Mt. Pleasant softball places 3 on all-state 1st team
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Tuesday, July 6, 2021 | 5:03 PM
Mt Pleasant’s Mary Smithnosky drives in Haylie Brunson in the PIAA Class 3A softball championship game June 18. Both were named first-team all-state Tuesday.
Ligonier Valley’s Maddie Griffin watches from dugout during a PIAA Class 2A semifinal against Union City on Monday, June 14, 2021, at Slippery Rock.
Southmoreland’s Jess Matheny pitches to Avonworth in the WPIAL Class 3A third-place game Thursday, May 27, 2021.
Yough’s Kaylyn Odelli takes part in an early-season 2021 softball game.
Another state championship in hand, the Mt. Pleasant softball team celebrated some personal accolades Tuesday when the all-state teams came out.
The Vikings, who finished 21-3 after winning WPIAL and PIAA titles, saw three players make the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association All-State Teams. Senior pitcher Mary Smithnosky, senior infielder Haylie Brunson and junior outfielder Katie Hutter were selected to the first team in Class 3A.
A local freshman also made the first team in that classification in Southmoreland shortstop Amarah McCutcheon, who had a breakthrough season.
Westmoreland County had a player chosen to the first or second team in every classification.
And speaking of breakthrough seasons, Ligonier Valley junior ace Maddie Griffin was a first-team pick in Class 2A as she led the Rams to a runner-up finish in the state while tossing 11 no-hitters.
Two other area standouts also were first-teamers: Hempfield senior catcher Emma Hoffner (6A) and Franklin Regional sophomore infielder Madison Nguyen (5A).
Smithnosky was one of the better dual-threat players in 3A. The Western Michigan commit was 16-1 in the circle with a 2.29 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 113 innings. She had six shutouts in the playoffs. At the plate, she hit .449 with 29 RBIs.
Brunson, a Pitt commit and Trib Westmoreland Player of the Year, led the Vikings with a .560 average, 23 doubles and 41 RBIs, and Hutter, a smooth center fielder headed to Akron next year, hit .552 with a team-leading 48 hits and 35 runs and eight triples.
A Division I prospect, McCutcheon batted .613 to lead the county, with 19 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, 27 RBIs and 32 runs scored.
Griffin finished 19-3 with 316 strikeouts in the Rams’ WPIAL debut season while throwing 11 no-hitters and four perfect games.
An Ohio recruit, Hoffner had a .481 average with 26 hits, eight doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs, and Nguyen hit .451 with eight homers, 29 RBIs and 17 runs.
Five local second-team picks could enhance any lineup card in the state. Those players are senior pitcher Callie Sowers of Hempfield (6A), junior catcher Jenna Tallman of Latrobe (5A), senior catcher Kaylyn Odelli of Yough (4A), senior pitcher Jess Matheny of Southmoreland (3A) and sophomore Emma Henry of Greensburg Central Catholic (A).
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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