On paper, this simply wasn’t supposed to happen.
After a promising 16-4 season came to a disappointing end for Shaler in last year’s WPIAL quarterfinals, the Titans lost seven of nine starters to graduation — including all-state stalwarts Cam Murphy and Cate Gordan, the lifeblood of the program for the previous four years. So naturally, Shaler coach Tom Sorce expected to undergo some growing pains while managing a roster full of wide-eyed underclassmen eager to earn their first shot at varsity playing time.
Not even in Sorce’s wildest dreams did he imagine being undefeated at the end of the regular season, but that’s exactly where his team stands heading into the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, which the No. 2 seed Titans (16-0) will begin at 3 p.m. Monday with a first-round matchup against No. 15 Bethel Park (6-10) at Fox Chapel High School.
“We weren’t expecting it,” Sorce said. “We thought we would have a good team, because we have a couple of good pitchers. But when you only have two starters returning, you never know how it’s going to work out.”
So, how does a team with only two returning starters manage to get even better than the year before, all while competing in one of the toughest sections in the WPIAL and coming out unscathed? There are several reasons to point to, but it sure helps when those two returning starters are big-time talents like Eloise Facher and Bethany Rodman.
A two-time all-section pick with an electric bat out of the leadoff spot, Facher is a Kent State recruit who is enjoying her best season yet in her decorated high school career. Despite missing three games with an injury late in the regular season, the senior right fielder is back just in time for the playoffs after batting .619 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 13 games.
“We will not be satisfied with just one or two wins [this time],” Facher said. “We’ve been working so hard for so many months, and we are extremely motivated to make this season last as long as we possibly can, because we don’t want to stop playing.”
Another all-section selection, Rodman is a Muskingum recruit who excels both in the circle and at the plate. Enjoying a monster year as Shaler’s go-to run producer, Rodman hit .604 during the regular season with nine home runs and 35 RBIs. On top of that, she finished 14-0 with a 2.60 ERA as the Titans’ No. 1 starting pitcher.
Still, two players alone would never be enough to produce a season like this. And despite his uncertainty heading into the season, Sorce has been pleasantly surprised by the surplus of first-year players stepping into key roles in the place of all the missing pieces from 2022.
“Everybody is a piece to the puzzle,” Sorce said. “They’re all on the same page.”
Emerging as one of the top two-way freshmen in the WPIAL is Bria Bosiljevac, a first baseman by trade who steps in for Rodman as the team’s lights-out closer in late-inning situations. Bosiljevac hit .424 with a pair of home runs during the regular season while posting a minuscule ERA of 0.17 and 0.39 WHIP, fanning 88 batters in only 41 innings pitched.
Elsewhere, freshman catcher Alyssa Schaffold has taken over seamlessly at one of the game’s most important positions — despite not having played catcher in several years. A natural infielder, Schaffold had no issue taking on an unfamiliar role in her first year at the high school level, and she has managed to do so while batting .420 with 18 RBIs and 29 runs scored.
“I knew she was a good player. I just didn’t know how she would transition into being a catcher,” Sorce said. “She really has been amazing. A very quiet kid. Doesn’t say much.”
Like everyone else on the team, Schaffold has embodied the culture Sorce has worked so diligently to instill in six years at the helm — that no one player is bigger than the team, and everybody must be willing to sacrifice in order for the team to reach its full potential.
So far, so good.
“Here’s the whole deal with me — I asked a lot of kids to sacrifice this year for the team,” Sorce said. “Saying it and buying into it are two different things. Every one of them had some role to play. … They believe in that now. They believe in the course that we’re taking, and I’m excited to see what happens.”
Now, with the team’s first goal of a section title already secured and the regular season in the rearview mirror, Shaler is focusing its full attention on making a deep playoff run after going one-and-done in 2021 and losing in the WPIAL quarterfinals in 2022. The Titans are well aware of just how difficult it will be to advance in this loaded Class 5A field, but they are also playing with a supreme confidence and a belief in one another that can take them a long way.
And although an undefeated season was never the goal for Sorce or any of his players, they know they can’t afford any losses now — so they might as well keep this streak going all the way to the finish line.
“We kind of believe we have a team that can move farther along in this than we did last year,” Sorce said. “We’re excited for the opportunity. I’m excited for the kids. … One point I want to make is, it’s a team effort. We’ve preached it, they’ve bought into it, and no longer are we a two-person team anymore. We’re a complete team.
“When you get to the playoffs, you never know what can happen. … It will be fun trying to get [to the finals], that’s all. We’re going to do our best.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
