When someone told hard-throwing pitcher Julia Varhola she was like the quarterback of the Hempfield softball team, she paused momentarily — and passed to a wide-open teammate.
“No, the quarterback is my catcher,” Varhola said, referring to senior Ella Berkebile. “She is a leader back there. We have good chemistry.”
Top-seeded and defending champion Hempfield (20-1) will join two other Westmoreland County teams in the WPIAL finals this week. All three come with the same label: batteries included.
And they have good ones.
Mt. Pleasant softball and undefeated Greensburg Central Catholic baseball also will rely on their pitcher-catcher pairs to lead them to championships.
Mt. Pleasant (15-4) features junior ace Danica Trainer and freshman catcher Emma Miller, a unique class combination that has made it work. GCC (17-0) has seniors Tyler Samide and Anthony Grippo, an experienced duo that is just as valuable offensively.
Hempfield will face Seneca Valley (15-5) in the Class 6A title game for the third time in five years at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lilley Field at Cal (Pa.)
The Spartans will put their trust in Varhola and Berkebile to set the tone. The Division I pair are 15-1 together this season, Varhola’s first as a full-time starter.
“If you’re going to be good, you have to have good pitching and a good catcher,” Hempfield coach Tina Madison said. “It starts in the circle.”
Varhola, a James Madison commit, has a 2.05 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings.
Berkebile is headed to Bucknell. She has one error in 200 chances and has one double play from behind the dish. The clean-up hitter is batting .369 with four homers and 24 RBIs.
Varhola has only batted 17 times this season, but she went 3 for 3 with a triple and three RBIs in a 13-0 win over Canon-McMillan in the semifinals.
“Julia was my throwing partner when we were freshmen,” Berkebile said. “Riley (Miller) and Julia are different pitchers, so it took some time (to adjust). Julia has more spin on her pitches.”
Hempfield has six seniors, and Varhola and Berkebile are proud to be part of a group looking to add repeat WPIAL titles to their legacy.
“I’ve been playing with Claire (Mitchell), Ella and Lou (Lauren Howard) for so long,” Varhola said. “It would be great to end the season together with a title.”
Mt. Pleasant, fresh off back-to-back section titles, is in the finals for the first time since 2021 when it won WPIAL and PIAA 3A titles.
The third-seeded Vikings will play No. 1 South Park (18-1) for the 3A title at 2:15 p.m. Thursday at Cal (Pa.).
Trainer and Miller connected early in the season and do not resemble first-year battery mates.
“The chemistry between us is unbelievable,” Trainer said. “Her being a freshman makes it feel like the younger sister I’ve never had before. We are such close friends and we pick each other up. We work really well together.”
Trainer is 13-4 with a 2.94 ERA, 98 strikeouts and 20 walks in 18 appearances.
“We’ve been working together all season with her framing and she really pulled through for me at our first playoff game this year against Burrell,” Trainer said. “I wasn’t quite getting the calls I wanted, but her framing really helped me get the calls.”
Miller is batting .400 with 15 RBIs, so her value goes beyond catching. Trainer has four homers and 17 RBIs.
Class A No. 2 seed GCC, back in the finals for the first time since 2017, has two strong arms in Samide (6-0, 0.00 ERA) and senior Alec Martin (5-0, 1.90 ERA), but both say they are better pitchers because they throw to Grippo.
Samide is the likely starter for the WPIAL final against Eden Christian (15-4) at 1 p.m. Tuesday at EQT Park in Washington,
“I trust him,” Samide said of Grippo, a Penn State commit. “In the (quarterfinals), we had some disagreements with pitch calls, but we talked it over. We have that back and forth to get it right.”
Said Martin of his catcher: “I haven’t shaken him off all year. He calls a great game. He makes it an easy day on the mound.”
Samide (Chatham) and Martin (Fairmont State) also are college-bound players.
“We all go to (Bridgeville) every day to hit at The Baseball Lab, when we don’t have games,” Grippo said. “Tyler, I am with that kid all the time.”
GCC has five players batting .478 or better, including Samide (.545, 5 HR, 36 RBIs) and Grippo (.580, 25 RBIs, 29 runs).
Grippo is the centerpiece of the offense and defense. Few on the team will disagree.
“Anthony is the best defensive catcher I’ve seen,” GCC coach John Boyle said. “I don’t call the pitches. He calls the whole game. He is not loud, but he can control the game and our guys listen to him.”