The ride from Thomas Jefferson High School to Penn State’s Beard Field is only about 150 miles, but the Jaguars evidently chose to take the scenic route to get there.
Having traveled more than 1,000 miles round-trip while making a trio of pit stops along the way, these “Road Warriors” simply refused to let their season come to an end after a heartbreaking loss against Armstrong in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. First came a 17-4 win at District 3 runner-up Solanco in the first round of the PIAA tournament, followed by a 3-1 quarterfinal win against District 1 runner-up West Chester East at Norlo Park Complex in Chambersburg, then finally Monday’s unthinkable 9-8 comeback victory in the PIAA semifinals against District 6 champion Central Mountain at Mount Aloysius College.
Now, Thomas Jefferson’s long and winding postseason journey will finally culminate on the biggest stage of them all, when the Jaguars (15-8) arrive at their final destination to square off with District 2 champion Pittston Area (22-1) in the PIAA Class 5A title game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. This will mark the first state championship appearance for Thomas Jefferson, while Pittston is seeking its second state title in the past three seasons.
And to think — these Jaguars finished only 6-4 in section play and 9-7 overall in the regular season before receiving a No. 10 seed for the WPIAL tournament. Now, just a few weeks later, they find themselves on the cusp of completing one of the most improbable playoff runs by any team in any sport in WPIAL history.
There are only a select few teams that truly embody the term “Team of Destiny” — and no matter what happens on Thursday, Thomas Jefferson certainly fits the bill.
“I just feel like it’s meant to be,” said Jaguars coach Heidi Karcher. “There’s a weird aura around us. I don’t think there are many teams that could have made as many trips — almost five hours, then three-and-a-half and then two hours. To win under those circumstances against state playoff teams — the girls rose to the occasion, and that’s a credit to them.”
For Karcher, Thursday’s game will represent a homecoming in more ways than one. A graduate of Scranton Prep, Karcher grew up about five miles north of Pittston and competed against the Patriots several times in high school. On top of that, she played two seasons as both a catcher and first baseman at Penn State in the early 1990s, and this will be Karcher’s first chance to coach in the state finals at her old stomping grounds. Thomas Jefferson came up just short following a similar “Cinderella” run to the WPIAL final and PIAA semifinals in 2018 after receiving a No. 11 seed for that year’s WPIAL tournament.
Now, Karcher has finally taken her team to the promised land after another stunning upset win, with the Jaguars’ postseason theatrics rapidly becoming the stuff of legend.
“I never really thought of [being the underdog] like that,” Karcher said. “I just want my girls to play a great game of softball. I want them to be gritty, I want them to be tough, passionate, and to be a great student-athlete for our district. A good representation of our community.”
Although Thomas Jefferson has put together a magical run to get to this point, it’s not like the Jaguars are some rag-tag band of misfits who simply happened to catch lightning in a bottle. Thomas Jefferson features a handful of talented players who will be playing at the next level, including Drexel recruit Zoe Krizan and Robert Morris recruit Morgan Alisesky.
A senior center fielder, Krizan is batting .429 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs, 28 RBIs and 28 runs scored on the year. She saved her best for last in Monday’s thrilling PIAA semifinal win against Central Mountain, making up for a costly second-inning error by going 3 for 5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs to fuel the Jaguars’ comeback.
“That’s a true testament to the athlete and leader she is,” Karcher said. “She owned up to her mistake and gave the team a fighting chance. That’s a great job, and that’s why she’s a Division I recruit.”
Meanwhile, Alisesky leads the team with a .469 batting average to go with 4 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, 20 RBIs and 28 runs scored. The junior second baseman is 9 for 12 in the state playoffs — including a five-hit performance in the blowout win against Solanco in the opening round — and she helped complete the comeback win on Monday with a go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Elsewhere, others such as Hannah Alonso, Addi Bracco, Ali Chalovich, Emma DeSimone and Olivia Stock have come up with timely hits when called upon, giving the Jaguars a deep and balanced lineup with few holes to exploit.
When it comes to championship games in softball, though, it all starts in the circle — and on paper, that’s where Pittston appears to have the biggest edge. The Patriots won’t be confused for an offensive juggernaut, but they are led by one of the top pitchers in the state in Carnegie Mellon recruit Gianna Adams.
