Over the past few years, Montour has steadily climbed the ranks of the top softball teams in Class 4A, inching closer and closer to a spot in the championship game.
It’s less than a month into the season, but the way things are going so far, these Spartans might finally be ready for their big breakthrough.
Yes, it’s still early, but not many teams in the WPIAL in any classification have looked as formidable so far as Montour (6-0, 4-0), with the Spartans coming off a pair of ultra-impressive road wins at West Allegheny (13-3 on Tuesday) and section-rival Hampton (14-6 on Wednesday). West Allegheny started the season with a record of 9-0 before Montour’s mercy-rule victory against one of the leading title contenders in Class 5A.
“Honestly, those were two enormous games,” Spartans coach Ken Kutchman said. “If you don’t play those types of teams during the year, you’re going to wilt as soon as the playoffs start.”
Kutchman said his team has a nice mix of youth and veteran leadership, and there’s no question who the main stars are on this year’s bunch. Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Molitoris and center fielder Mia Arndt both earned all-section honors a year ago, and senior left fielder Avrie Polo is off to the best start of her career to help carry the load.
So far this year, Molitoris is 6-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched while batting .300. An intimidating power pitcher with a low-60s fastball, Molitoris allowed only five runs combined over her first four starts, including back-to-back wins against Carson (N.C.) and two-time defending WPIAL Class 4A champion Beaver to start the season. Montour won its only game in North Carolina, 3-2, on March 17, then came home to beat the Bobcats on March 28, 7-2.
After coming so close to ending Beaver’s lengthy winning streak not once, not twice, but three times last season — just to come up short in all three — that win to open section play felt extra sweet for Kutchman and his players.
“That felt good,” Kutchman said. “Again, that’s another team that had our number for a couple years there with Payton [List] there. Taking nothing away, they still have a pretty good team there. That’s a quality team.”
Polo leads the team with a .591 batting average, 1.318 slugging percentage, 2 triples and 4 home runs, and she also ranks second with 10 RBIs and 13 hits. She was nearly single-handedly responsible for the blowout win at Hampton with a monster day at the plate on Wednesday, finishing 4 for 5 with a triple, a home run and five RBIs.
As for Arndt, the all-state selection in 2022 is picking up right where she left off in 2023. Through the first six games of the season, Arndt is batting .583 with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 7 RBIs, and she leads the team with 14 hits. Both Arndt and Polo are tied for the team lead with 10 runs scored.
“The three seniors that we have are three of the hardest-working kids and most focused kids who have come through in a long time,” Kutchman said. “They keep everyone in the right frame of mind. Pick them up when they need it and kick them in the butt when they need it, too. Very mature kids and very accomplished softball players as well as great student-athletes.”
That brings us to Montour’s next challenge, which comes in the form of a battle for first place in Class 4A Section 3 at 4 p.m. Friday against Chartiers Valley. The Colts carry an 8-1 overall record and a 5-0 mark in section play into Friday’s contest, and the winner will be in the driver’s seat in the race for the section title the rest of the way.
Win or lose on Friday, though, you can expect to see these Spartans competing deep into May and maybe even June — and they might even be getting fitted for championship rings when it’s all said and done.
“We’ll see how everything plays out,” Kutchman said. “I know Char Valley has a strong team. Really deep lineup. Obviously, we want to take it one game at a time, but I knew that this game was coming.
“Our goal every year is playoffs, but it seems to keep getting a little bit higher each year.”
Chartiers Valley showing off star power
Speaking of Montour’s upcoming opponent, Chartiers Valley might be hitting the ball as well as any team in the WPIAL so far this year.
The Colts (8-1, 5-0) feature seven players in the lineup who have driven in 10-plus runs through the team’s first nine games, led by freshman Lily Duffill with 18 RBIs. Duffill is batting .429 with a home run and three doubles while emerging as one of the top freshmen in the area in her varsity debut.
Duffill isn’t the only underclassman having a big impact for Chartiers Valley, as sophomore Taylor Walsh is batting .600 with 2 doubles, a triple, a home run and 17 RBIs. Senior Madison Crump is a returning all-section pick from a year ago, and she’s on her way to an even better season so far this year while hitting .526 with 4 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and a team-high 20 runs scored. Junior Marta Gualazzi is putting up some equally eye-popping numbers, batting .600 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 13 RBIs and 18 runs.
Seniors Zoe Mangan, Rylee Prosperi and Mackenzie Maga are also established veterans with plenty of big-game experience for the Colts, and all three are also enjoying strong starts to the season this spring. Mangan is batting .393 with 5 doubles, 2 triples and 11 RBIs, while Prosperi is hitting .452 with 3 doubles, 13 RBIs and 13 runs scored and Maga sports a .370 batting average with 4 doubles, a triple and 12 RBIs.
Youth movement making major difference for Mighty Mikes
When discussing the hottest teams in the WPIAL to start the year, you can’t have the conversation without bringing up Carmichaels.
After outscoring their first nine foes by a combined score of 89-8, the Mighty Mikes (9-0, 5-0) have asserted themselves at the top of Class 1A Section 2 going into a marquee matchup Friday at West Greene. The Pioneers have long ruled over the section and Class 1A as a whole, but they were dethroned by Union in last year’s WPIAL championship game, and now Carmichaels appears ready to stake its claim to the throne.
Leading the way for the Mighty Mikes is freshman phenom Carys McConnell, who boasts a .548 batting average to go with 2 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs, 20 RBIs and 18 runs scored through nine games. Sophomore Ali Jacobs is also enjoying a spectacular season so far, batting .419 with 4 doubles, 3 triples, a pair of home runs, 8 RBIs and 14 runs scored.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
