UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When reminded about his unorthodox resume as Penn-Trafford’s softball coach — one that now includes two state titles before bringing the school its first WPIAL title — Denny Little put things into perspective in a way only he can.
“I’ll take it,” Little said. “It’s like eating dessert first.”
Little and his players were able to have their cake and eat it, too, Friday night, punctuating a spirited postseason run with a 2-0 win against District 3 third-place finisher Greencastle-Antrim (22-4) in the PIAA Class 5A championship at Penn State’s Beard Field. The Warriors (24-3) broke open a scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the seventh inning, then Allyson Paulone polished off her complete-game shutout in the bottom half to secure Penn-Trafford’s first state title since 2019.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Paulone said. “I’ve waited for this moment my whole life. To do it with these girls and this team, it means the world to me.”
Although Paulone struck out only one batter in seven innings of work, she once again did a another masterful job of locating her pitches and keeping Greencastle-Antrim’s batters off balance with her off-speed arsenal. The sophomore allowed only three hits with zero walks while trusting her top-notch defense to get the job done behind her.
Averaging 8.5 runs per game on the season, the Warriors had scored three runs or more in 24 out of 26 games coming into Friday’s contest. And while Penn-Trafford struggled to muster much offense against Greencastle-Antrim pitcher Kiersten Swain, Paulone made sure the two runs of support she received in the seventh inning would be more than enough.
“I try to say to myself, ‘It’s just like every other inning,'” Paulone said about her mindset going into the bottom of the seventh. “You have to treat them all the same. Just staying calm and focused can really help us do well.”
Six years ago, the Warriors fell in the 2019 WPIAL semifinals before surging in the PIAA tournament for their first state title. After missing out on the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn-Trafford then received the No. 1 seed for the 2021 WPIAL tournament before a season-ending loss in the quarterfinal round. The following year, Penn-Trafford reached the WPIAL championship but fell in a heart-wrenching loss to Armstrong on a walk-off home run.
Fast forward to 2025, and the Warriors were dealt another soul-crushing defeat in an 11-inning loss to Shaler in the WPIAL title game. The next day at practice, though, Little made sure to remind them that the sport’s ultimate prize was still there for the taking.
All year long, Little has alluded to the many similarities between this year’s group and that 2019 bunch — and now, both squads have the PIAA championship trophy to prove it.
“I think that Shaler loss [in the WPIAL championship] really hurt them,” Little said. “Adversity always makes you stronger if you respond right.”
With the game scoreless after six innings and the bottom half of the order due up for the Warriors, few would have expected Penn-Trafford to break the game open in the top of the seventh — but that’s why they play the game.
Giuliana Youngo started things off with a double to right field, then Liz Welsh followed two batters later with a two-out double to the gap in left-center to bring home Youngo for the first run of the game. Ella Mains then joined the party with an RBI double to trade places with Welsh and give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
“This was my last ever softball game, so I just knew I had to put it all out there,” Youngo said. “I’m moving in here [at Penn State] in two weeks to go to school here, so it was just a dream. It felt surreal.”
Paulone didn’t shut the door without overcoming a bit of adversity first, though.
After giving up a one-out single to Kaidyn Zimmerman, Greencastle-Antrim brought the tying run to the plate in the form of power-hitting sophomore Erika Hoover. But Paulone got Hoover to pop out to third base, then induced a championship-clinching groundout as shortstop Kylie Anthony fired the ball across the diamond into Welsh’s glove for the final out.
“It feels the same [as 2019],” Little said about winning his second PIAA title. “[These seniors] kept the tradition going. … We’re at the pinnacle again.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
