Trib HSSN softball team of the week for June 6, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Friday, June 6, 2025 | 11:25 PM

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Trib HSSN softball team of the week – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers

Coach: Tricia Alderson (22nd year)

Record: Chartiers-Houston captured the Section 3-2A crown with a record of 10-0, finishing three games ahead of both Seton LaSalle and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. The Buccaneers have a current overall record of 22-2 and have won 12 of their last 13 games.

#Earned: The lone blemish in a fabulous regular season for Chartiers-Houston was a loss to Class 3A runner-up South Park in mid-April. After that, the Buccaneers won their final seven games of the regular season and racked up playoff wins over Brentwood, Seton LaSalle and Riverside before falling to district power Neshannock in the 2A title game, 7-1. The Bucs returned to work in the PIAA playoffs Monday with a victory over District 9 winner Cranberry. The host Berries scored single runs in the first and fifth innings to take a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning. The Bucs rallied for five runs and stayed alive with a dramatic 5-2 road win. On Thursday, it was another tight one against District 10 champion Seneca. The only run of the game was scored in the bottom of the fifth inning as Char-Houston prevailed, 1-0. The victory earns the Bucs a WPIAL championship game rematch against Neshannock in a state semifinal Monday at North Allegheny.

Standout performers: Buccaneers pitcher Meadow Ferri has been one of the top district pitchers again this season and was shining bright in the state playoffs this past week. On Monday, the senior allowed two earned runs on three hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts. The dramatic seventh-inning comeback for the Bucs was spearheaded by another elite senior as Ella Richey smacked a grand slam as Chartiers-Houston stunned host Cranberry, 5-2. Ferri was even better Thursday in a complete-game shutout of Seneca. She allowed only two hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts, plus she drove in the game’s lone run with a fifth-inning single. A couple of youngsters also contributed as sophomores Taryne Drilak and Zaylee Fonner both went 2 for 3 against the Bobcats.

Last year: In the history of WPIAL softball, Baldwin and Sto-Rox have won the most district championships with 10 each. Right behind them are Chartiers-Houston and Hempfield with the Spartans’ ninth crown coming this spring. Title No. 9 for Chartiers-Houston came a year ago. The Buccaneers finished the regular season as co-champions in Section 2-A with Carmichaels, three games ahead of third-place West Greene. Following a first-round bye, the Bucs blanked Jeannette in the quarterfinals, 16-0, and then edged Carmichaels in the semifinals, 3-2. In the 2024 WPIAL Class A championship game, Chartiers-Houston dethroned two-time champion Union, 9-5, behind two hits and two RBIs from Ella Richey and Zaylee Fonner. In the PIAA playoffs, the Buccaneers nipped Berlin-Brothersvalley, 2-1, and West Branch, 4-0, before falling to rival Carmichaels in the state semis, 5-4, to finish with an overall record of 20-3.

Remember when: Chartiers-Houston has captured seven of its nine WPIAL championships since 1999. The Bucs also won district gold in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012 and last spring. The Buccaneers’ first two WPIAL titles came in 1987 and 1988 with Tricia Fabian in the circle. The future Tricia Alderson, head coach of the Bucs since 2004, put together a record-breaking career as a player with a record of 70-7 and an ERA of 0.43. In 476 innings, she walked 182 and struck out 519. She threw one perfect game, 13 no-hitters, 10 one-hitters and 12 two-hitters with 30 shutouts. She also had a .382 career batting average in helping Chartiers-Houston beat New Brighton in the 1987 finals in nine innings, 4-3, and a repeat the following spring with a win over Sto-Rox in the 1988 2A title game, 4-2.

2025 Trib HSSN Softball Teams of the Week

Week 8 – Mohawk Warriors

Week 7 – Penn-Trafford Warriors

Week 6 – Blackhawk Cougars

Week 5 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors

Week 4 – West Allegheny Indians

Week 3 – Jeannette Jayhawks

Week 2 – Pine-Richland Rams

Week 1 – West Mifflin Titans

Tags: Chartiers-Houston