All season long, North Hills softball coach Libby Gasior raved about the depth of talented, capable teams in Class 5A of the WPIAL.
At the end of the season, her team showed just how deep it went.
The Indians, who entered the WPIAL postseason as a No. 11 seed and, from the outside, a bit of a playoff afterthought, became anything but over the following two weeks, pulling off three upsets to reach the 5A title game.
“We had a ton of fun,” said Gasior. “As the 11 seed, the question that was coming up was, ‘Did we agree with that?’ The record showed that, so I didn’t disagree with being 11-seeded. But we didn’t think that defined us. We thought being an 11 seed in 5A meant you’re pretty good.”
North Hills started its postseason with a 5-1 win over sixth-seeded Montour. In the quarterfinals, it pulled a stunner over No. 3 Penn-Trafford in an 8-1 blowout.
In the semifinals May 21, the Indians, suddenly full of momentum, shocked No. 2 Thomas Jefferson, 5-3, to reach the Class 5A championship game.
“We just wanted to prove that we could beat good teams,” said Gasior, who led the Indians to a 13-9 record this year. “We played to the level of the competition, and we had some kids really come up clutch in big moments with big hits and big plays. We just had a ton of fun making a run.”
One of those players who came up with big plays, on both sides, was senior pitcher Abby Sutton.
“Abby had a decent season coming in to that point,” said Gasior. “I know she wasn’t happy with some of her control issues and things like that. But she got hot and she really worked on trusting her snap and using her legs.
“They just played really solid behind her. There was a lot of confidence, kind of like a nothing-to-lose type of attitude. I was really happy for Abby because I think she pitched really well in those three games. She was really happy with what we were able to accomplish there.”
North Hills’ WPIAL title hopes came to an end in the championship game, as powerhouse Shaler ran away with the title in a 10-2 victory. But North Hills’ season didn’t end, as it scored a 3-0 victory over DuBois in the PIAA first round.
“It was really nice for the kids because, when that senior group were freshmen, we lost in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs and then we lost when they were sophomores in the quarterfinals,” said Gasior, whose team fell in a rematch against Thomson Jefferson in the PIAA quarterfinals.
“Last year, we went to Red Land (for the PIAA opener). That was not a lot of fun. So, going to DuBois was really nice for this group to get a state first-round win, something they had never gotten to do before. And they played really well.”
The Indians will lose six seniors, five of whom will play collegiately, including Sutton, who will attend Pitt Johnstown.
“That group, in particular, they’ve been through a lot,” said Gasior. “They’ve seen some really good senior groups ahead of them. They got to see the heartbreak of a season ending, and they knew they wanted to write as much as they could of their own story.
“It’s really rewarding to see, as a coach, when they realize, ‘Hey, it’s going to end sometime soon, but let’s just keep pushing it as far as we can,’ which is what they did.”
Despite the key losses, the cupboard won’t be bare for Gasior and company come 2027. And that has her excited about the potential of making another run next spring.
“We have some really great talent coming back,” said Gasior, who teaches at North Hills Middle School and is able to connect with her future players before they reach high school. “We have a couple of juniors and a couple of sophomores that are definitely going to help this freshman class.
“We’ve just got a great group of kids, talented, and just really a nice group to be around.”