Familiar foes meet in softball title games
The more things change in WPIAL softball, the more they stay the same.
When the two-day WPIAL Championships begin this afternoon at Penn West California’s Lilley Field, the cast of characters in the finals will be familiar. Of the 12 teams that will play for WPIAL gold, eight of them will be in the finals for the second consecutive season. Two of the title games – Hempfield vs. Seneca Valley in Class 6A and Carmichaels vs. Union in Class A – are rematches from a year ago.
Even the Class 2A title game that matches defending champion Neshannock against Bentworth has a pair of teams that are very familiar with one another. They met in the 2024 championship game and then again in the semifinals last year.
Heck, in Class A, West Greene and Jefferson-Morgan will meet today in the third-place game for the second year in a row.
However, even with all of that familiarity, teams can’t rely on a scouting report from last year.
“We’re a different team and so is Union,” cautioned Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs.
Bentworth (20-2) and Neshannock (17-5) will play in the opening game of the finals today at noon. Bentworth made it to the title game by beating Chartiers-Houston 2-1 in a much-anticipated semifinal game last Thursday.
“Chartiers had beaten us in the playoffs before, but we didn’t have the team we have now,” Bentworth coach Jack Cramer said. “For us to have No. 1 (Sydney Gonglik) in the circle is a difference. We have been telling (our players) that they belong in the game coming up all year. They are that good.”
Cramer admitted that Chartiers-Houston had been the measuring stick for Bentworth for years and getting over that hurdle should be a confidence booster for the Bearcats, who have not lost to a Class 2A opponent this season.
Gonglik was third in the WPIAL in strikeouts during the regular season with 200 and has allowed only two runs in three playoff victories. She again will be a key player for the Bearcats. Gonglik hit eight home runs during the regular season but her sister, freshman Makayla Gonglik, is the Bearcats’ leading hitter.
“It means so much getting to go with this group of freshmen because they helped this team so much this year,” Sydney Gonglik said. “I think the whole team has worked hard to deserve this.
“Everybody on this team wants it way more than the previous teams. I’m not saying those teams didn’t want to win, but there is a different mentality. … In the previous years, when we played Neshannock we were expected to lose. This year, we’re expecting to win. The mentality switches. It might not be the same (Neshannock) team, but they’re still just as tough.”
In Neshannock, the Bearcats will face a battle-tested team that is used to winning championship games. The Lancers have won four consecutive WPIAL titles. Last year, Neshannock beat Chartiers-Houston in the finals.
Catcher Gabriella Antonucci, center fielder Jaidon Nogay and second baseman Brenna Frengel all hit at least .500 during the regular season. Frengel, the leadoff hitter, tops Neshannock in RBI.
In a 7-5 win over Laurel in the semifinals, Neshannock had 11 hits and forged a 7-1 lead before giving up four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Neshannock pitcher Gianna Paglia gave up eight hits and two walks against Laurel.
“Last year, we did what we had to do, but it was the luck of the draw. We had Neshannock in the semis and they had a good team last year,” Cramer said. “It will be a good rematch. Any time you have two good teams, and you play good defense, and hit, you have a chance to win.”
Carmichaels (17-4) and Union (18-2) are two teams that are solid in all facets. They will meet for the Class A title Thursday at noon.
In the finals last year, Union’s Mia Preuhs threw a no-hitter against Carmichaels and the Scotties scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 3-0 win.
Carmichaels has two of its key players, pitcher Bailey Barnyak and shortstop Carys McConnell, back from last year’s team, while freshman catcher Kenlee Machesky has added a potent bat to the middle of the lineup. The Mikes have five freshmen or sophomores who have played more than casual roles this season, which is why Briggs says he has a different team this year.
Barnyak is the key for the Mikes. Not only has she struck out more than 200 batters this year and more than 800 in her career, she has improved her hitting and become as dangerous with the bat as she is with her pitching arm.
Union, which is in the finals for a WPIAL record seventh consecutive season, also is different. Preuhs is gone but Korynne Shannon has been solid in the circle with 132 strikeouts. The Mikes should remember Shannon. She hit a two-run homer in last year’s title game.
The Scotties have three players who hit better than .500 during the regular season, led by Irelyn Fisher, an Akron recruit, who was third in the WPIAL with a .625 batting average. The Scotties have plenty of power in the lineup as Fisher leads Union with 12 home runs, including three in the last two games.
“We expected this,” Briggs said of the matchup with Union. “We know we have to play well to beat them.”