Hempfield has produced an impressive list of softball pitchers, a fact that doesn’t elude current Spartans ace Riley Miller.
The names include Jaci Kalp, Morgan Ryan, Lauren (Shaheen) Armanious and, of course, current coach Tina (Skelly) Madison.
Kalp, whose 997 career strikeouts are a WPIAL record, is the daughter of legendary former Hempfield coach Bob Kalp, who led the Spartans to seven WPIAL championships and four PIAA titles during a 25-year run.
The 80-year-old Kalp was on hand Wednesday to witness another Hempfield pitching gem, Riley’s one-hit, 1-0 shutout of top-ranked Seneca Valley and Clemson-bound right-hander Lexie Hames, who two days earlier eclipsed 900 career strikeouts in a victory against Butler.
“I know he was over there in the stands,” Miller said.
Indeed, Kalp showed his delight after the WPIAL Class 6A showdown in a brief encounter with Madison, his successor on the Hempfield bench and whom he coached from 1998-2001, when she was Tina Skelly.
“Thanks for coming up. We’ve been wondering where you’ve been,” said Madison, whose career record at Hempfield is 52-6 with an 0.27 ERA. She later spent two seasons pitching at Penn State and served for a year as Kalp’s assistant at Hempfield before taking over as coach.
“I’m a fair-weather friend,” Kalp joked, acknowledging frequent absences from Hempfield home games.
But he was around this time at the field named in his honor to come away impressed with the second-ranked Spartans (20-1, 16-1), who avenged a 2-1 loss at Seneca Valley on April 28 behind Hames’ 17 strikeouts.
Junior Clair Mitchell doubled off Hames to lead off the bottom of the first inning and eventually scored the game’s only run on a throwing error by Seneca Valley sophomore catcher Julia Valasek, who was subbing for injured regular starter Lauren Folino (bruised hand).
“It felt really good. I felt like I need it,” Mitchell said of her double, which broke a long hitless streak against Hames dating to 2023.
It was Hempfield’s only hit, as Hames finished with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
“I didn’t think the one run would stand up,” said Miller, a Kent State commit, who struck out five and walked four — three times intentional to the hard-hitting Hames.
The only Seneca Valley hit against Miller was senior Bella Gross’ one-out single in the second. The Raiders (15-4, 13-4) stranded six baserunners.
“I sure was hoping that run would hold up,” Madison said. “Riley pitched a heck of a game.”
Since the arrival of Hames four years ago at Seneca Valley, these two teams have captured the interest of WPIAL softball fans. The Spartans and Raiders have routinely split their two regular-season games before frequent matchups in the WPIAL playoffs.
But with a limited number of nine Class 6A teams, the WPIAL has been sending just one representative to the PIAA playoffs, something Seneca Valley coach Marlesse Hames would like to see changed.
“If we meet in the WPIAL championship again, it would be for the third time (in four years),” she said. “That’s the bad thing about 6A. It’s ridiculous. It’s not good. They need to do something to change it. It’s not fair that we have to win (the WPIAL championship) when nobody else in the state has to (win a district title).”
For now, at least, it won’t change.
The WPIAL playoffs are scheduled to commence Monday with a field of six Class 6A teams qualifying.