Westmoreland County softball notebook: New date set for Hempfield-Seneca Valley showdown

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Hempfield and Seneca Valley, let’s try this again.

The Class 6A softball rivals’ first section matchup at Hempfield has been postponed twice because of inclement weather, but the game has been rescheduled again for 4 p.m. May 6 at Robert D. Kalp Field.

Hempfield (13-0, 9-0) is ranked No. 1, whereas Seneca Valley (10-2, 8-2) is third.

The teams’ first matchup will be 4 p.m. April 28 at Seneca Valley, so it will be interesting to see how meaningful the game at Hempfield will be in terms of section-title implications and bearing on playoff seeding.

Two of the state’s powerhouse programs split their two-game series last year with Seneca Valley winning 2-0 and Hempfield answering with a 15-2 runaway. Both teams won at home.

Hempfield beat the Raiders, 2-1, to win the 2023 WPIAL title.

Seneca Valley is the defending WPIAL champion having edged Norwin, 4-3, for the title last spring.

The Raiders also were champions in 2022.

Hempfield and Seneca Valley have been itching to meet again.

“A lot of their girls are seniors; it’s a friendly kind of rivalry,” Seneca Valley star pitcher Lexie Hames said. “The pitchers, me and Riley (Miller), push others to bring their ‘A’ game.”

Nothing to lose

At the start of the week, there were only four undefeated softball teams left in the WPIAL, one in every class except 5A and 4A.

The unblemished teams were Hempfield (13-0) in 6A, South Park (13-0) in 3A, Neshannock (12-0) in 2A, and Carmichaels (8-0) in Class A.

Road Warriors

Penn-Trafford improved to 12-1 with a two-game sweep of McKeesport. The Warriors are now 9-0 on the road. Their lone loss came at home against Hempfield.

During their 12-game winning streak, they have outscored teams 143-25.

Howard raking

It’s nearly May, and Hempfield junior infielder Lauren Howard was hitting over .700 through a dozen games.

Howard, a Virginia commit, was 29 for 41 for a cool .707 average.

She was leading the Spartans with 29 RBIs, was tied for the lead in home runs (four) and was second in runs scored (26).

Howard set a program record for career runs scored with 85, breaking Laura Fox’s mark of 84 set in 2019.

Beam them up Scotties

Southmoreland is known for its home run-hitting power, and this year’s team is no exception.

The Scotties hit five more homers in Tuesday’s 14-2 win over Ligonier Valley. That gave the team 22 homers in 10 games.

Pitchers’ duel

Jeannette ace Grace Stein outdueled Serra Catholic’s Kelly Morrissey for a 2-1 victory Tuesday. The pitchers combined for 28 strikeouts with Stein fanning 15 while allowing four hits.

Top teams

A check of the TribLive HSSN rankings has Hempfield at No. 1 in 6A, Penn-Trafford at No. 1 and Franklin Regional No. 2 in 5A, Mt. Pleasant No. 4 in 3A and Jeannette No. 3 in Class A.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland