Standout pitcher Ashley Seamon leads West Allegheny into WPIAL final
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Wednesday, May 30, 2018 | 4:18 PM
Ashley Seamon, who stands 5-foot-9, is an imposing figure in the pitcher's circle.
Her three-year resume as West Allegheny's starting pitcher is exceptional: Since 2016, the Indians have compiled a 62-6 overall record and advanced to the WPIAL finals three times.
No. 1-seed West Allegheny plays No. 11 Thomas Jefferson at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game at Seton Hill University.
West Allegheny finished 20-3 and as a WPIAL runner-up in 2016, then went 23-2 in 2017 when the Indians claimed their first WPIAL softball title.
The Indians have compiled a 51-3 regular-season record over the past three years, and have won three section titles with a 32-2 mark.
The catalyst behind the team's recent success has been Seamon, a right-handed senior and one of the area's top hurlers. Seamon was an all-state selection a year ago.
“Ashley is a competitor in the truest sense of the word,” West Allegheny coach Mindi McFate said. “She wants to win, and she is always working to improve in all areas of her game. She has done an outstanding job for our team during her career.”
This season, Seamon is 19-1 with a 2.27 ERA, seven shutouts and 51 strikeouts in 115 innings. She also is batting .388.
“To start, I can say that I am so proud of my team for stepping up this year and not letting the fear of failure to meet our expectations get in our way,” Seamon said. “We had a great season (in 2017), but we knew we couldn't continue to live in the past or have unrealistic expectations of ourselves due to last year's success. Instead, this group has found new ways to make our own history. I'm so proud to be a part of this team and to see the growth in a lot of our players.
“I've been playing beside the five other seniors for three years now, and it's unbelievable to see each of their leadership development. In addition, the underclassmen have also filled big shoes and are a huge part of this year's success. We'll hang on to the experience from last year, but it's a new year and a new game, so we're looking to find new success on Thursday.”
Seamon also is a multiple letter winner in basketball and volleyball, and has been chosen all-state twice in volleyball.
West Allegheny won a WPIAL championship in girls volleyball in 2016, and captured the first section title in girls basketball in school history in 2017-18.
During her high school career, Seamon has been a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club, Friends of Rachel Club, StandTogether Program and Peer to Peer Empowerment. She also was a WPIAL scholarship winner this year.
She has a 4.45 (weighted) GPA and plans to continue her basketball and softball careers at Penn State Behrend while studying industrial engineering.
Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.
Tags: West Allegheny
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