PIAA Class 2A softball championship game preview: Neshannock vs. South Williamsport

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 | 7:36 PM

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The first PIAA Class 2A softball champion was crowned 46 years ago when Minersville from District 11 won the 1979 championship.

The first WPIAL team to win a 2A softball state title was 10 years later when Sto-Rox captured the 1989 crown.

Five years later, Central Columbia became the first team from District 4 to win a 2A softball championship in 1994.

The 2025 2A softball finals feature the same two teams that played for 2A state gold in 2024.

Here is a look at the first of six PIAA softball championship games Thursday morning at Penn State.

Class 2A

Neshannock (25-0) vs. South Williamsport (18-5)

11 a.m. Thursday, Beard Field at Nittany Lions Softball Park at Penn State

Coaches: Jackie Lash, Neshannock; Tom O’Malley, South Williamsport

Broadcast: Video on PCN-TV, audio on Trib HSSN

Path to Penn State: Neshannock defeated District 10 runner-up Sharpsville, 10-0, in five innings in the first round; District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge, 5-3, in the quarterfinals; WPIAL runner-up Chartiers-Houston, 12-1, in five innings in the semifinals. … South Williamsport knocked off District 2 champion Holy Redeemer, 10-0, in five innings in the first round; District 6 champion West Shamokin, 4-2, in the quarterfinals; District 11 champion Williams Valley, 9-5, in the semifinals

District postseason: Neshannock eliminated Burgettstown, 15-0, in the first round; Apollo-Ridge, 14-2, in the quarterfinals; Bentworth, 4-1, in the semifinals; Chartiers-Houston, 7-1, in the WPIAL championship game. … South Williamsport ousted Wyalusing Valley, 10-0, in the semifinals; Troy, 11-1, in the District 4 championship game

Players to watch

Neshannock: Senior pitcher and Providence College commit Addy Frye is batting .548 (34 for 62) with seven home runs and 40 RBIs. In the circle, she is 22-0 with a 0.80 ERA. In 114 innings pitched, Frye has 15 walks and 203 strikeouts. Junior Jaidon Nogay leads the Lancers in batting with a .609 average with 35 RBIs. Leadoff hitter and Kent State commit Miley Anderson is hitting .526 with 37 RBIs and 43 runs scored and leads the team in hits with 40 and stolen bases with 14. Another Kent State commit is senior Gabby Quinn, who leads the team with nine home runs. Freshmen Gabriella Antuono and Brenna Frengel are batting .533 and .489 respectively.

South Williamsport

The Mounties are in the state championship game for a second straight year. Senior Lily Reidy broke a 5-5 tie in the state semifinals with a two-run homer to put South Williamsport up for good against Williams Valley. Senior first baseman Abby Lorson reached 100 hits for her career in the Mounties’ state quarterfinal victory over West Shamokin. She also hit a home run in the state semis.

Streaks: Neshannock has won a WPIAL record 51 consecutive games. Going back to the start of the 2022 season, the four seniors on the Lancers have a record of 99-1. … South Williamsport has won six games in a row since losing to Athens on May 17, 3-0.

Quotable: “This one is really special,” Neshannock senior pitcher Addy Frye said of reaching the state title game again. “Just being able to give back to the community for all they have invested into this program, plus all of this team’s hard work paying off.”

Factoids

• Neshannock is 22-4 all-time in the PIAA softball playoffs and will be playing in the program’s fifth state championship game. The Lancers defeated Warrior Run in eight innings in the 2012 2A finals, 4-3; they lost to Williams Valley in the 2013 Class A state finals, 13-0; they beat Conwell-Egan in the 2022 2A title game, 4-1; they rolled past South Williamsport in the 2A championship last spring in five innings, 12-2.

• South Williamsport has a 26-13 record in the PIAA playoffs all-time. This will also be the Mounties’ fifth appearance in the softball state finals. They lost to Sto-Rox in the 1989 2A finals, 2-0; they lost to Carmichaels in the 1998 2A title game, 5-2, they crushed Chartiers-Houston in the 2003 Class A championship game, 11-0; and they fell to Neshannock in the 2A state finals last year in five innings, 12-2.

• In the 2024 PIAA 2A title game, Addy Frye hit a two run homer and struck out seven in picking up the five-inning victory. Gabby Quinn was 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs. Neshannock led South Williamsport 4-2 after three innings when the Lancers blew the game open with eight runs in the top of the fourth inning.

• Seven times a WPIAL school finished with a perfect softball season, and Neshannock is trying to do it for a third time in four years.

Tags: Neshannock