The two-time Pennsylvania Class 5A Pitcher of the Year, Adams is 20-1 with an 0.33 ERA, 0.37 WHIP and 273 strikeouts to 18 walks in 128 innings on the year, and she just hurled a no-hitter in her most recent outing against unbeaten District 3 champion South Western in the PIAA semifinals. She is also batting .433 with 15 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
For Thomas Jefferson, freshman pitcher Aubrey Shaffer (3.02 ERA, 102 strikeouts in 148 innings) is certainly no slouch — but while her numbers are extremely impressive for a freshman, they pale in comparison to Adams’ astonishing stats. Then again, there’s a reason the games are played on the diamond, not on paper. Who’s to say Shaffer can’t shock the world and out-duel Adams for all the marbles on Thursday afternoon?
“Why would we want it any other way? We wouldn’t want an easy game,” Karcher said. “I have all the confidence in my girls. We’re going to go out there, we’re going to give them a run for their money, and we’re going to see what happens. … [Adams] has thrown a couple no-hitters and a couple shutouts and things like that. But again, we’re going to be confident. We know how to hit.
“We’re going to give it our best effort out there to show the east side what the west side has to offer.”
Class 4A
Five years removed from a heartbreaking 3-2 loss against West Perry in the 2019 PIAA Class 4A championship game, WPIAL champion Elizabeth Forward (23-1) returns for another crack at its first state title against District 11 champion Blue Mountain (26-1) at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The Warriors have established a reputation as one of the WPIAL’s most consistent programs over the past half decade, but a win on Friday would push this Elizabeth Forward team over the top as the best in school history.
Led by Seton Hill recruit Shelby Telegdy and bolstered by a star-studded cast of supporting characters like Hannah Evans, Julia Johnson, Addy Nigut, Julia Resnik and Carlee Soukup, these high-powered Warriors are outscoring their foes by a combined score of 239-15 on the year, including 20-1 in three state playoff contests. Telegdy is in the midst of a postseason for the ages, launching several game-changing home runs while dominating in the circle.
For the season, Telegdy is 23-1 with an 0.43 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 196 strikeouts to 23 walks in 129⅓ innings pitched. At the plate, the two-way standout is slashing .575/.624/1.055 for an OPS of 1.678 with 14 doubles, seven home runs and 36 RBIs — and believe it or not, she doesn’t even lead the team in slugging or OPS. That would be Resnik, a sophomore shortstop slashing .548/.629/1.082 — good for an OPS of 1.711 — with 6 doubles, 6 triples, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 45 runs scored.
If anybody can match Elizabeth Forward’s offensive firepower, though, it’s Blue Mountain. The Eagles have six players in the lineup with more than 20 RBIs, led by senior pitcher Marla Freiwald with a whopping 45. A Saint Joseph’s recruit, Freiwald is batting .591 with 20 extra-base hits, and she is 16-1 with an 0.90 ERA and 165 strikeouts to 25 walks in 109⅓ innings pitched. Seniors Oliva Labe (.526 batting average, 11 extra-base hits, 35 RBIs, 30 runs scored) and Madison Heim (.452, 13 extra-base hits, 25 RBIs, 34 runs scored) are also capable of changing the game with one swing of the bat.
With Telegdy and Freiwald going toe-to-toe, this game could come down to the game-within-the-game between the two star seniors both looking to go out with a bang. And with the way Telegdy is playing this postseason, don’t be surprised to see her author one last signature performance for the Warriors.
Class 2A
There isn’t much more to write about the Neshannock dynasty that hasn’t already been said. With a record of 73-1 dating back to the start of the 2022 season, the unbeaten Lancers (25-0) will face District 4 champion South Williamsport (24-2) at 11 a.m. Friday with a chance to complete a perfect season with WPIAL and PIAA titles for the second time in the past three years. No school has done so more than once, and it has happened only six times in WPIAL history.
That’s only where the historical implications begin, though. With junior pitcher Addy Frye leading the way, Neshannock is outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 233-9 on the season, with 19 shutouts in 25 games. A Providence recruit with a record of 18-0 and 0.48 ERA this season, Frye has pitched five consecutive playoff shutouts going back to the WPIAL semifinals and has yet to allow a run in the postseason.
