Seniors on Norwin softball team vow not to back down from Seneca Valley in WPIAL final

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, May 27, 2024 | 3:57 PM

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Norwin has only three seniors, but they weren’t ready to turn in their softball uniforms before they donned their caps and gowns.

The girls graduated Friday, but their allegiance to the Lady Knights program will carry on for at least another week or so.

And a diploma could be accompanied by … a championship?

The reality of the situation is beginning to set in for the girls.

Bailey Snowberger, Josey Michalski and Brookelyn Kotch helped fifth-seeded Norwin pull a monumental upset in the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals as the Lady Knights sent Hempfield, the state’s No. 1 team, packing with a 5-2 semifinal win last Wednesday at Gateway.

Just when everyone wrote it off, Norwin sprung up and delivered a knockout punch that propelled it to its first WPIAL championship game.

If you saw this coming, share your crystal ball with the rest of us.

Norwin did not fear defending champion Hempfield and pitcher Riley Miller, rather embracing a chance to shock 6A with a nothing-to-lose mentality.

“We lost to Hempfield the last two years,” said Michalski, who hit a two-run homer in the win. “We got together and said, ‘Let’s go out with a bang. If we lose, we lose. But let’s go out and play our best and see what happens.’ ”

Norwin (10-10) will get another huge challenge Wednesday when it faces No. 2 Seneca Valley (20-1) and star pitcher Lexie Hames in the championship at 4:30 p.m. at Cal (Pa.)’s Lilley Field.

Even Hames admitted she was surprised it will be Norwin, not Hempfield, in the finals.

“A little bit,” she said. “But, honestly, every team in 6A is hard. Every team is extremely competitive and is going to be a tough game.”

The Lady Knights, who finished 7-9 in section play, were swept by Pine-Richland and Hempfield but beat both of them in the playoffs.

Now, they have an opportunity for redemption against Seneca Valley.

“I think we can win,” said Kotch, who limited star-studded Hempfield to six hits and got the Spartans to pop up 13 times. “If we have the same mindset, we can.”

Kotch is a Penn State New Kensington commit but held her own against a number of Division I commits.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re D-III or D-I,” she said. “That doesn’t define who you are. Anyone can beat anyone.”

Snowberger, a D-I Holy Cross commit, concurred from a classification standpoint.

“It’s 6A,” she said. “With the schedule we play, you can’t take any nights off. It prepares us for this.”

Snowberger said she and her teammates made pinky promises to fulfill their roles in the semifinal.

They didn’t let her down, with a collective thumbs up.

• Freshman Diem Wardzinski caught all seven balls hit her way.

• Junior Rachel Minteer went 3 for 4.

• Kotch didn’t walk anybody and delivered an RBI double.

“Everyone is buying in,” Snowberger said. “Softball is a game of failure. It’s about the next pitch, the next hit.”

Coach Brian Mesich said the team readjusted to Miller’s pitching, paying more attention to detail while “shouldering up to the ball” and being more aggressive.

“It was more attacking than backing (off),” Mesich said. “We wanted to make them make plays rather than stand there and strike out. They have been our kryptonite.”

Michalski said she knew Norwin had potential to make some noise in the playoffs.

“If we all pick each other up,” she said.

“That is important. If I strike out, they pick me up.”

Mesich said Kotch’s hard work earned her the starting nod in the circle in the postseason.

He said the defense made “game-changing plays” against Pine-Richland in the quarterfinals, and the momentum carried over.

“It’s reps, attention to detail,” Mesich said. “Keep getting better, and it will come. We need to put the ball in play and get contact.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Norwin