North Allegheny’s lone softball seniors form dynamic duo

By: John Grupp
Saturday, April 19, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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North Allegheny’s Sammy Plotsko and McKenna Rowlands hit it off right away as sixth graders at Ingomar Middle School.

And the hits kept coming.

The only seniors on NA’s 24-player roster, the best friends are leaders of a young Tigers team and are treasuring their final softball season together.

“We had a lot of the same classes together in sixth grade,” Plotsko said. “We just became instant friends.”

Plotsko, a pitcher and three-year starter, and Rowlands, a shortstop and four-year starter, joined the NA softball program in seventh grade and have been inseparable ever since. They even play for the same travel organization, Team Pennsylvania.

“We were always good friends,” Rowlands said. “We weren’t ever rivals. We always worked together if things were difficult.”

Their bond grew tighter because, for the most part, they were the only members of their class on the varsity roster for all four years. They were the only freshmen in 2022 and the only sophomores in 2023. They were two of three juniors last season (the other junior played in only two games), and this season they are, once again, the Tigers’ dynamic duo.

“It’s made us a lot closer, ever since freshman year when we were the only two people on varsity,” Rowlands said. “We really didn’t know anybody else, so we bonded with each other over that.”

Behind the senior tandem, North Allegheny (5-5, 4-3 in Section 1-6A) has rebounded from a slow start to put itself in position to reach the WPIAL playoffs for the 25th consecutive season.

“To have only two seniors and then to have them be two of your best players, that’s definitely rare for me,” said first-year coach Bill Aguglia, who coached at Upper St. Clair from 2018-24. “It’s been a different dynamic, but it’s been a good one.”

Rowlands, who bats leadoff, overcame a slow start to raise her batting average to .273 with eight RBIs and a team-high 10 runs through nine games.

Plotsko, who bats third, is hitting .290 with a team-best 11 RBIs while going 5-4 in the circle with a 4.06 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings.

Aguglia chalked up their slow starts at the plate to the demands of being the lone seniors on a youthful team.

“I think they were pressing,” Aguglia said. “That’s the downfall of being the only two seniors. They wanted to lead the way. But as we progressed, they saw we had other girls who could hit, and I really think that’s relaxed them.”

Rowlands, a Drexel recruit who hit at least .300 in her first three seasons, is at ease. She was hitting .111 after five games but hit .467 in the next four.

“I think I expected myself to do a lot better, and when I didn’t, I declined,” she said. “When other girls are doing good, it helps me do good and not put so much pressure on myself.”

Plotsko does more than pitch. She hit .435 last season and earned all-section honors and batted .427 as a sophomore. She is also “by far the best fielding pitcher I’ve ever had the privilege to coach,” Aguglia said.

“She has saved so many runs,” he said. “She is phenomenal. As a pitcher, she’s good. She’s a lot better than she thinks she is. She’s been a rock for us this year.”

Plotsko will attend Penn State, so this is likely her final year of organized softball. She is making the most of it and cherishing a friendship with Rowlands that has transcended sports.

“The last game is going to be our last game together,” Plotsko said, “so I want it to be a good one.”

Of course, the two are just as close off the field. They bought matching Spider-Man T-shirts during the Tigers’ trip to Florida in March because “that’s our favorite superhero,” Plotsko said. There also was the time as sophomores when they waited in line “for three hours late at night” to ride the VelociCoaster at Universal Orlando during an NA spring training softball trip.

“We were just delirious,” Rowlands said. “That was really funny.”

They also took a “fun, girls trip” to New York City a couple of years ago and found themselves in a predicament after hopping into a Pedicab, a small pedal-operated taxi, in Manhattan.

“We didn’t know they were going to be charging us every minute we were on it,” Plotsko said. “They kept going in circles in the middle of the street. After we got off it, it was like $200. We went in a circle and got scammed a little bit. It worked out in the end. We didn’t pay. We cleared things up. But it was kind of crazy. We will never forget that.”

Tags: North Allegheny