Jun 2, 2026 By Jerin Steele 3 min read

Being on the east side of the PIAA bracket, the Chartiers-Houston softball team will have lengthy road trips ahead if they continue to advance.

That means long hours riding on the bus is in their future and that includes a trip to Bald Eagle Area High School in Bellefonte to play District 2 champion Montrose in Thursday’s Class 2A quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Not everyone enjoys a bus trip.

For some it may cause lethargy because of the boredom of staring out the window at the open Pennsylvania highway, but not for the Bucs.

They are more than happy to rack up the miles, because they make sure their road trips are a good time.

“I think it’s more fun,” Bucs junior pitcher Taryne Drilak said. “It builds memories and brings the team closer together. It’s actually exciting. We’re on the bus laughing and having a good time. I think it gives us a lot more energy coming into the game compared to a drive 20 minutes down the road.”

The Bucs certainly looked fired up and ready to go when they arrived at Mount Aloysius College Monday to face District 6 champion Bellwood-Antis.

Drilak pitched a three-hit shutout in a 2-0 win. Sydney English laid down a squeeze bunt for a run in the fourth inning and Aubree Randolph had a key RBI single in the fifth to help Chartiers-Houston get past Bellwood-Antis’ standout freshman pitcher Lainey Stinson.

It was a nice bounce back after losing to Bentworth in the WPIAL semifinals and Laurel in the consolation game.

The loss to Laurel put the Bucs on the east side of the bracket, but they made the 226-mile round trip to Cresson well worth it.

“We’ve been saying we have nothing to lose, because we are a fourth-place team in our district, so let’s just go out, play hard, have fun and go on the road somewhere,” Bucs coach Tricia Alderson said. “We told them we were going to be on the eastern side, but maybe that will be a good thing. We kind of get away from everything and hopefully everyone kind of forgets about us and we’ll see what happens. We’re just trying to play loose and keep our seniors in their uniforms a little bit longer.”

The two seniors in Chartiers-Houston’s starting lineup are Lauren Rush and Seanna Riggle. For Drilak and Randolph, it’s important to them to give everything to take Rush and Riggle as long as they can through the state tournament.

“Seanna is one of my closest friends, so the longer we can keep her here the happier I’ll be,” Randolph said. “Same with Lauren. They deserve it.”

Rush and Riggle have helped the Bucs reach two consecutive state semifinals. One more win and will make it three straight PIAA semifinals.

“They’ve led the team very well since their freshman year,” Drilak said. “They’re very deserving of it and we’re trying to win it all for them and for us and the community.”

If the Bucs advance, then they’ll play either District 1 champion Bristol or District 11 champ Schuylkill Haven. Bristol is north of Philadelphia and borders New Jersey. Schuylkill Haven is located north of Reading.

Thursday’s trip to Bald Eagle Area is three-hours one direction and 175 miles. There probably won’t be too many dull moments on the way there. That’s just how the Bucs roll.

“We’re loud on the bus and we have a lot of fun,” Randolph said.