Hempfield softball looking to 'slam the door' in PIAA playoffs

Hempfield softball players and coaches agree: They needed to be tested.

"Definitely, we needed to," outfielder Claire Mitchell said. "It was kind of a wake-up call. A close game like that gets us ready for what the (PIAA) playoffs will be like."

Hempfield pranced through the regular season, often winning in dominating fashion. Fourteen mercy-ruled wins tell that tale. So does its winning margin of 8.2 runs per game.

But the screws tend to tighten in the state bracket, as the Spartans found out in their most recent game.

After blowout wins in their first two playoff games - 13-0 over Canon-McMillan in five innings and 11-1 over Seneca Valley in six innings in the WPIAL Class 6A championship - Hempfield (22-1) felt some heat from McDowell in their PIAA opener.

Despite leading by six runs Monday, the Spartans had to hold back the District 10 power for an 8-6 victory in Erie.

"We never felt comfortable," Mitchell said. "We have to stay on the gas pedal. More runs is always better."

Hempfield will face District 3 runner-up Chambersburg (19-4) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the state quarterfinals at Windber Athletic Complex.

It will be a rematch from the same round and site last year when Hempfield won 4-3, holding off a late rally by the Trojans, who scored three in the sixth inning.

"We have learned you can't take anyone for granted," Hempfield coach Tina Madison said. "Everyone is legit when you get this far. It's so weird how we all get in this WPIAL bubble and lose sight of other districts. Those other teams don't care who Hempfield is."

If Hempfield gets another large lead - large can be relative; remember last year's PIAA semifinal when Hempfield took a 4-0 lead into the seventh and had Nazareth down to its final out before losing 6-4? - it hopes to add on or shut down Chambersburg.

"In the seventh inning, we have to shut teams down and slam the door," Madison said. "Good teams with good coaching will adjust. We have to be ready for that."

Against McDowell, senior Julie Varhola pitched into the fifth inning before freshman Jayelyn Luft relieved her into the seventh.

Hempfield led 8-2 after a three-run seventh, but McDowell rallied for four in the seventh, including a two-run homer by Alex Smith off Luft to make it 8-6.

Varhola, who struck out nine and allowed just two hits, reentered the circle and sealed the win.

A pitcher can't get a win and a save in the same game, but Varhola would have qualified.

Speaking of pitching, the Spartans are preparing to see a slower ace in Chambersburg's Issie Slimmer, who has a knack for inducing pop-ups.

"We need to keep it on the ground," Madison said. "If we have to bunt, we will."

Mitchell hit Kori Leedy's first pitch to deep right for a triple. She scored on Allie Cervola's single for the first run.

Leedy and Cervola graduated last year, but Mitchell is back and hoping to get things started again as the leadoff hitter.

"We see so much fast pitching that when we see slow, I think, that's my chance," Mitchell said. "That's how I look at it."

Last year, Chambersburg coach Chris Skultety acknowledged Hempfield's talent but didn't undersell his team.

"We're not chopped liver," he said. "We can compete with the big dogs."

The Trojans could be Hempfield's toughest opponent of the season so far, the team mentioned at Tuesday's hitting practice.

Hempfield is trusting its potential to score runs while aiming for a complete performance from its pitching and defense.

"Start fast and finish strong," Madison said. "We can't get complacent."

Mitchell said the team still thinks about the Nazareth loss, perhaps more than the Chambersburg win, but it all evens out when it comes to the Spartans' goal of winning their fifth PIAA title, which would set the record for WPIAL teams.

They are tied with Neshannock with four.

"We all want this so bad," Mitchell said. "We know these could be our last at-bats, and we don't want that."

Hempfield is 11-3 all time in the PIAA quarterfinals.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:07 AM.