With one more shutout in the state finals, the Lancers would match the legendary 1998 Carmichaels team that finished with a record of 26-0 and 20 shutouts. Those Mighty Mikes also faced South Williamsport in the state title game, and they allowed only seven runs while scoring 257 — but more on that later.
Along with Frye, Neshannock has a plethora of impact players up and down its lineup, starting with leadoff hitter Miley Anderson. A junior left fielder and Kent State recruit, Anderson is an undeniable sparkplug batting .479 with a team-leading 39 runs scored and 31 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Gabby Quinn is also a Kent State recruit, and she is batting .358 with five homers, 26 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Like her older sister Neleh before her, sophomore Jaidon Nogay roams center field with a cat-like quickness and a penchant for highlight-reel plays, and she is also batting .455 with nine extra-base hits, 16 RBIs, 28 runs scored and 19 steals. Plus, senior catcher Gabby Perod provides a veteran presence behind the plate for the Lancers along with another prolific bat in the cleanup spot, hitting .417 with a team-leading 13 doubles and 23 RBIs.
Needless to say, Neshannock will be a prohibitive favorite in the eyes of many against South Williamsport on Friday morning, but anything can happen in the state finals. Still, if there’s one thing these Lancers have proven time and time again, it’s that they always find a way to rise to the occasion when it matters most. Now, on the brink of etching their place in history as one of the WPIAL’s greatest teams of all time, don’t expect them to let that chance slip away.
Class 1A
In the first matchup of the six-game championship slate on Thursday at 11 a.m., Carmichaels will collide with District 9 champion DuBois Central Catholic (22-2) for the PIAA Class 1A title. And if you’re looking for special storylines at this year’s PIAA championships, you won’t find one better than the Mighty Mikes making their return to the state finals for the first time in 26 years with the legendary Nikki Onderko (formerly Nikki Gasti) as pitching coach and her daughter, Bailey Barnyak, as the team’s ace pitcher.
As a junior at Carmichaels in 1998, Onderko served as the centerpiece of a championship team hailed by many as one of the greatest in WPIAL history. The Mighty Mikes went 26-0 with 20 shutouts and surrendered only seven runs all season, becoming one of six WPIAL teams to win WPIAL and state titles with a perfect record and only the second team to achieve the feat at the time. Onderko went 24-0 with an 0.14 ERA and 293 strikeouts in 146 innings while firing 18 shutouts and five no-hitters and allowing a grand total of three earned runs.
For her career, Onderko went 68-7 with an 0.23 ERA and 855 strikeouts to just 27 walks in 450 innings, with 13 no-hitters and eight perfect games on her ledger. She then went on to enjoy a fantastic career at Pitt while throwing two more no-hitters in college, and Onderko has since joined Carmichaels’ staff under coach Dave Briggs prior to Barnyak’s freshman season in 2023.
Entering the state championship game, Barnyak is 18-2 on the season with 220 strikeouts and 50 walks in 144 innings to go with a 1.26 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. She also sports a .471 on-base percentage with 19 RBIs and 30 runs scored.
Along with Barnyak, fellow sophomore standout Carys McConnell is putting together another phenomenal season for the Mighty Mikes, batting .513 with 10 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 39 RBIs and 24 runs scored. Her walk-off double in a thrilling 5-4 PIAA semifinal win against archrival Chartiers-Houston propelled Carmichaels to the state title game. Plus, leadoff hitter Katie Waggett is hitting .486 with 4 doubles, 3 triples, 33 runs scored and 21 stolen bases.
DuBois Central is a veteran team led by a trio of seniors batting above .400 with more than 20 RBIs in Kayley Risser (.485, 13 extra-base hits, 30 RBIs, 34 runs scored), Lauren Davidson (.469, 10 extra-base hits, 22 RBIs, 28 runs scored) and Melia Mitskavich (.424, 16 extra-base hits, 27 RBIs, 35 runs scored). The six remaining players in DuBois’ lineup are each batting above .300 with at least 15 RBIs, and sophomore pitcher Rylee Kubaltsky is also having a big year, sporting a record of 17-1 with an 0.69 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 227 strikeouts to 21 walks in 112 innings.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
