The “comeback kids” from Union nearly pulled off one more memorable rally, but the Scotties fell just short of winning their first state title Friday at University Park, Pa.
After coming from behind to win five of its six postseason games in 2023, Union fell behind by two runs in the bottom of the first inning against District 11 champion Tri-Valley (24-2) in the PIAA Class 1A championship at Penn State’s Beard Field. The Scotties (20-4) came back to tie the score in the fourth, but they could not complete a second comeback attempt in the seventh after bringing the tying run to the plate in a 6-3 loss.
Tri-Valley pitcher Emma Maurer kept Union’s high-scoring lineup under control for the most part, striking out 11 while walking four and allowing three runs on eight hits in a complete-game win. It’s the second state title in the past three years for Tri-Valley, which beat West Greene, 2-1, in the 2021 final.
“They’re solid. A solid team, well coached. Their pitcher was good, their catcher was good,” Scotties coach Doug Fisher said. “Immediately after, it burns a little bit, so everybody is emotional and a little upset and everything. That’s what you expect. But after it wore off, you start to realize, ‘Hey, we’re the only team from Lawrence County with a medal on our chest.'”
One player Maurer was unable to keep in check was Union freshman Olivia Williams, who went 4 for 4 and drove in two runs to put an exclamation mark on a breakout debut season.
“[She was] lights out, man,” Fisher said. “She’s like a little machine. She goes out there and knows what she has to do and does it. No emotion, no nothing.”
Junior Tori May went 1 for 2 with a walk and scored twice for the Scotties thanks to some impressive hustle and heads-up baserunning, and junior Bella Cameron finished 2 for 3.
“[May] is a gamer, man,” Fisher said. “She’s another one you want up, because she knows what she has to do and does it and goes the extra mile to get it.”
Sophomore pitcher Mia Preuhs might not have had her best stuff on Friday, but she still did her part to keep Union in the game, both in the circle and at the plate. Preuhs struck out nine and walked nine, allowing five earned runs on five hits in six innings of work — but things could have gotten much worse for the Scotties if not for her consistent ability to limit damage. Tri-Valley left 10 runners on base over the first five innings, as Preuhs stranded runners on second and third base in the second, fourth and fifth innings.
Oh, and she also belted her 10th home run of the season in the third to help spark Union’s offense.
The mistake-free game played by Tri-Valley’s defense proved crucial to its success, as opposed to the trio of miscues made by the Scotties that helped seal their fate. One of those errors allowed Tri-Valley to jump to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Preuhs got an inning-ending strikeout to leave the bases loaded.
Williams got Union on the board with an RBI single in the top of the second, then Tri-Valley got a run back in the bottom half to make it a 3-1 lead. That’s when Preuhs swatted her solo home run in the top of the third to cut it to 3-2 before another RBI single by Williams brought May home to tie the score.
The game remained knotted at 3-3 until the bottom of the sixth, when Grace Header delivered a go-ahead double followed by a two-run shot by Brittany Rice to give Tri-Valley a comfortable three-run cushion. Williams singled for the fourth time to lead off the top of the seventh and sophomore Addie Nogay walked to bring the tying run to the plate, but Maurer struck out freshman Olivia Benedict to end the game and clinch the title for Tri-Valley.
With eight of nine starters returning next year, though, it might not be long before the Scotties are back on the big stage again.
“When I saw who we had up and who was up there first, I was like, ‘Man, we’ve got a shot here.’ Because that’s the best three I would want up there at that point,” Fisher said. “That was the first time in school history the softball team has ever [made it this far]. So we’ll just keep breaking records. If it’s not gold, we’ll take silver, and it’ll be gold next year. You can bank on that.”
Although Friday initially was scheduled to be the final day of the PIAA championships, the PIAA Class 5A softball championship between Shaler and District 3 champion Northern York was moved to 4 p.m. Saturday due to reports of inclement weather. The PIAA Class 6A baseball championship between Mt. Lebanon and District 12 champion Father Judge also was postponed to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
