Mar 18, 2016 5 min read

When Shawn Gray hit ground balls to his infielders or watched them take batting practice in the cage, the results haven’t looked like a young team replacing seven starters.

Instead, Trinity’s third-year head coach has witnessed a group ready to prove that the Hillers’ trip to the PIAA Class AAA championship game last spring was not an anomaly and future success is attainable, despite the state’s top player graduating.

Shortstop Olivia Gray, who is now starting for Pitt after hitting over .600 as a senior, was voted the Class AAA Player of the Year by the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association and was the Observer-Reporter Player of the Year last spring.

Second baseman Madison Hornak, who batted .592 last season, also is gone. The double-play combo combined for 90 of the Hillers’ runs and made the defense one of the best in the state, leading Trinity to State College, where it lost to Bethlehem Catholic, 2-0, in the championship game.

To Shawn Gray’s approval, three freshmen and two sophomores have combined with a strong senior class to make the Hillers look like a Section 3-AAA title contender this spring.

“I’m shocked in a happy way,” Gray said. “We have a very good team. I’m pleasantly surprised with the freshman core that I have that will come up and provide both an offense and a defense for me.”

There will be no replicating Olivia Gray’s contributions at the plate and in the field, but losing a player of his daughter’s caliber will be easier for Shawn Gray because of Trinity’s other future Division I player.

Senior first baseman Delaney Elling, a Penn State recruit, is back after hitting .580 with 10 doubles and four triples. Pitcher Paige Galentine, who steadily improved throughout last spring, and Kim Dunst, who is moving from catcher to shortstop, are two of the nine seniors returning.

“We don’t have the expectations to do anything like we did last year, but I don’t think any of them feel we can’t accomplish something like that,” Gray said. “With nine seniors, they are all focused on seeing how far we can go and take this ride again.”

For the first time in three years, plenty of question marks surround Trinity’s lineup, but Gray has quickly found answers.

Sophomores Santana King and Payton Barr, and freshmen Bailey Belle and Mayli Bennett are expected to take major roles in 2016. Senior Sam Beechmam is also back after suffering an injury late last season.

Though the Hillers’ depth chart has become clear in recent days, the theme of this season is competition.

“I stress that competition breeds success,” Gray said. “I’m putting my older girls out there with the freshmen so they understand the position isn’t given to them. Coming off what we did last year, a lot of girls stepped up and found themselves. We focused on what we wanted to do and came together as a team. We want to do that again.”

Belle Vernon, which won the WPIAL championship last season before losing to Trinity in the PIAA quarterfinals, is in a similar situation.

The Leopards, who went 21-3 last spring, lost four players who batted over .300, including catcher Nicole Ashcraft (.403). That offense, coupled with the pitching of left-hander Bailey Parshall, a Penn State recruit, won 18 consecutive games, including a 5-4 win over Yough in the WPIAL title game.

Parshall, a sophomore, is back after being selected first team all-state. She had a 1.48 ERA with 214 strikeouts, the most in a season by any pitcher since head coach Tom Rodriguez took over the program in 2002.

The hard-throwing lefty also led the Leopards with a .418 average and a .595 slugging percentage. With an inexperienced team surrounding the circle, Belle Vernon will need her at her best to repeat.

Second baseman Erica Amoroso, third baseman Alyssa Larson and outfielder Megan Christner also are back. Rodriguez’s biggest problem is finding someone to catch Parshall’s pitching.

“(Our strength is) definitely in the pitching ,” Rodriguez said. “There’s no question about it. As a freshman, she was the best I’ve ever had. She’s right on track, to me, to be as good as (former Yough pitcher) Nicole Sleith if she keeps working hard. Now her movement is better and she’s hitting her spots more often.”

Another year, another head coach for Ringgold softball. Erik Hilligsberg, a teacher at West Mifflin who served as a varsity assistant at Baldwin last season, takes over a program that has not had a winning season since 2004 and has not reached the WPIAL playoffs since 2003.

Ringgold lost its top pitcher and hitter from a 1-14 team that scored just 24 runs. Seniors Sam Polaski and Bailey Cooper, juniors Natalie Adams and Johnna Mocniak, and sophomore Taylor Mendicino join the Rams’ four returning starters, including sophomore shortstop Lauren Gohacki.

A return to prominence won’t be easy in Section 3-AAA, which includes Trinity, Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward and Thomas Jefferson, which won the WPIAL title in 2014.

The Lions lost pitcher Ashley Iagnemma, who is starting for Point Park, following a second-place finish in Section 2-AAA. Her father, Vic Iagnemma is also gone, resigning as head coach following another playoff appearance.

Olesia Stasko, who was an assistant coach for South Fayette last season, has seven returning starters, including Courtney Blocher and Sara Jubas. After struggling early last season, the Lions won three of their final four games, including a victory over section champion Chartiers Valley; but lost in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs to Belle Vernon.