Named state 6A player of the year, Pine-Richland’s Calle Henne leaves mark on program

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, July 20, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Previous Next

Calle Henne was working on sharpening her craft, taking some swings at the local cages, when she received a text from her dad.

The message she read contained outstanding news.

Henne had been selected on July 8 as the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association’s player of the year in Class 6A. She was also named to the all-state first team as a catcher for the second consecutive year.

“I didn’t believe my dad at first because I couldn’t find the website to confirm what he said,” Henne recounted. “But when I found out it was genuine, I was in disbelief, because I know how many good softball players there are in 6A across the state. It’s a huge honor.”

All it takes is a quick glance at Henne’s stat line from this past softball season to see why she was a prime candidate for the award, but a deeper dive into those stats reveals the eye-popping fact that surely made her the perfect pick.

In her 60 at-bats in 20 games played this season, Henne hit .583 with a 1.400 slugging percentage, 35 hits, 13 home runs, 35 RBIs and a staggering OPS of 2.084.

Her 13 home runs set a school single-season record, breaking the previous record of six, and although they are unsure of the exact career record for home runs, no one has hit more in their four years than Henne’s 23.

Even beyond that, one of Henne’s stats stands out above all the others.

She went a whole season without striking out once. Saying it again for those in the back: zero strikeouts over an entire season.

“The section I played in, which had two Division I pitching talents that I faced twice each this season, I never thought I would finish with zero strikeouts,” Henne said.

When asked how she accomplished such a feat, Henne said she kept her approach at the plate very simple.

“I really focused on my strike zone this year,” Henne said. “Opposing pitchers really lived on the outside when I was at the plate. As a catcher, I was able to gauge the umpire’s strike zone when playing defense and was able to apply it to my at-bats. I kept it pretty simple: See a strike and swing.”

“It just goes to show you what kind of discipline she has at the plate and what kind of hitter she is,” said Pine-Richland coach Sam Hartzberg. “She really studies the game.”

Hartzberg saw that studiousness from his catcher from the first game of her freshman year. Henne didn’t play in that game, or much that season, but it was evident she was dissecting everything she saw.

“At our end of the year banquet, I honor each and every senior and I told the room about what she was like as a freshman,” Hartzberg said. “She was always on the fence, and you could see the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out what a pitcher was trying to do.”

Henne also wasn’t shy about relaying the information she gained to her teammates, even if it meant speaking up to a senior player.

“I wanted to find a role on the team and help us be successful,” Henne said. “I’ve always been comfortable speaking up, so I was never afraid to let an upperclassman know that, hey, you can see this pitcher’s pinky when she throws a changeup, stuff like that.

“Not playing much and sitting the bench as a freshman helped me figure out how to communicate without having to be on the field.”

As Henne’s stats this year showed, she was a huge asset on the field, but it was her contributions off the field and in practice that had a lasting impact.

“I would say she was my right arm, another coach on the field, for me,” Hartzberg said. “She led practices, winter trainings, was a fundraising leader and was just someone I could go to with last-minute things. She even knew what I was going to say before I said it.”

Hartzberg’s trust in his catcher was evident when he allowed her to mentor and coach up the young pitching staff he had this season.

“Of the five pitchers we had on staff, none had any varsity experience,” Hartzberg said.

During the team’s pitcher-catcher practices in the winter, Henne was present every single night, working with each pitcher, building a trust that shined through during games when the pitchers hit rough patches or seemed a little nervous.

“It was an experience like no other,” Henne said. “It was about learning their strengths, finding what they liked to throw in certain situations and helping them through their struggles. I wanted them to feel like they could trust me, not like I was telling them what to do.”

“She was a true calming presence for those girls,” Hartzberg said. “She would always talk with them about what she was seeing and about individual batters. She also called pitches for us and she had a good handle on what was working and what wasn’t.”

A perfect example of Henne’s effect on the staff was when freshman Keelee Kalinoski pitched a complete game two-hitter against Seneca Valley on April 12. Kalinoski allowed two runs and struck out six in a 3-2 Rams win.

“Calle walked her through that whole game,” Hartzberg said. “Most teams think of their pitcher as their leader, but in our case, it was our catcher. Calle led the way and showed the kids that they could do this.”

It wasn’t just the varsity team that Henne coached up. She also left her mark on the future generation of Rams softball players.

Every summer and winter, the Pine-Richland softball team organizes a softball camp for girls age 5-12, with the players and coaches running the camp.

“I’ve done it every year I’ve been available,” Henne said. “It’s one of my favorite summer activities, and I love to share my knowledge of the game with the younger generation.”

“It’s impossible to replace not just a player but a person like Calle,” Hartzberg said.

Henne is now off to continue her softball career at Pitt, where she committed in January.

“My biggest goal is not to change who I am,” Henne said. “I’ve never been a shy person, so I’m not going to hide behind people, but I’m also not going to step on anyone’s toes. I think it will be a repeat of my high school freshman season, where I’m trying to find my role and ease into things.”

Henne joins a Pitt team that has 12 incoming freshmen and 12 returning starters.

“It might not be the traditional freshman experience of automatically falling behind whoever is in front of you,” Henne said. “It’s going to be very competitive, which is something I look forward to. I’ve always been a competitor.”

Henne will major in communications and is hoping to finish with a double major, she just doesn’t know what other subject it will be. She has ideas of becoming a softball coach one day in the future.

“It’s my No. 1 job choice after college, because it’s always something I love to do,” Henne said.

As for a follow up from her terrific senior year at Pine-Richland, Henne says Hartzberg has a clear goal in mind.

“He texted me the other day and said, ‘No pressure or anything, but I expect all-ACC next year,’ ” Henne said. “I haven’t really thought about any goals yet, but I’d agree and say that’s one goal of mine.”