UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No one said it was going to be easy, but easy hasn’t been the way Harbor Creek has gotten to the PIAA Class 3A softball game.
The Huskies (21-5) finished second in District 10 to Sharon then needed to rally from two down and two outs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Forest Hills, 8-7, in eight innings in the quarterfinals, before rallying from a 5-1 deficit to get revenge on Sharon in the semifinals.
“We have that we over me mentality,” Harbor Creek manager Tim Caputo, who took over the highly successful program six years ago, said. “We went to Myrle Beach early in the year and the mantra was find a way to win, refuse to lose. We played two games against great team in Myrtle Beach. Teams that went to the state championship game in their respective states. We also played Neshannock, who is playing in the state championship this week. When you play those teams, it gives you an idea of how focused you have to be. We don’t care whose night it is as long as it is somebody’s and they are wearing orange and black. That is all that matters.”
Life doesn’t get any easier for Harbor Creek in the title game against Juniata, the District 6 runner-up and PIAA runner-up from a year ago, in the title game at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13, at Nittany Lion Softball Park on the campus of Penn State University.
The Indians (25-2) have one of the best pitchers in the country – not the state the country – in lefty Elizabeth Gaisor.
Gaisor, a Fordham commit, was the PIAA Overall Pitcher of the Year and a first-team Class 3A pitcher last year when she led Juniata to a second-place finish.
This season, she became the fourth known player in Pennsylvania history to record 1,000 career strikeouts and now has 1,280 after a 20-strikeout performance in a 5-0 win over Conwell-Egan in the semifinals Monday. She will finish her career with the third-most known Ks in PA history.
Gaisor, who gave up two hits in the semifinal victory, has thrown 162 ⅔ innings this year with 405 strikeouts and has a chance to surpass her 423 punchouts from a year ago. She is 24-2 with a 0.42 ERA while allowing just 50 hits.
“Their pitching is excellent,” Caputo said. “She is a stud pitcher who goes after batters.”
Gaisor will be tested by a Harbor Creek offense that is hitting .407 on the season while averaging nearly 11 runs per game.
“Our girls are very talented,” Caputo said. “But we work incredibly hard. We take practice very seriously. We got station to station in our hitting. I believe our station wok and the drills we do with our coaches prepare us. Kids have to accept the coaching, and they do. The strength of our team is they accept coaching.”
The offense has different talents up and down the lineup.
At the top of the lineup, Maggie Konieczki and and Brooklynn Cipalla set the tone.
Konieczki is hitting .455 on the year with 35 runs scored and 20 RBIs and had the game-winning inside-the-park home run vs. Forest Hills, while Brooklynn Cipalla, only a freshman, is hitting an astonishing .644 (47 of 73) with 47 runs scored. She has stolen 34 bases without being caught, in fact, Harbor Creek has 84 stolen bases without a caught stealing.
“Brooklynn is super talented,” Caputo said. “She also works incredibly hard and wants to do well. She is a competitor. She wants to win. She takes quality at-bats, she studies film of the other team, studies scouting reports. She knows the game.”
In the middle of the lineup, the Huskies feature Annabella Cipalla, Addison Lucas, Talon King, and Georgia Weber.
Annabella Cipalla is hitting .394 with two home runs, two triples, and eight doubles while driving in 35 runs. Her three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth broke a 5-all tie in the semifinals against Sharon.
Lucas bats .493 with three home runs, nine doubles, and 41 RBIs with King adding a .308 average with 26 drive in, and Weber is hitting .403 with 25 RBIs.
At the bottom of the lineup, the Huskies feature the likes of Brooke Przybylski (.403), Rylee Vogt (.343), and Hannah Smith (.302) meaning there are no easy outs.
While Harbor Creek has no trouble scoring runs, the pitching took a little longer to come together with a pair of sophomores sharing the circle earlier in the season in Lucas and King.
Lucas has taken over as the primary hurler and is 14-2 on the season with a 2.14 ERA. In 104 ⅔ innings of work, she has struck out 144 and walked 52 while opponents are hitting just .212 against her.
“Addison has that mentality, that little bit of swag without being cocky,” Caputo said. “She is going to get in the circle and hit her spots and the defense is behind her and will make plays. She has done an excellent job.”
Lucas will be facing a Juniata offense that has scored just 12 runs in its last four games, including a 2-1 loss to Forest Hills in the District 6 title game.
The Indians are led by Alexea Frontz, who is hititng .562 with four home runs, four triples, and nine doubles with 42 RBIs.
Gaisor is nearly as good with the bat as she is with her left arm hitting .452 with 12 doubles and 17 RBIs, while Savannah Marshall checks in at .370 with three home runs, seven doubles, and 22 RBIs.
Juniata has two other regulars hitting over .300 including catcher Regan Lowery (.33) and Sophia Smith (.316).
“Their batters can hit the ball,” Caputo said. “Anybody playing this time of the year is good.”
Juniata, which lost in last year’s title game to Mid Valley, 1-0, got to the championship game by going through District 3 champion Kutztown (2-0) and District 4 runner-up Loyalsock (4-2), who beat Mid Valley in the opening round, before knocking off Conwell-Egan, the District 12 champion.
Harbor Creek started its run with a 7-1 victory over WPIAL champion Mohwak before taking out the District 6 champ and then the District 10 champ.
This is the Huskies’ sixth appearance in the PIAA title game with the lone title coming in 2006, 2-1, over Lakeland. Harbor Creek lost championship games in 1981 (4-0 to North Penn), 1985 (4-3 to North Penn), 1991 (6-2 to Council Rock), and 1993 (3-2 to Pennsbury).
“We are going to go down on Wednesday,” Caputo said. “We are going to go over to the field, get the awe out of the way. We told them, you don’t have school anymore. There is no home work to worry about. We are going to treat it like any other game but with a little more focus. This is a very excellent, well-focused team.”
