Trinity outhits Armstrong to win 1st WPIAL softball title
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Thursday, June 1, 2023 | 5:34 PM
The Trinity softball team celebrates with the WPIAL championship trophy after defeating Armstrong in the Class 5A final Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity’s Ryleigh Hoy celebrates her first home run against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity pitcher Taylor Dunn delivers against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity pitcher Taylor Dunn (left) celebrates with Addison Agnew and Kristina Bozek after defeating Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity’s Addison Agnew celebrates her RBI double next to Armstrong’s Emma Paul during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity players celebrate after defeating Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity pitcher Taylor Dunn celebrates with Addison Agnew during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game against Armstrong on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity’s Ryleigh Hoy rounds the bases past home plate umpire Eric Felack after hitting her second home run against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity’s Addison Agnew celebrates her RBI double against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity’s Taylor Dunn celebrates after driving in a run during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game against Armstrong on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity’s Ryleigh Hoy makes a running catch in right field against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity’s Ryleigh Hoy rounds the bases after hitting her first home run against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity’s Hanna Suhoski celebrates after driving in a run against Armstrong during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity’s Addison Agnew celebrates at second base next to Armstrong’s Emma Paul during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Lilly Field.
Trinity pitcher Taylor Dunn (17) celebrates with Addison Agnew and Kristina Bozek after defeating Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Thursday at Lilley Field.
Trinity found the right formula to defeat one of the best hitting teams in the WPIAL: outhit them.
That’s what the Hillers did Thursday in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game at Cal (Pa.)’s Lilley Field.
Trinity (19-2) won its first softball title by outhitting and outscoring No. 1 Armstrong, 11-7. It was the Hillers’ third trip to the finals. They lost to Franklin Regional in 2009 and to Seneca Valley in 1999.
“We finally got one,” Trinity coach Shawn Gray said. “The curse is gone.”
Trinity outhit Armstrong, 14-10.
“It came down to us outhitting them,” Gray said. “They’re a good-hitting team, and we watched a lot of film and what they were doing all season. We knew it would be tight, and Taylor (Dunn) did a good job shutting them down early.”
The Hillers took a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning when senior right fielder Ryleigh Hoy launched a three-run homer off Armstrong senior pitcher Cameryn Sprankle. The blast over the right-center fence came with two outs.
“I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and she grooved it,” Hoy said. “The hit boosted our confidence. We knew we had to hit to win.”
Gray added: “Ryleigh came up clutch for us in this game.”
The Hillers extended their lead to 7-0 in the top of the second inning on a two-run single by Addison Agnew and a two-run single by Hanna Suhoski, chasing Sprankle.
“Seven runs in the first two innings,” Gray said. “Obviously, it made it a lot easier and took pressure off us.”
The hits kept coming for the Hillers in the fourth inning as Hoy crushed her second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left, to extend the lead to 9-0. The home run came off relief pitcher Madison Baker.
“I was just looking to get a hit every time at bat,” Hoy said. “I wasn’t looking for anything else. I surprised myself because I’m not a home-run hitter. I was looking for a first-pitch strike. I wasn’t swinging at the changeup.”
Armstrong, which was riding a 19-game winning streak, broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run home run by Jenna Clotz.
The River Hawks (19-2) cut the lead to 9-6 thanks to a three-run home run by Jessie Pugh.
But Trinity added two runs in the sixth inning on a two-run single by Finley Hohn.
“We knew we had to come out hot,” Hohn said. “I’ve been in a slump, and I’ve been working on my hitting. I was looking for the inside pitch, and I got it out there.
“We spoke about the 2009 team coming up short. This is surreal. We knew we had to outhit them to win, and that’s what we did.”
Armstrong’s final run came in the bottom of the sixth inning on a double by Emma Paul.
“We’ve always been fighters, a never-give-up attitude,” Armstrong coach Keith Shaffer said. “The girls fought back, but, unfortunately, we dug ourselves too much of a hole early on.
“Trinity is a great hitting team and solid defensively. They were the best team. We got off to a slow start hitting wise, and they didn’t.”
Trinity will host the District 3 fourth-place team in the first round of the state playoffs Monday. Armstrong will face the District 2 second-place team.
Armstrong, which was the 2022 champion, will attempt to return to the state championship game for the third consecutive season.
“We’re going to refocus and focus on that state title,” Shaffer said.
Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
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