Mar 19, 2015 4 min read

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of stories profiling the area’s high school baseball and softball teams.

By F. Dale Lolley

Staff writer

dlolley@observer-reporter.com

Trinity’s softball team will go out of the frying pan and into the fire this season.

The Hillers put together a strong season in 2014, going 16-3 and finishing second behind South Fayette in the Section 2-AAA standings.

But realignment moved Trinity and Ringgold into rugged Section 3-AAA this season, leaving the Lions behind in Section 2.

While Trinity and South Fayette each return the majority of their starters, new challenges await both.

Of Trinity’s three losses last season, two came against South Fayette, while the other was a 3-1 playoff loss to eventual WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals.

The Hillers will get two opportunities to avenge that defeat this season. Trinity is now in the same section as Thomas Jefferson, which finished third in Section 3 last season behind West Mifflin and Elizabeth Forward.

Finishing in the top three to earn a playoff spot among that group won’t be easy, though the Hillers lost just one starter, centerfielder and all-district player Jasmine Fuqua, to graduation.

West Mifflin, which finished third in the WPIAL after winning the section title at 17-3, lost just three seniors to graduation.

Elizabeth Forward, which lost to West Mifflin in the WPIAL consolation game, had the most turnover, losing six seniors, and Thomas Jefferson lost five.

“I know what they have coming back,” said second-year Trinity head coach Shawn Gray. “I believe we’ll be competitive against those teams. We expect to compete for the section championship.”

The Hillers have two NCAA Division I recruits in senior shortstop Olivia Gray and junior first baseman Delaney Elling. Gray, the daughter of the Hillers’ head coach, has signed with Pitt, and Elling will play at Penn State.

Gray batted .554 last year with eight doubles, five homers and 32 RBI. She also stole 32 bases. Elling batted .684 with 11 doubles, two homers, 32 RBI and 27 runs scored.

They will lead a power-packed lineup that scored double-digit runs in 12 of the Hillers’ 19 games last season.

“We’ve got everyone back but Fuqua,” said Shawn Gray. “She was a very good player for us, but we’ll be solid and we should have a top-notch defense.”

The Hillers will rely on junior pitchers Paige Galentine and Addison Barr to provide a one-two punch that Gray hopes will keep opposing teams off balance.

“Neither is a power pitcher,” Gray said. “They’re both finesse pitchers, but each throws a little different stuff that complements each other.

“We’re looking to leverage our offense. Our offense is going to carry us. We’re going to be very aggressive on the base paths. I don’t want to leave anyone on base.”

The Hillers will find out early where they stand in the section. They’ll open their season on Monday at West Mifflin, which has a turf field, Monday before leaving for Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Tuesday.

“It should be a good matchup,” Gray said.

While pitching might be the biggest question for the Hillers, that won’t be the case for South Fayette.

The Lions return perhaps the area’s best battery in senior pitcher Ashley Iagnemma and catcher Sara Jubas.

Iagnemma, a Point Park recruit, posted a 1.80 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 2014 while going 14-2. She also batted .400 with a team-high 30 RBI.

Jubas had a standout freshman season in 2014, batting .648 with 19 RBI, nine doubles, four triples and one home run.

The majority of head coach Vic Iagnemma’s roster last season was comprised of underclassmen as only Taylor Coyne was lost to graduation.

The Lions will try to repeat in a section that lost Trinity but now includes Chartiers Valley, which was in contention for a playoff spot in Section 4-AAAA last season.