Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Hempfield’s Morgan Walt

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, April 7, 2025 | 10:08 AM

When Hempfield’s softball team lost to Norwin in the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals last season, it came as a shock to many players.

While the immediate disappointment was hard to shake, the Spartans quickly turned the loss into motivation for this season.

“Yeah, I mean, we did not expect to lose to Norwin at all. I mean, we prepared for that game so much,” senior Morgan Walt said. “We kind of just took that, and it really fuels our energy for this whole season, truly.”

Hempfield lost some key seniors from last year’s lineup, particularly on offense. But that hasn’t slowed them down.

Through six games, the Spartans have averaged 10.8 runs per contest.

“Yeah, this year I knew we had lost a lot of offense last year,” Walt said. “We knew it was going to be hard, but I think we’ve really been focusing more on the offense this year, and if you look at our scores, we’re doing really well with that.”

With six Division I commits on the roster, the Spartans won their first two conference games and seem to be the Section 1-6A favorites alongside Seneca Valley.

“We have bonded as a team so well and with all being committed athletes, we know how much this all means to us playing all together for the last time,” Walt said of her teammates. “I can’t even explain to you how cool and awesome it is to be able to do that.”

Walt, a Waynesburg commit, has stepped into a starting role for the first time this season, and she wasted no time making an impact, launching a home run in the season opener against Penn-Trafford.

“This is my first year ever really starting for Hempfield, and it was truly amazing for me,” Walt said. “So I really wanted to show (coach Tina Madison) and the rest of the team that I could do that, and I think I’m doing pretty well with that so far.”

Off the field, Walt plans to major in nursing at Waynesburg, a Division III program that has won two of the past three Presidents’ Athletic Conference titles.

This week, Walt took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with softball?

When I was 4 or 5, I knew I wanted to play because my whole family played either softball or baseball. I started at Youngwood Rec, and my mom would not let me do T-ball. She said I was right into the coach pitch. So I went right into coach pitch at 4 years old, and I’ve been playing ever since.

What are some of the goals for the team and yourself this year?

As a team, we, obviously, want to win the WPIAL. We want to win states as well. We want to do it all. Getting to the WPIAL championships is like a no-brainer. We want to do that, and then states are another thing. We want it all, truly. Then for myself, I just want to continue to keep hitting the ball and making the plays, and I think I’ll continue to do that.

How would you describe your personal role on the team?

Yeah, I mean, I’m a senior. The juniors look up to the seniors, and most of the seniors start, and I think that we really have a huge role to take, all the motivation from last year really carrying it on to this year.

What was the recruiting process like with Waynesburg?

I want to go for nursing. I always knew I wanted to go for nursing, so I knew that, obviously, ruled out Division I. And then I started looking at D-II schools, and I just realized how hard it was going to be to, like, balance my major and my softball career, so I started looking at D-IIIs and Waynesburg. At first, I really didn’t want to go to Waynesburg. I didn’t want to go D-III, but I really opened up my eyes and I went down. Coach (Chris) Brunson took me on a tour down there, and I fell in love with it, the nursing program and the softball team.

What is one thing that people might not know about you?

People don’t know that I was on the golf team this year. It was my first year, and I was on the golf team, and I was in the starting five. My dad took me golfing, and I fell in love with it. I, naturally, just had a good swing from softball, and a lot of people say it affects your softball swing, but, personally, it made mine better, it seemed. I think with the hand-eye coordination, it really helped develop my swing more actually.

Tags: Hempfield