Freshmen give jolt to Wash High softball
Wash High softball coach Mike McCort knew the talent of the freshman class that came into the program.
Now the rest of the WPIAL is getting to meet them.
The Prexies have five freshmen in their starting lineup, and do not have a senior on the roster, but have won four of their first five games and one of those was a signature win.
The five freshmen are Chessa Henderson (pitcher), Kali Hagan (catcher), Kieran Wormsley (shortstop), Sophie McCort (second base) and Gabby Cornell (right field).
Washington beat defending Class 2A Section 4 champion Frazier, 5-3, last Thursday to improve to 2-0 in section play.
“We have a lot of talented young players,” McCort said. “They’ve done a lot of work in the offseason. Most of the girls play travel ball in the summer.”
Each of the freshmen came up through the Twist youth softball program where McCort coached them. They were one of the first groups to play fastpitch. McCort said prior to their class, Twist was a slowpitch league.
“Some of the players that have come through previously had mainly played slowpitch in rec ball until they got into middle school or high school,” McCort said. “These (freshmen) started off with fastpitch. That’s a huge difference, especially with the really good pitching we have in our section. These girls have seen something similar to that. It’s been helpful for them to get acclimated a little bit quicker.”
Henderson pitched a complete game with five strikeouts and allowed one earned run in the win over Frazier. Hagan singled twice and McCort doubled.
Some of the sophomores and juniors contributed too. Faith Partozoti singled three times from the leadoff spot. Tateionna Warren also had three hits, including a double and Z Kyiah Hines singled and doubled.
The Prexies rallied from a 3-0 deficit by scoring two runs in the fifth and sixth and one in the seventh.
“That was a really big confidence booster for us to be able to play with and beat Frazier,” McCort said. “They are a really good program. Not just them too. Bentworth is really tough and Brownsville and Waynesburg are doing well too, so our section is really good. It’s going to be a tough go for us going forward. It’s a section where we’ll probably all be beating up on each other for the rest of the year.”
Partozoti and Warren are team captains. Being one of the oldest players on the team as a junior, Partozoti has taken on the leadership role for the freshmen and sophomores.
“Faith is a fantastic leader and really a great part of our team,” McCort said. “She’s been hitting the ball really well and fields the ball well too. She has a phenomenal attitude all around. I can’t say enough good things about that kid.”
Washington plays Waynesburg and Brownsville on Thursday and Friday, which will provide a good litmus test. The pitching in Section 4 is strong all-around with Ava Clark, who recently recorded her 600th strikeout, at Brownsville. Gina Tedrow at Waynesburg and LSU recruit Sydney Gonglik at Bentworth.
Clark is a PennWest California recruit and Tedrow is headed to Garrett junior college in Maryland.
It’ll be good competition for a Prexies team looking to enter the postseason conversation.
“I think for us this year a playoff berth would certainly be a successful season,” McCort said. “As these girls get older and more experienced, I think we’ll be able to play with just about anybody. This year though we’re kind of testing the waters and seeing where we are. We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to get to play some extra games.”