Hampton wins 1st WPIAL softball title after 6th-inning comeback
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Thursday, May 29, 2025 | 1:34 PM
The Hampton softball team celebrates with the WPIAL championship trophy after defeating Blackhawk in the Class 4A final on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton catcher Katelyn Dubee celebrates with pitcher Marissa Snyder and Addi Hanna after defeating Blackhawk in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Marissa Snyder (right) celebrates with Alaina Dittrich after scoring the tying run against Blackhawk in the bottom of the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Marissa Snyder scores the tying run against Blackhawk in the bottom of the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Alena Zottola (22) celebrates after driving in the tying run against Blackhawk in the bottom of the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Alena Zottola (22) celebrates after scoring the go-ahead run against Blackhawk in the bottom of the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton pitcher Marissa Snyder delivers against Blackhawk during the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton pitcher Marissa Snyder celebrates after defeating Blackhawk in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Teresa Fritsch watches her sacrifice fly to drive in the go-ahead run against Blackhawk in the bottom of the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Marissa Snyder (right) celebrates with Alaina Dittrich after scoring the tying run against Blackhawk in the bottom of the sixth inning of the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
The Hampton softball team celebrates after defeating Blackhawk in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
The Hampton softball team celebrates with the WPIAL championship trophy after defeating Blackhawk in the Class 4A final on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at North Allegheny.
A battle between section foes turned into history at North Allegheny on Thursday, as Hampton and Blackhawk were both reaching for something they had never accomplished before — a WPIAL softball title.
Hampton rose to the occasion and overcame an early three-run deficit to claim the school’s first WPIAL championship with a 4-3 victory.
The second-seeded Talbots (16-4) were in this spot a year ago, losing to eventual champion Elizabeth Forward, but this time around, all it took was a change of scenery.
Originally scheduled for Wednesday at Cal (Pa.), the game was postponed by rain to a Thursday morning showdown at North Allegheny.
Hampton’s Marissa Snyder and Blackhawk’s Kylie Prisuta were strong in the circle to start and gave their teams three innings of one-hit ball before the offenses came alive.
No. 5 Blackhawk (14-5) struck first in the top of the fourth inning with a wall-scraping RBI double off the bat of cleanup hitter Mia Yenges.
Yenges added a two-run single in the top of the fifth to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.
“(Yenges is) a tough kid, and she has been our starting catcher since her freshman year,” Blackhawk coach Jim Riggio said. “She’s a hard worker and very coachable.”
Prisuta pitched five scoreless frames for the Cougars before Hampton started to turn the corner.
Back-to-back walks in the sixth led to an onslaught from the Talbots. Snyder knocked a two-run double and Alena Zattola added on with an RBI double of her own. Teresa Fritsch hit a sacrifice fly, and Hampton turned the game upside down, taking a 4-3 lead.
“Going into it, I knew I hadn’t touched a ball before that at-bat and Alena came up to me before and told me I had to just visualize it and trust myself,” Snyder said.
Snyder went the distance in getting the win but dealt with a bit of added pressure in the final frame.
“Her hand was cramped up and she couldn’t feel it, so I think she started to panic a little because she couldn’t feel her hand at all,” Hampton coach Katie Hedderman said. “I wanted her to take it and she deserved the right to take the rest of the game.”
Blackhawk loaded the bases in the seventh inning off of two hits and a walk before Snyder got Prisuta to go down swinging to seal the win.
Snyder went seven innings, giving up seven hits with three earned runs, three walks and 10 strikeouts. Her bat was also effective, going 1 for 3 with two RBIs.
It was Hampton’s third victory this season over the Section 3 rival Cougars.
Being in this spot a year ago, Hampton never flinched even when the drama reached a maximum at the end of the game.
“It’s always nice going back once you’ve been there and you kinda know how it looks,” said Hedderman, who has reached the title game in both seasons as Hampton’s coach. “This year I think they went in more relaxed. I actually think too relaxed at first, and then they came back and fought.”
Prisuta went the complete six innings for Blackhawk, giving up three hits and four earned runs with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Talbots will next take on Punxsutawney in the first round of the PIAA tournament Monday. Blackhawk will face Bellefonte.
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