills is going back to the postseason.

It’s been a long time since the Indians made back-to-back appearances in 2006-07.

“It’s great. It’s fun,” Wade said. “I can say I’m proud to be on the team. I have pride wearing a Penn Hills uniform and have a smile on my face.”

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