Spartan effort not enough to keep PIAA softball title hopes alive
(Photo: Karilynn Null and Hempfield ended their season Monday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. Peter Diana/Post-Gazette.)
"Despite an enormous amount of adversity -- mostly in the form of injuries to key players -- the Hempfield Area High School softball team once again turned in a credible season.
The Spartans went 18-6, shared the Section 1-AAAA title with rival Norwin, advanced to the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game and once again qualified for the PIAA tournament.
Spartans coach Bob Kalp is amazed at the team's achievements despite dealing with a plethora of injuries.
Kalp listed the players who had to deal with injuries this season -- Kasey Kolick, Hope Pehrson, Taylor Bartlow and Alyssa Bates.
Kalp described Kolick as his best offensive player. She hit for a .560 average last year, but she missed the season with a torn labrum. Bates, the team's starting catcher, sustained a broken finger. Pehrson, a veteran pitcher, has been out with an injured arm, and Bartlow, a freshman, who was originally tagged to be Hempfield's No. 3 pitcher, missed part of the season with a shoulder injury."
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