Jun 7, 2015 5 min read

Success and ability for a softball pitcher are often gauged by strikeouts. The adage is the harder a pitcher throws, the more difficult they are to face.

Trinity junior Paige Galentine does not subscribe to that theory. Speed isn’t her game, and her statistics do not raise eyebrows. So how does the two-year starter have the Hillers in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals?

“The only thing (coaches) have been telling me to do is just let them hit it,” Galentine said with a laugh. “I just say, ‘All right, I’ll let them hit it.’ I’m just trying to get them to hit it badly – just a popup or a grounder and I’ll be happy.”

Some might see a pitcher wishing for contact as counterproductive, but Trinity head coach Shawn Gray doesn’t care. The results show it’s difficult to argue with his logic.

Galentine has won five playoff games – allowing just six earned runs – and opponents had fewer than six hits in four of the five victories.

But it isn’t always pretty.

She walked 10 batters, some of which were intentional, Thursday against WPIAL champion Belle Vernon in the PIAA quarterfinals, but allowed five hits and only two earned runs to help Trinity reach the semifinals.

“She’s proving the critics wrong every week,” Gray said. “It feels like they are still finding doubts, but there aren’t too many teams sitting here in the position we’re in, and she continues to prove them wrong. People are focusing on what she’s not doing, but they have to start looking at what she is doing.”

What Galentine did is give Trinity an opportunity to reach the state championship game. Galentine and the Hillers (19-5) will face Bellwood-Antis (18-6), the District 6 champion, today in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals at Greater Latrobe High School. First pitch is at 6 p.m.

Her success and progress might be overlooked by some, but Galentine’s teammates have taken notice. The junior improved dramatically this season with an emphasis on pitch location and less thinking on the mound.

No game exemplified that improvement more than Trinity’s 10-1 victory over Southmoreland to earn a spot in the state playoffs. Galentine kept the Scotties guessing, and pitched a complete game with six strikeouts.

“Paige is pitching tremendously. I think she’s taken a huge step from last year and she’s taken another big step since the regular season ended into the playoffs,” Trinity senior second baseman Madison Hornak said. “She’s really been able to hit her spots and pitch strikes. That’s all we need.”

Strikeouts and intimidation from a pitcher are necessary for some softball teams because of defensive liabilities or offensive struggles. However, with the Hillers’ defense and power at the plate, that’s not the case.

The Hillers possess a defense that Gray refers to as “the best in the WPIAL at any level,” and an offense that can hurt an opponent from top to bottom.

Trinity’s batting order starts with its speedy lead-off hitter, Hornak, who is batting .571 during the playoffs. Senior shortstop Olivia Gray, a Pitt recruit, and junior first baseman Delaney Elling, a Penn State recruit, strike fear in opposing pitchers, but they aren’t the only ones. During the postseason, six players are batting over .400 for Trinity, which has outscored opponents, 47-8, in its five playoff wins.

From junior Kim Dunst to seniors Brooke Beck and Shelby Clemens, almost every player contributed to the Hillers’ playoff run; which would not have been possible without their pitcher.

“There have been standout teams that have been competitive with us in the past and she’s stepped up and delivered a one- or two-hitter,” Shawn Gray said of Galentine. “She’s not going to deliver 12 strikeouts a game like they want everyone to be at this level, but she’s not that kind of pitcher. She’s not giving up the big hits, and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of this team yet. I really don’t.”

Galentine is as humble as it gets. She stresses the importance of her defense and like most pitchers, she focuses more on weaknesses than strengths.

The strikeouts likely will not come in bunches today against the Blue Devils, who are batting .335 as a team with 76 walks, but Galentine doesn’t mind. After all, Galentine wants them to hit the ball.

The only thing she is focused on is doing whatever it takes for Trinity earn a spot in Friday’s state championship game at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park.

“I know my defense will get it done. They have my back and I have their’s,” Galentine said. “I’ll get the ball to them. I’m excited and hyped. I try not to think. I just do it.”