Jun 11, 2026 By Jerin Steele 5 min read

Two weeks ago, Laurel defeated Chartiers-Houston, 6-5, in the WPIAL Class 2A softball consolation game and the two teams went their separate ways.

Literally.

Laurel stayed on the west side of the bracket, while Chartiers-Houston forged a path on the eastern side.

Now they’ll meet again in a historic state final.

Chartiers-Houston plays Laurel in the Class 2A state championship, 11 a.m. today at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park.

It’s the first time two teams from the WPIAL have met in the state softball championship.

“We’re making history and I think that’s pretty cool,” Bucs coach Tricia Alderson said. “It’s really neat to be able to say that we went through the eastern side and made it to the championship. I think that’s pretty impressive.”

An all-WPIAL state championship has been an extremely rare occurrence in team sports. It’s happened only in boys and girls tennis. In boys tennis, Butler defeated Shady Side Academy for the 2010 Class 3A state title and North Allegheny beat Upper St. Clair in 2005. It’s happened 10 times in girls tennis with Knoch beating Sewickley Academy in 2022 as the latest example.

It’ll be Laurel’s first trip to a state final. The Spartans beat Everett, 9-5, in Monday’s semifinals. Chartiers-Houston last made it in 2010.

It’s been a long journey back for Alderson and the Bucs, that has included some semifinal heartbreaks, but they cleared the hurdle with a 3-2 win over Bristol.

It was the third time Chartiers-Houston knocked off a district champion on the way to the final. The Bucs beat District 6 champ Bellwood-Antis in the first round and District 2 champ Montrose in the quarterfinals.

“It’s been a great journey and even though we’ve had to travel far, it’s been worth it, because here we are,” Bucs junior Zaylee Fonner said. “We have our (state championship) game now and we’re happy to keep traveling.”

Laurel’s top hitter is Hailey Fell, who has a .477 batting average with seven home runs and 33 RBI. Riley Balcom is the top pitcher, going 12-3 with a 2.58 ERA with 105 strikeouts to 22 walks in 97.1 innings.

“They have good pitching and good speed, so those are things we’re going to have to look out for,” Alderson said. “They have power too, so they have a good combination of everything.”

The last time the Bucs made it to a state championship they were held at Shippensburg. They beat Montgomery, 4-1, to win the Class A championship.

Alderson was the Bucs’ coach. She also pitched in a state final for C-H in 1987.

“It was actually the last year that the state championships were at Shippensburg before they moved to Penn State, so we’ve been trying to get to Penn State for a long time,” Alderson said. “We’ve been in a few early round games at Penn State. They used to host first round and quarterfinal games in the past, but don’t do that anymore.

“We were actually the very last state championship game that was played at Shippensburg. We were supposed to be the first game, but someone had a graduation or something, so they bumped us to the end. It’s cool to have that too.”

Laurel and Chartiers-Houston were the top two seeds in the WPIAL bracket. Neshannock beat Laurel in the WPIAL semifinals, while Chartiers-Houston lost to eventual WPIAL champ Bentworth.

The big hit in the consolation game was a grand slam by Laurel’s Lizzy Pascoe in the third inning, which was part of a five-run frame. It gave Laurel a 6-2 lead. Chartiers-Houston got a run in the fourth and scored twice in the seventh to cut the lead to one, but the rally fell short.

Keira Drilak and Lauren Rush had three hits each. Drilak doubled twice and tripled. Rush had a double and triple. Seanna Riggle and Aubree Randolph doubled.

“I think both teams were still playing hard, but it was a little different vibe, because we were coming off a close loss and so were they,” Alderson said. “The pressure was off because both teams knew we were in the state playoffs. It was just a matter of whether we were going to stay closer to home or get shipped off to the east. It ended up working out for both of us.”

Pitcher Taryne Drilak admitted that the Bucs weren’t at their best against the Spartans, but have been strong since and she’s been at the forefront.

The junior has allowed only three runs in 20 innings in the state playoffs.

“It was a reset for us,” Taryne Drilak said. “It showed us that we have to play at our best to win. We’ve played our best the last three games and we’re going to play our best on Friday.”

Kiera Drilak, a freshman, recalled a conversation with her older sister way back in March before the Bucs played their first game.

“Taryne told me going into the season that she wanted to win a state championship and now here we are,” Kiera Drilak said.

They’re one step away from making that goal a reality.