Hempfield softball has a storied history with 10 WPIAL championships and four PIAA titles. The Spartans will try for their fifth state title Friday at Penn State.
Here is a recap of the Spartans’ previous PIAA championship wins:
1999: Hempfield 2, Williamsport 1 — The first state title in program history was powered by Hempfield’s 1-2 pitching duo. Danielle Resovich earned the win in relief of Tina Skelly, who won quarterfinal and semifinal games to get the Spartans into the state final.
Hempfield, the fourth-place team from the WPIAL, rallied from a 1-0 deficit to top District 4 champion Williamsport at Shippensburg University.
Resovich retired the final eight batters, working 4 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, as Skelly moved to the outfield and helped the Spartans with her bat. She led off the fourth with a double, went to third on Jesse Gump’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a grounder by Bev Bauer.
In the sixth, Hempfield rallied to take the lead for good. Bauer led off with a single, and courtesy runner Elena Resovich moved to second on a sacrifice by Danielle Resovich.
Ashley Hainesworth, who was 0 for 9 hitting for the season, ripped a single to left to move Resovich to third.
No. 9 hitter Syreeta Sanders then singled to center to knock in Resovich and give Hempfield a 2-1 lead.
The state title was the first for a WPIAL Class 3A team since North Hills won in 1980.
2016: Hempfield 1, Avon Grove 0 (8 inn.) — The second state title came 17 years after the first, but more quickly followed. Alexa Pastor’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded scored Jordan Sterling in the bottom of the eighth as Hempfield won the Class 4A title over District 1 runner-up Avon Grove at Penn State.
Jordan Bernard drew a lead-off walk to open the eighth, and Ali Belgiovane dropped down a bunt and beat the throw for a single. Taylor Hoffman added an infield single to load the bases, setting up Pastor, who drove the first pitch she saw into center. It was caught, and Sterling, who reentered on the base paths, tagged and scored for the winner.
Ace pitcher Morgan Ryan, a Notre Dame commit, won the first of two state titles, retiring the final 16 hitters to earn her 23rd victory of the season and 51st of her career.
Ryan outdueled Maggie Balint, an Oregon commit and three-time Gatorade Player of the Year who struck out nine and finished with 1,322 in her career.
2017: Hempfield 5, Hazleton 3 — This state title was perfect. The Spartans went back-to-back to cap a 27-0 season, stretching their winning streak to 41 games.
It was the first Class 6A state softball championship game.
Morgan Ryan won her 22nd game of the season and set a team record with 74 career victories, and she struck out eight and walked two at Penn State’s Beard Field. The Notre Dame commit and Gatorade Player of the Year also went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Ali Belgiovane went 4 for 4 and scored twice as Hempfield banged out 13 hits against District 2 champion Hazleton.
Maddie Stoner added an RBI for the Spartans.
2018: Hempfield 4, Parkland 3 (8 inn.) — The comeback kids did it one last time to produce a PIAA three-peat. The Spartans rallied from a three-run deficit with four unanswered runs to top Pine Grove, 4-3, in the Class 6A championship against District 11 champion Parkland at Penn State.
Future Ohio University catcher Emma Hoffner knocked in Hempfield’s first run with a sixth-inning single after the Spartans fell behind 3-0. Ashley Orischak tied it 3-3 with a two-run double.
Hoffner then came up with the biggest hit of the day, a walk-off double in the eighth. Hoffner finished 3 for 4, and Margaret Monzo added two hits for the Spartans.
Pitcher Maddie Uschock — and her impressive changeup — limited Parkland to one hit after the first inning.
Hempfield won 4 of its 7 playoff games by one run.
PIAA softball championships factoids:
• This is the 51st year for the PIAA championships. The PIAA began sponsoring softball in 1975 and held its first championship at Ferreira Field, Topton. Parkland won the inaugural title 3-2 over Coatesville.
• The championships have been at five sites: Ferreira Field (1975), Shippensburg University (1976-88, 1990-92, 1995-2010), Little League Park, Altoona (1989), Elm Park, Williamsport (1993-94) and Beard Field, Nittany Lion Softball Park, Penn State University (2011-present).
