Chartiers Valley softball takes pride in season’s highlights, looks to bright future

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, May 25, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The goal for the Chartiers Valley softball team every year is playing into June.

In the past four seasons, the team made it to the semifinal round of the WPIAL playoffs and qualified for the state playoffs.

This year, the team came up inches shy of making it five years in a row.

“We fought to the end,” said Colts coach Chris Lloyd. “We had bases loaded with a chance to tie the game, and it came down to a diving play.”

With Chartiers Valley trailing by three in the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded, sophomore third baseman Alana Woods came up to bat and roped a line drive that was on its way to splitting the gap when Penn-Trafford outfielder Giuliana Youngo made a spectacular diving catch to end the rally.

“She made one heck of a play,” said Lloyd. “If she didn’t catch that, we definitely would have tied the game.”

As it was, Chartiers Valley (12-7) saw its season end in a 14-11 loss to the top-seeded Warriors in the Class 5A quarterfinals. It was a tough one for the Colts players to take.

“They were pretty upset,” Lloyd said. “Penn-Trafford’s pitcher wasn’t hit all year, and we put up 18 hits on her, so we played pretty well offensively. Defensively, we had a couple of miscues that gave them some life and extra runs throughout the game.”

“The game started out rough for us,” said senior pitcher Taylor Walsh. “We knew they were going to be tough competition, but we weren’t going to back down to them. Everyone was ready to go. We just fell short.”

The Penn-Trafford game was a snapshot of the Colts’ season, as the players carried a never-quit mentality throughout.

The year began rocky for a team that expected to hit well and had four players committed to playing at the college level.

The Colts started with a pair of shutout losses, 4-0 to Neshannock and 13-0 at Plum. They beat Beaver, 10-4, and Blackhawk, 5-2, but were held in check in an 11-1 loss to South Park to open the year 2-3.

Then the rain began to fall and for the next two weeks, the Colts didn’t play a game but spent all their time in the gym working on their hitting.

“Those losses at the beginning of the year kept us pretty humble,” said senior second baseman Annabelle Helt.

The biggest thing Lloyd saw from his team during its two weeks without games was how the players came together as a group.

“I said attitudes are contagious, are yours worth catching?” Lloyd said. “I told them they needed to be ready, to bring everything they had and support and be there for each other. They grew as one.”

“We hang out with each other outside of softball every day, and I think if you are close off the field, it’s easy to play with and for one another,” said senior pitcher and center fielder Delaney O’Connor.

Once the weather cleared, Chartiers Valley got off to a five-game winning streak against section opponents, and the offense ignited to the tune of 60 total runs scored in those contests.

From there, the team won four of its last seven and was set to face Plum in the first round of the playoffs.

Lloyd reminded his players that in their loss to the Mustangs at the start of the year, they were playing at Plum, where the fences went out to about 170 feet. But in the playoffs on a neutral field, the fences would be 30 feet farther back.

“We had nothing to lose going into the game,” said Lloyd. “The first time we faced them, we threw outside a lot. In the playoff game, Taylor pitched very well, threw a lot of her stuff in on their hands, and we took their bats away from them.”

“I knew I had to go out there, be myself and trust my fielders,” said Walsh. “I gave my all in the circle, and we played a good collective game.”

Lily Duffill, a Penn State commit, smashed a two-run home run and the Colts came away with a 2-1 win.

“We knew going into that game we were the underdogs,” Duffill said. “Nobody thought we would win, and we said we were going to prove everyone wrong.”

Duffill finished her year with an average of .574 with 37 hits, 26 RBIs, eight home runs, five stolen bases and 27 runs scored.

Her production dipped a bit this year as teams took the bat out of her hands and she walked close to 20 times.

“She probably got upset, but she never showed it,” said Lloyd. “She found other ways to help the team and to score. She led the team in stolen bases.”

“I mentally matured,” Duffill said. “I got used to dealing with things that weren’t in my comfort zone, learned how to be more comfortable with things I normally didn’t like or wanted.”

It was up to the rest of the lineup, which included four new position players, to pick up Duffill.

Sophomore Ava Dunlap took over at first base and became the team’s five hitter, batting behind Duffill. She finished with an average of .338 with 22 hits and 16 RBIs and was second team all-section.

Chloe Tenney, another sophomore, played a lot of right field and was subbed by her twin sister Alyssa later in games. She finished the year with a .364 average.

“Chloe did a great job rolling the lineup over by getting on base and was one of our top hitters,” said Lloyd. “It was great to see Ava to play varsity as a sophomore and step up the way she did.”

Woods started at third base and picked up her hitting as the season went on. She ended the year with a .295 average, collected 18 hits and drove in 12 runs. Fellow sophomore Morgan Vaughan played shortstop and was the team’s flex.

One big surprise came in Gianna Scalise, who as a freshman was the team’s designated player. Her first game was against West Allegheny and she hit a home run. She slashed a couple of triples during the year, including one against Penn-Trafford.

“She got off on the right foot,” said Lloyd. “She wasn’t scared or nervous, went up to the plate swinging every time. Hopefully she’ll continue to improve as her high school career goes on.”

“It was hard to replace the seniors from last year,” said O’Connor. “The underclassmen played very well, and I’m so proud of them. I don’t think we would have made it as far as we did if they didn’t step up.”

The veteran players also took it upon themselves to help guide the younger players and were eager to take them under their wings.

“I was the only returning player in the infield,” said Helt. “I felt I had to step up and help them when it came to certain situations. Morgan and Alana got better as the season went along, and they’ll do better next year as they continue to improve.”

The Colts also came away with a lot of recognition at the end of the season.

Duffill was named player of the year, Walsh, Helt and senior Delaney O’Connor were all selected as first team all-section and Lloyd was coach of the year.

“I was surprised,” Lloyd said. “It’s good to be recognized by all the other coaches, but if it wasn’t for the girls and how they played, I wouldn’t be coach of the year. That’s all on them.”

As the team shakes off its playoff loss, the players will look to next year where they will be without their top two pitchers, as both Walsh and O’Connor are graduating.

Walsh, who is off to Wheeling University to study exercise science, was 9-6 this year with 72 strikeouts. O’Connor, who is headed to Robert Morris to study actuarial science, was 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Helt will leave a void at second base, as she is headed to Pitt-Johnstown in the fall and will study biology.

“It’ll be hard losing those three,” Lloyd said.

There is plenty of young talent that can help get the Colts back to the playoffs. Chloe Tenney is expected to take over one of the pitching spots and Duffill is excited to work with her.

“She is an outstanding pitcher,” Duffill said. “She doesn’t have a lot of velocity right now, but the spin she’s able to put on the ball is amazing.”

“Our young girls got a lot of playing time this year between varsity and JV,” said Lloyd. “They know what to expect going into next year. We’ll be one of the top teams in our section, and we’ll look to make some noise in the playoffs.”

With any luck, Chartiers Valley will be playing well into June next season.

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