For all the athletic success Blackhawk has enjoyed across several different sports over the years, it’s a bit hard to believe the Cougars had never played for a WPIAL softball championship before — until now.
Taking on defending WPIAL champion and No. 1 seed Elizabeth Forward (15-4) in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal on Tuesday at North Allegheny, No. 5 Blackhawk pulled off a 3-0 upset win to go where no team in school history has gone before. The Cougars (14-5) used an array of magnificent defensive plays to preserve their lead in the game’s final innings, as junior Kylie Prisuta pitched her second consecutive complete-game shutout to earn the win.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” said Blackhawk coach Jim Riggio. “The last two games, not giving up a run — it’s definitely great to see.”
Fresh off a 6-0 quarterfinal victory against No. 4 West Mifflin, Prisuta only struck out two batters on Tuesday, but she managed to keep the Warriors’ explosive lineup in check while trusting her talented defense to do the work behind her. Outfielders Lila Grimm and Addy Ramer both delivered dazzling catches to save extra bases on screaming line drives, and Grimm also reached over the fence to make another highlight-reel grab in foul territory.
“It was nice to have 225 feet to center and 225 to left. Because they hit about three or four that went 224 feet,” Riggio said. “It was just one of those days where the ball blew our way. We made plays. There have been plenty of times in my 15 years of coaching where the ball didn’t go our way.”
On top of her stellar pitching performance, Prisuta broke open a scoreless tie with an RBI double to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Kiera Rodu added an RBI single to extend the lead in the fifth, then all-section senior Zoey Lindner drove home her sister, Sadie, with an RBI single in the top of the sixth to give Blackhawk a 3-0 cushion.
That still didn’t leave Prisuta with much margin for error, but the Cougars provided her with one more web gem to polish off their flawless defensive performance, turning a picturesque 5-4-3 double play to end the game and finalize the shutout.
“It’s nice to have a pitcher that puts a bunch of zeroes on the board, but you have to have the defense behind her and the timely hits,” Riggio said. “Both of the last two games, I would say out of the nine runs scored — all six against West Mifflin came with two outs, and I believe two or three today were scored with two outs. Between the timely hitting and great defense and pitching, it’s a pretty good recipe for success.”
Last year, Blackhawk came one win short of its first WPIAL championship appearance, falling to section-rival Hampton in the semifinal round. Now, the Cougars will collide with the Talbots once again in next week’s championship game, with both teams seeking their first WPIAL title.
“As we progressed through the playoffs, we started realigning our goals,” Riggio said. “This group is resilient. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year. We just grind.”
Long known as one of the WPIAL’s premier athletic hotbeds with an especially rich tradition in basketball and baseball, Riggio is doing everything he can to elevate the Cougars into a softball powerhouse, but he knows it can’t happen overnight. Fortunately for Riggio, he was mentored by one of the greatest coaches the WPIAL has ever seen — legendary former Blackhawk baseball coach Bob Amalia, who died of cancer in 2020 at age 64.
“You probably have to go seven or eight teams down the line before you talk about softball [at Blackhawk],” Riggio said. “If people are talking about Blackhawk softball right now, it’s a good thing.”
Amalia won more than 300 games in two decades as the Cougars’ coach, making nine WPIAL championship appearances and bringing home three WPIAL titles while leaving an everlasting impact on every player he came across. Riggio played Colt League and American Legion baseball under Amalia when the latter’s coaching journey was just beginning, and there’s no doubt “Bobby Baseball” would be beaming with pride if he were around to see his former pupil making school history.
And if Blackhawk happens to receive a little divine intervention in next week’s championship game, well, it won’t be hard to pinpoint where it came from.
“Bob and I went way back,” Riggio said. “Hopefully [our luck] can continue. It would be nice to win a WPIAL championship.”
Other Class 4A semifinal
• Sophomore pitcher Marissa Snyder sent No. 2 Hampton (16-4) to the WPIAL championship game for the second year in a row, doubling twice and driving in three runs while twirling a complete-game shutout for the Talbots in a 4-0 win against No. 6 Beaver (15-6) at North Allegheny.
Class 5A semifinals
• Back in top form after a midseason injury, ace pitcher Bria Bosiljevac tossed her third consecutive playoff shutout to lead No. 2 Shaler past No. 3 West Allegheny (15-5) with a 4-0 win at Montour. Addison Aleski, Haley Machajewski and Emily Spears each drove in a run for the Titans (17-4), who advanced to the WPIAL final for the second time in the past three years, while Bosiljevac struck out 15 and allowed just two hits in the complete-game victory. An Indiana recruit, Bosiljevac also propelled Shaler to the WPIAL and PIAA championship games as a freshman in 2023 before having her sophomore season cut short by a hand injury last spring.
• Fueled by a virtuoso performance by star senior Cam Ponko and a career-best outing from sophomore pitcher Allyson Paulone, top-seeded Penn-Trafford punched its ticket to the WPIAL championship game for the second time in four years with a 7-0 triumph against No. 4 North Hills (17-5) at Fox Chapel. After taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Paulone had to settle for a one-hit shutout and a complete-game victory for the Warriors (20-2). An IUP recruit, Ponko went 2 for 3 with an RBI, a run scored, a stolen base and several textbook defensive plays at third base, starting a seventh-inning double play before recording the game-clinching putout.
Class 6A semifinals
• In a rematch of last year’s WPIAL title game, defending champion Seneca Valley secured its fourth consecutive championship appearance with a 6-1 win against No. 6 Norwin (10-12) at Fox Chapel. Two-time PUP Player of the Year Lexie Hames struck out 16 in a complete-game victory for the No. 2 Raiders (16-3), who raced out to a five-run lead in the bottom of the first inning to provide Hames with more than enough offensive support. A Clemson recruit, Hames now has 259 strikeouts on the season and 931 for her career.
• For the second time in three years, No. 1 Hempfield (20-1) will square off with Seneca Valley for the WPIAL Class 6A title, as the Spartans cruised to an 8-2 win against No. 4 Canon-McMillan (13-9) at Montour. Lauren Howard went 4 for 4 with a double, a triple and three RBIs, while Allie Cervola and Claire Mitchell both homered and Riley Miller picked up the complete-game victory while allowing zero earned runs.
Scoreboard
Class 6A semifinals
Hempfield 8, Canon-McMillan 2
Seneca Valley 6, Norwin 1
Class 5A semifinals
Penn-Trafford 7, North Hills 0
Shaler 4, West Allegheny 0
Class 4A semifinals
Blackhawk 3, Elizabeth Forward 0
Hampton 4, Beaver 0
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
