Westmoreland County high school softball notebook: More than a dozen teams headed to playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

The WPIAL will announce seedings and pairings for the softball playoffs Thursday afternoon.

Westmoreland County is a hotbed for softball talent and, like most years, will be well represented in the postseason.

Local qualifiers include Hempfield and Norwin in Class 6A; Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Latrobe in 5A; Derry, Greensburg Salem and Belle Vernon in 4A; Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Ligonier Valley in 3A; and Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic in A.

Ligonier Valley and Yough still were in contention in 3A when they met for a doubleheader Tuesday at Norwin.

Ligonier Valley won the first game 7-6 to clinch a spot and eliminate the Cougars.

Yough breezed to a 14-3 win in Game 2 but had to sweep to get in.

First-round games, quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at neutral sites. The finals will be May 28-29 at Lilley Field at Cal (Pa.).

P-T No. 1?

Penn-Trafford (16-1) has made a strong case for the No. 1 seed in Class 5A.

The Warriors lost their opener to perennial 6A power Hempfield, 8-3, then won 16 in a row and took the Section 2 title going away.

Shaler (13-4), West Allegheny (13-4) and Baldwin (13-3) are the other section winners that will likely get top-five seeds.

Section sweeps against defending WPIAL champion Armstrong, Franklin Regional and Latrobe will carry weight, but the Warriors’ nonsection schedule includes wins over Thomas Jefferson, North Hills, Shaler and Connellsville, all playoff teams.

Penn-Trafford has two more games before the playoffs. Neither will affect its seeding. It will host Derry on Thursday and North Allegheny on Friday.

Triple crown for Fulton?

Franklin Regional softball player Toryn Fulton is one of the most prolific hitters in program history and one of the top all-around players in the WPIAL.

The South Florida commit has a chance to win the WPIAL triple crown, an unofficial title traditionally bestowed on the player with the top batting average and most home runs and RBIs in the league.

Fulton was hitting .605 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs with a few games remaining in the regular season.

The average ranked roughly 20th in the WPIAL, the home run total was tied for second and the RBIs ranked second.

Hames chasing Kalp

Seneca Valley pitcher Lexie Hames recently reached 900 career strikeouts. Now the senior ace and Clemson commit has her sights on the WPIAL record.

If the Raiders can make another playoff run that carries into the PIAA tournament, she could pursue Hempfield alum Jaci Kalp’s mark of 997 Ks.

Kalp, the daughter of legendary Spartans coach Bob Kalp, averaged 2.4 Ks an inning over 424 innings. She fanned 351 in 1996.

Hames has done her damage from the 43-foot pitching circle. When Kalp played, the rubber was 40 feet from home plate.

“That 3 feet changed the game,” Bob Kalp said. “Teams have to be able to play defense. At 40 feet, Hames would be unhittable.”

Sweet tooth

Albert Gallatin first-year coach Makayla Munchinski, a Latrobe alum, emailed in a score report later than usual to TribLive, but she included the rationale: “Sorry it’s late…we went for ice cream after our 1st section win!!!”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Penn-Trafford