Trib HSSN softball player of the week for June 16, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Monday, June 16, 2025 | 12:05 PM

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Trib HSSN softball player of the week – Kylie Anthony

School – Penn-Trafford

Class – Senior

Position – Shortstop

#Earned – While Anthony went hitless in the PIAA Class 5A championship game, she was rock solid on defense in helping Penn-Trafford win a second PIAA championship in the last six years. However, the senior shortstop carried a huge stick through the first three rounds of the PIAA playoffs in leading the Warriors to the state finals. In the first round, Anthony was 1 for 2 with an RBI in a 3-2 victory at Central Mountain. In the quarterfinals, she was lights out against District 3 champion Red Land, going 4 for 4 with a home run and three runs batted in as P-T won another one-run game, 6-5. Finally in the state semifinals, Anthony went 3 for 4 in helping Penn-Trafford defeat West Allegheny, 8-2, and earn a trip to the state finals.

Background – Anthony will continue her academic and softball career at Westminster where she also plans to play volleyball in the fall as she studies early childhood education. Anthony was a first-team WPIAL Class 4A all-star in volleyball as an outside hitter in helping the Warriors win the Section 3-4A title. She played baseball when she was younger, then switched to softball around fourth grade. She also played basketball until she was in middle school. Anthony has a twin brother Tyler, who plans to play basketball at Westmoreland County Community College. She also has a step brother Nick and two step sisters, Sydney and Warriors teammate Cam Ponko. For the season, Anthony batted .385 with three home runs, 18 runs batted in and 21 runs scored. Her offense stepped up big time in the state playoffs when she started using the “sighting” technique at the plate before the state playoffs. That is when a player looks like they are squaring around to bunt, but they are using the bat to sight the pitcher before pulling back and swinging. She batted .571 in the four PIAA playoff games, including going 4 for 4 with a home run in the quarterfinals against Red Land. Before each state playoff game, Anthony ate a bagel with cream cheese and used the same hair braids. She’s a big fan of sushi and Reese’s peanut butter cups.

What coach says – “Well, Kylie stood out immensely in the Red Land game, going 4 for 4 and capping off the day with the game-tying home run,” Penn-Trafford coach Denny Little said. “Then going into the semifinal game against West A, she continued her torrid streak with three more key hits. She carried our team through that stretch of time physically and emotionally.”

“The adjustment that my daughter (Emma) brought was just a slight change in their approach,” Little said about the sighting technique. “She taught it to them and stuck around that day and worked with each team member who wanted to learn it. Turns out, Kylie took to the new technique rather well. She has always had a beautiful swing it just took this little tweak to take her to another level of seeing the ball.”

“Kylie has always been a shutdown shortstop since we moved her there after her sophomore year,” Little said. “However through the playoffs, the left side of our infield was basically shut down. It allowed Allyson Paulone to pitch to all areas of the zone. When she came inside there was lots of contact to the left side and the strongest part of our defense because of Cam and Kylie.”

“The girls absolutely adore her,” Little said. “She is consistently a hidden gem on the left side of our infield. She is hidden because she is not a big talker, she speaks with her actions. And when they were amplified in the playoffs, the other players responded when she would get pumped up. It was like putting a new spark plug in when she made the adjustment; she just made things run a lot smoother.”

2025 Trib HSSN Softball Players of the Week

Week 10 – Lauren Howard, Hempfield

Week 9 – Marissa Snyder, Hampton

Week 8 – Mia Pruehs, Union

Week 7 – Bria Bosiljevac, Shaler

Week 6 – Gianna Ferrieri, Seton LaSalle

Week 5 – Emersyn Jones, Knoch

Week 4 – Sydney Sekely, South Park

Week 3 – Danica Trainer, Mt. Pleasant

Week 2 – Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels

Week 1 – Toryn Fulton, Franklin Regional

Tags: Penn-Trafford