• The championships started with one classification but went to 2A and 3A in 1979 and added A in 1999.
Class 4A came on in 2005 before the PIAA went to six classes in 2017.
• Champions by classification: Class 6A — North Penn (2021, ‘23, ‘24), Hempfield (2017, ‘18), Central Dauphin (2019, ‘25), Spring-Ford (2022); Class 5A — Lampeter Strasburg (2018, ‘21), Penn-Trafford (2019, ‘25), Donegal (2017), Pittston Area (2022), Northern York (2023), Thomas Jefferson (2024), Shaler (2026); Class 4A — Pennsbury (2005, 2007), Hatboro-Harsham (2008, ‘11), Parkland (2009, ‘15), Blue Mountain (2023, ‘24), Shaler (2006), Mt. Lebanon (2010), Central Bucks South (2012), Canon-McMillan (2013), Souderton (2014), Hempfield (2016), Mt. Pleasant (2017), Punxsutawney (2018), West Perry (2019), Beaver (2021), Clearfield (2022), Valley View (2025); Class 3A — Pennsbury (1984, 1993, ‘01), Williamsport (1987, ‘89, ‘92), North Penn (1981, ‘85), Council Rock (1983, ‘91), Chambersburg (1994, ‘97), Parkland (1995, ‘98), Susquehannock (2007, ‘08), Pine Grove (2019, ‘25), Neshaminy Maple Point (1979), North Hills (1980), Shippensburg (1982), Northwestern Lehigh (1985), State College (1986), Ephrata (1988), William Allen (1990), Northampton (1996), Hempfield (1999), Emmaus (2000), North Allegheny (2002), Neshaminy (2003), Shaler (2004), Ambridge (2005), Donegal (2006), Greencastle-Antrim (2009), Bellefonte (2010), Valley (2011), Big Spring (2012), Valley View (2013), Springfield Delco (2014), Bethlehem Catholic (2015), Yough (2016), South Park (2017), Holy Redeemer (2018), Mt. Pleasant (2021), Avonworth (2022), Mid Valley (2023), Harbor Creek (2024); Class 2A — Minersville (1979, ‘80, ‘86, ‘87, 1993, 2017); Neshannock (2012, ‘22, ‘24, ‘25); Iroquois (1982, ‘83, ‘91), Kutztown (1984, ‘97, 2002), Northern Lehigh (1988, ‘96), Leechburg (1992, ‘95), Central Columbia (1994, ‘14), Nanticoke (2003, ‘10), Bald Eagle Area (2005, ‘09), Phillipsburg-Osceola (2007, ‘11), Holy Redeemer (2015, ‘16), Tulpehocken (1981), Sto-Rox (1989), Bristol (1990), Carmichaels (1998), Canevin Catholic (1999), Valley View (2000), Fleetwood (2001), Mifflinburg (2004), Harbor Creek (2006), Loyalsock (2008), Brandywine Heights (2013), Upper Dauphin (2018), Frazier (2019), Lion Mountain (2021), Everett (2023); Class A — Minersville (1999, 2005, ‘11, ‘14), Williams Valley (2013, ‘16, ‘19), Curwensville (2007, ‘09), Blue Ridge (2004, ‘06), West Greene (2017, ‘18), Canton (2000), Bishop O’Hara (2001), Penns Valley (2002), South Williamsport (2003), Vincentian Academy (2008), Chartiers-Houston (2010), Fannett Medal (2012), Elk County Catholic (2015), Tri Valley (2021, ‘23), Montgomery (2022), Dubois Central Catholic (2024), Union (2025); Single class: Parkland (1975), North Penn (1976), Twin Valley (1977), State College (1978).
• PIAA titles, WPIAL schools: Hempfield 4, Neshannock 4, Shaler 3, Leechburg 2, Mt. Pleasant 2, Penn-Trafford 2, West Greene 2, Ambridge, Avonworth, Beaver, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers-Houston, Frazier, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, North Hills, South Park, Thomas Jefferson, Valley, Yough.