It won’t be easy for Trinity’s Hanna Suhoski to outdo the sensational sophomore campaign she put together while helping the Hillers capture their first WPIAL title in program history, but she’s certainly going to try.
A sweet-swinging shortstop with light tower power, Suhoski stood out on a star-studded ballclub in 2023, when she led the team with a .421 batting average along with eight home runs and 28 RBIs while raising her game to a new level in the postseason. In the playoffs, Suhoski batted .467 with a trio of home runs, including two long balls in a thrilling 5-4 extra-innings victory against Shaler in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals.
But with only one other returning starter back from last year’s team in pitcher-first baseman Finley Hohn, Suhoski had to look around her and do a bit of a double take when Trinity gathered for its first practice of the season.
“It’s different,” Suhoski said. “But I feel like we still have a good team and we’re still going to do good things.”
One thing is clear — no matter how far the Hillers are going to go this spring, Suhoski is going to be the one to lead them there.
“The girl crushes the ball,” said Trinity coach Shawn Gray. “She has a ton of power for her size. She’s just a good hard worker and one of those consistent hitters who we rely on. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, and she obviously wants to repeat what she did last year.
“She’s doing the same job she did last year. She’s doing whatever we ask her to do.”
After clubbing four home runs while starting at shortstop as a freshman, Suhoski really broke onto the scene last year while playing alongside several senior standouts like Taylor Dunn, Ryleigh Hoy and Amber Morgan. The left-handed slugger possesses rare power at the plate and is equally impressive in the field, where she has displayed an ultra-reliable glove and rapidly expanding range in the middle of the infield.
“She has absolutely escalated her defense,” Gray said. “Her range has improved tremendously. She’s much faster to the ball, faster on the throws. Her transfers are much quicker.
“It’s nice to always have that vacuum cleaner between second and third to get those ground balls gobbled up and get that consistent out.”
On top of her two-homer game to lead the Hillers past Shaler in the WPIAL semifinals, Suhoski also drove in a pair of runs and scored a pair in Trinity’s 11-7 win over Armstrong in last year’s WPIAL Class 5A title game. She then added one more postseason homer in an 8-3 state playoff win against Solanco, helping the Hillers reach the PIAA quarterfinals for the third time in school history.
Still, Suhoski was passed over when all-section awards were handed out, and she has yet to receive her first college scholarship offer despite proactively reaching out to a handful of schools on her own. But with her already sparkling resume and nearly half of her high school career still to go, it’s only a matter of time before Suhoski finds the right suitor to showcase her talents at the next level.
“I’ve gotten a few [emails] back but nothing serious yet,” Suhoski said.
Through the first eight games of 2024, Suhoski is batting .444 with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 homers and 8 RBIs, and she now has 15 home runs for her career. She went 2 for 3 while batting out of the leadoff spot for the first time in a 4-2 win against Bethel Park on Monday, helping Trinity (6-2, 2-1) keep pace with Connellsville and Thomas Jefferson for the top spot in Class 5A Section 4.
“She’s getting more selective with her pitches,” Gray said. “Obviously they’re not giving her the meatballs that she might have seen last year. … She’s becoming a very disciplined batter.”
Although the Hillers aren’t the same juggernaut from top to bottom they were last year, they should be right in the mix for the section title once again while competing for a top seed in the WPIAL playoffs. Not many prognosticators are picking Trinity to go back-to-back as WPIAL champion, though, with teams like Shaler and Armstrong receiving most of the love in Class 5A.
Then again, that was the case for most of last season, too — until Suhoski and the Hillers took down the Titans and River Hawks in emphatic fashion to take home their first title.
“I think we can have a repeat, for sure,” Suhoski said. “We’ll just have to work harder for it, I guess.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
