Growth mindset helps North Hills softball to solid season, chance to build in future

By: Brennan Valladares
Saturday, June 14, 2025 | 11:45 PM

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After bowing out in the second round of the 2024 WPIAL playoffs, the North Hills softball team could have looked at the 2025 season as an opportunity for redemption.

The Indians didn’t look at it that way, though, and that served them pretty well.

“You know, the narrative for (the 2024 quarterfinal game) was kind of that (Thomas Jefferson) stunned us and all that kind of thing,” coach Libby Gasior said. “But they were a very good team, (they) obviously go on to win the state title. … Coming into (2025), we were just really focused on trying to improve and trying to play our best every day, trying to get better every day. It wasn’t so much of like a redemption thing.”

That attitude paid dividends from the first pitch. Through the first half of the season, the Indians were 10-2 and had already surpassed 100 runs not even a month into play.

That explosive offense vaulted North Hills to a 15-4 overall record and a 10-2 finish in Section 1-5A. It had 14 games of nine or more runs and outscored its opponents 178-82 in the regular season.

With the No. 4 seed locked up, the Indians began their quest for a second WPIAL championship in five years. And in their opening-round matchup with No. 13 Baldwin, it took a comeback effort and a game-winning single by Natalie Anzaldi to advance to the second round.

The Indians then cruised to a 6-3 win over No. 12 Fox Chapel before a semifinal matchup with one of the four teams to beat them in the regular season — No. 2 Penn-Trafford.

“The regular season matchup (with Penn-Trafford), I think, helped both sides because it gave like a little bit of comfortableness in it’s not somebody you’ve never seen before,” said Gasior. “Looking back on it … I do think we weren’t ready for the pressure of a semifinal game.”

As a team, North Hills went 1 for 21 at the plate and gave up seven runs, suffering only its second shutout loss of the year in a 7-0 setback.

Hitting struggles continued throughout the Indians’ postseason run. Against No. 3 West Allegheny in the WPIAL third-place game, they went 6 for 27 and were held scoreless again. In its state playoff loss, North Hills fell 8-1 to Red Lands.

“I do think the Penn-Trafford loss kind of broke us a little bit,” said Gasior.

But those few tough losses won’t have Gasior wavering off the course of progress for her 19th season at the helm.

“I’m a huge believer in everything good comes from (losing),” she said. “If you want it to be a positive step, it is. … So hopefully we take it and move forward with it.”

Fortunately for Gasior, she’ll have a nucleus of six seniors returning next season: Anzaldi, Makenzie Roskwitalski, Lily Adamski, Brianna Zwick, Abigail Sutton and Emma Culver.

This upcoming class of seniors will bring with them high-stakes experience, something Gasior believes will help her team to continue to improve next year.

“I think a lot of those high-pressure at-bats are a privilege of the pressure of the moment that you’re actually there,” said Gasior. “And so now we’ve experienced (high-pressure moments), and hopefully we can only grow from that and learn from it going into next year. … That privilege to compete I think is our focus for next year, and just to continue to move forward with that.”

Tags: North Hills