Pittston Area softball players celebrate with the state championship trophy — the first won by the school in any team sport — after defeating Armstrong in Thursday’s PIAA Class 5A finals at Penn State.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Outfielder Sage Weidlich was the first off the bus with the state trophy at Pittston Area Primary Center in Hughestown, as a crowd awaited to celebrate the Patriots’ title on Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
The victorious Pittston Area Patriots pose with their medals and PIAA Class 5A trophy in front of the scoreboard at Penn State after beating Armstrong for the crown on Thursday.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Patriots pitcher Gianna Adams receives her state gold medal from coach Frank Parente after she threw a two-hit shutout to win Thursday’s state title game.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
STATE COLLEGE — On what coach Frank Parente described as a “perfect day,” his Pittston Area softball team not only captured the school’s first state title in any sport, but also did so by completing a perfect season.
Gianna Adams struck out 10 in a two-hit shutout, Bella Giardina provided the game’s biggest hit and Ava Callahan and Tori Para teamed to quiet the Armstrong running game Thursday as the Lady Patriots posted a 4-0 shutout in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5A final at Penn State’s Beard Field.
Despite the presence of returning state finalist and defending division champion Tunkhannock on the schedule and 2021 state semifinalist West Scranton among the formidable opponents looming in the district bracket, Parente said he entered the 2022 season thinking perfection was possible.
“I thought we had the ability to go undefeated,” Parente said. “I really did.”
His players proved him right.
Adams led the last of the 25 victories by overpowering Armstrong hitters at times and baffling them at others.
“Her changeup is fantastic,” said Callahan, who had the best view from her catcher position. “It was just great today. She was so dialed in.”
Pittston Area outhit Armstrong, 11-2, but led just 2-0 with two out in the fourth inning when a big opportunity appeared to be slipping away.
Two straight hits, by Skylar Borthwick and Maura Mihalka, plus a fielder’s choice that easily could have been scored a hit for Kallie Booth, loaded the bases with none out in the fourth.
Cameryn Sprankle got a strikeout, then with the infield in, Armstrong second baseman Nichole Benevuti made the defensive play of the game, backhanding a rocket from Para and throwing to the plate for the force.
Giardina came through again by lining a two-run single to left field.
“Bases loaded, nobody out, that’s a crippler if you don’t score there,” Parente said. “She gets that two out-hit, absolute huge.
“Big momentum switch. That girl made a beautiful play on Tori.”
Giardina had one of the team’s biggest hits on the way to Penn State with the game-winning homer for a 1-0 District 2 championship game victory over West Scranton.
“It was kind of the same thing as West Scranton,” Giardina said. “You’re not looking to be the big hitter. You don’t want the moment to be about you.
“Our girls worked so hard this whole year. We worked for this moment, so I wasn’t nervous. I just knew there was a job to be done and I wanted to produce.”
With Adams on a roll and Armstrong abandoning the running game after losing runners on base-stealing attempts in the first inning, the four-run lead loomed large.
“I think as the game went on, our motivation and the drive really kicked in the adrenaline, if you will,” said Adams, a sophomore right-hander who also boosted the offense by going 2-for-3 and driving in the second run on a sacrifice fly. “All of us, the cheering got louder in the dugout and we got happier.
“We actually could relax. We had smiles on our face. It was amazing.”
Pittston Area protected the four-run lead with Adams striking out four straight, including the side in the fifth inning, at one point, then three out of four at the end.
With the Pittston Area crowd already on its feet, she ended the game with a strikeout.
Sage Weidlich, Mihalka and Giardina joined Adams with two hits each.
Weidlich scored the game’s first two runs. Mihalka added two hits and scored a run from the ninth spot in the order.
Pittston Area scored an unearned run in the top of the first.
Two of the first three Armstrong runners to get on base attempted to steal. The first, leadoff hitter Emma Smerick became her team’s first out when she could not remain on second base with her slide and Para alertly kept the tag on her.
Callahan’s throw cut off the second attempt to end the second inning.
“We knew they were an aggressive team,” Callahan said. “Tori made a great play on that first steal.
“I felt like they were going to try to steal every time.”
Callahan and Para took away the running game and Adams often took the bats out of the River Hawks hands.
The shutout allowed Pittston Area to quickly finish up its state title before storms could arrive at Beard Field and disrupt the process. The PIAA tried to start the game as much as 90 minutes early, changing the start time Wednesday, but as the last game of the tripleheader was only able to start 25 minutes ahead of the original starting time.
