May 26, 2015 4 min read

CALIFORNIA – The meeting at home plate prior to the start of Tuesday’s WPIAL Class AAA softball consolation game at California University’s Lilley Field was a little different than most.

Trinity head coach Shawn Gray not only shook the hand of Southmoreland head coach Todd Bunner, he also gave Scotties’ first baseman and daughter of the coach, Briana Bunner, a big hug. Todd Bunner did the same with Trinity shortstop and Shawn Gray’s daughter, Olivia Gray.

This was more than a normal elimination game. Somebody was going to continue to chase their dreams while dashing those of a close friend.

In this case, it was the Gray family and the Hillers who went home happy, as Trinity pounded out 11 hits en route to a 10-1 victory over Southmoreland.

The Hillers (17-5) advance to the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2009. Trinity will play District 10 champion Warren Monday at Penn State Behrend in Erie in the opening round at a yet-to-be-determined time.

And Gray will get some bragging rights with Bunner, a long-time friend with whom he played high school baseball at Hempfield and coaches softball in the summer.

Forget about the possibility of each game being perhaps the final time he would have the opportunity to coach his daughter before she moves on to play next year at Pitt, for Gray, sending his friend home was more difficult.

“I didn’t want to come to this situation, where we would knock each other out,” Gray said. “But someone’s got to win and someone’s got to lose. That’s what it made it tough today to coach.”

And though the score made it look easy, it wasn’t quite so, especially early.

While the Hillers’ top hitters went down 1-2-3 in the first inning, Southmoreland (13-5) loaded the bases on a bunt single, walk and error. But Trinity junior pitcher Paige Galentine induced a ground ball to third base that got the Hillers out of the jam, one of the few times in the game the Scotties would seriously threaten.

“That was huge,” Shawn Gray said. “Starting out, going three up, three down, when you turn around, you want the same thing defensively. When we made that happen, I thought it would take some of the pressure off. Then, obviously, we scored and we played with a cushion,”

The Hillers scored one run on a pair of errors and an RBI groundout by senior left fielder Riley Riotto in the top of the second, then made it 5-0 in the third on five hits, including a two-run double by Riotto, who had three RBI.

They’d add another run in the third to make it 6-0, thanks to a one-out triple by leadoff hitter Maddie Hornak and an RBI single by Gray, who had three hits, three RBI and scored two runs.

Junior Delaney Elling then all but finished things off for the Hillers, smacking a two-run homer over the fence in centerfield to make it 10-0 and finish another four-run inning. Elling had three RBI and scored twice.

The smiles and handshakes continued between Shawn Gray and Todd Bunner throughout the onslaught, as the latter made several changes with his young lineup – the Scotties had just one senior starter compared to six for the Hillers – to try to stay in the game.

Galentine, who recorded six strikeouts and scattered six hits, continued to limit the damage until a two-out, RBI double to straightaway center by Brianna Bunner against a heavily shifted outfield made it 10-1 in the bottom of the fifth and extended the game another two innings.

“It’s a tough loss. But it’s bittersweet,” Todd Bunner said. “I’m unhappy that we didn’t come out and play a good game, because I think that we could have played better. But I’m happy for them. I truly want them to go and represent. There’s no ill feelings toward him at all. I hope they win the states. That’s the true, honest answer.”

Shawn Gray would be only too happy to oblige his friend.

“The girls are pumped. I’ve got three juniors and six seniors,” Shawn Gray said. “I call (the seniors) the grandmas. I know they’re pumped. They wanted to get to states and see what its like. They wanted the momentum and they got it. My grandmas are rolling right now. The three juniors all want it bad, too.”