Confidence builds as inspired Penn-Trafford softball team heads into state semifinals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, June 6, 2025 | 5:22 PM

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After Penn-Trafford lost to Shaler in the WPIAL Class 5A softball championship game, the Warriors gathered for practice the next day, only they didn’t pick up a bat or a ball.

Instead, coach Denny Little picked up a remote control.

“The first thing we did was have an hour-and-a-half practice — in the AV room (at the high school),” Little said. “We watched our state championship game (from 2019). I think it fired up the girls, and they started to say to themselves, ‘We can do this.’ ”

Whatever is inspiring Penn-Trafford (22-3), it is working. The Warriors are two wins away from another state title. They advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling 6-5 win over Red Land in Thursday’s quarterfinal in Windber.

It will be the Warriors and West Allegheny (18-5) next at 4 p.m. Monday at Peters Township’s Pleasant Valley Elementary School in McMurray for a spot in Friday’s state title game at Penn State.

Little is big on teaching hitting and having his girls make adjustments in the batter’s box and in the cage. He has an eye for offense. If he can tweak a swing, even slightly, to gain an advantage, he will do it.

Of late, he had some help from someone who also knows something about putting the business end of the bat on the ball: his daughter.

If the Warriors win another PIAA championship, maybe Emma Little should get another ring. She was a sophomore outfielder for the Warriors in ’19 and just completed a stellar career at Bloomsburg. She gave the team some hitting tips this week.

“It was all Emma’s technique,” said sophomore reserve Annabell Carvajal, who delivered the winning single with two outs in Thursday’s walk-off win. “She taught us how to shorten our swing.”

The “sighting” training was evident in numerous batters, some who showed bunt with the bat parallel to the ground before pulling back to meet the ball for solid contact.

If the hitting continues, there might be a Penn-Trafford sighting in the state finals.

“Emma showed them what to do,” Denny Little said. “The girls responded to it.”

Said senior Kylie Anthony, who went 4 for 4 with a tying home run Thursday: “It’s about contact and getting your timing just right.”

Penn-Trafford had yellow paper hands taped to the walls of the dugout Thursday, a word written on each finger: Attitude, energy, integrity, oomph and unselfishness.

“It’s A-E-I-O-U,” senior Bella Rubbe said.

“The girls have a belief in this and what we’re doing,” Denny Little said.

Carvajal said her winner was the biggest hit of her high school career so far.

Speaking of hands … “I hit the ball and put my hands up,” Carvajal said. “We have to keep our energy up and stay motivated.”

The 2019 team set a school record with 23 wins, so this year’s group could tie that mark with a win Monday and then break it with another Friday.

The Warriors aren’t thinking about a trip to State College just yet, though.

“It’s best to take it day by day,” Denny Little said. “Mom always told me that.”

Like Hempfield, which advanced to the Class 6A semifinals, Penn-Trafford has back-to-back one-run wins in the state tournament. The Warriors edged Central Mountain, 3-2, in the first round.

Hempfield (22-3) will play Nazareth (21-4) at 4 p.m. Monday at Norlo Park Softball Complex in Fayetteville, the home park for Chambersburg, the team the Spartans edged 4-3 in the quarterfinals.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford