PIAA CLASS 1A SOFTBALL: Helring's bat heats up in postseason for Holy Cross

Claire Helring has been swinging a hot bat during the postseason for the Holy Cross softball team.

In five playoff games, the junior is 9 for 17 (.529) with eight runs and three RBIs, raising her season average to .409 (27 for 66) with two doubles, six home runs, 23 runs and 19 RBIs. She has helped the Lady Crusaders reach the state final for the first time.

On Thursday at 4 p.m., District 2 champion Holy Cross (21-3) faces District 7 and defending state champion Union Area (22-2) for the PIAA Class 1A title at Penn State University's Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.

"It's so exciting," Helring said. "It's the first time in school history and we beat some really good teams to get here. So I think we've really earned our spot."

Coach Joe Ross said when Helring gets on a hot streak, she can hit with anybody.

"She'll go through some stretches where she doesn't have great at-bats," Ross said. "But she'll work her way out of a slump. She works hard, both in practice and on her own, and fine-tunes her swing. When she squares it up, she can hit the ball with some power."

Of course, Helring's biggest hit of the postseason wasn't a hit. In the quarterfinals against Claysburg Kimmel, she thought she hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, it was ruled that time had been called by one of the base umpires just before the pitch was thrown and Helring had to bat again with an 0-1 count.

But Ross said if there was a player who had the mental toughness to handle the situation, it was Helring. She responded with a single to ignite the winning rally.

"As talented as Claire is, what's most impressive to me his her attitude and her mentality," Ross said. "She's a quiet kid who just comes and works and is the same whether she is 0 for 4 or 4 for 4 with four home runs. She's one of the few people resilient enough to go through what she went through against Claysburg Kimmel. She hits the home run that was a no-doubt-about-it, 80 feet over the fence. Then she comes back, the pitcher made some good pitches on her, battles back to 3-2 and comes up with a single. She walked it off in a different way. It should have been the home run, but she wound up scoring the winning run."

Indeed, teammate Kiera Bauman singled to score Helring from second and give Holy Cross a 6-5 win.

Rather than pout or feel sorry for herself at having the home run taken away, Helring instead became extra motivated.

"It was crazy. I think I went through every emotion in a span of 30 seconds," she said. "It felt horrible at first, but to be able to come back with the single and do something productive for my team was enough for me. It felt just as good. I still got to win it for our team and give Kiera an opportunity to do something great."

Claysburg Kimmel defeated Holy Cross in last year's state quarterfinals, so Helring said avenging that loss "felt like the state championship in itself." But she and her teammates quickly realized there was still more work to be done. They did that in the semifinals, blanking Tri-Valley, 3-0.

"We went to practice and coach was like, ‘We need to zone it back in. We still have two more games to win to walk away with the championship,'" Helring said. "We definitely put a lot of focus on the game (Monday). We didn't veer off the path or go lazy into it. We were still working equally as hard as Claysburg Kimmel."

Besides her offense, Helring is also a standout defender in left field. She started as a corner infielder, but moved to the outfield last season and wound up earning second-team all-state honors from the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association.

"When I got to high school, I kind of knew third base wasn't really going to be an option for me. They had pretty good third-base prospects," Helring said. "I knew the outfield was open, so the summer before I got to high school, I trained in the outfield a little bit. I really just wanted to do anything to get into the lineup. If the outfield meant I was going to play, I was fine with it."

This season, Ross toyed with the idea of moving Helring back to the infield, but kept her in the outfield because of how dependable and reliable she is out there. Helring's glad he did.

"I really wanted to stay out there and I think coach wanted me out there, too," she said. "That was the perfect opportunity for Kiera to get in there (at third base). She's done great this season."

Facing Union Area in the final, Ross sees similarities between his team and the Scotties.

"They swing the bats well and similar to us have five or six girls with three or more home runs," Ross said. "They're very aggressive offensively, but with Ava Schmidt on the mound, I like our chances. Their pitcher is very good, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. I think going into the game our players are confident and we'll be ready."

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PIAA title-game appearances by Lackawanna League softball teams:

2025: Valley View def. Kennard-Dale, 6-0 (4A)

2023: Mid Valley def. Juniata, 1-0 (3A)

2021: Mount Pleasant def. Mid Valley, 5-3 (3A)

2013: Valley View def. Ft. LeBoeuf, 5-0 (3A)

2012: Big Spring def. Valley View, 2-1 (3A)

2009: Curwensville def. Old Forge, 1-0 (1A)

2006: Harbor Creek def. Lakeland, 2-1 (2A)

2006: Blue Ridge def. Iroquois, 1-0 (1A)

2004: Blue Ridge def. Sto-Rox, 2-0 (1A)

2002: Penns Valley def. Blue Ridge, 1-0, (1A)

2001: Bishop O'Hara def. Sto-Rox, 3-1 (1A)

2000: Valley View def. Philipsburg-Osceola, 1-0 (2A)

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 8:04 PM.