UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — To borrow an iconic catchphrase from one of the greatest sports movies ever made, Neshannock made absolutely sure on Friday afternoon that every player, coach and fan from District 4 champion South Williamsport would remember the day they played the Lancers.
Already established as one of the WPIAL’s greatest dynasties of all time, Neshannock (26-0) cemented its legacy forever with a 12-2 mercy-rule victory in the PIAA Class 2A championship game at Penn State’s Beard Field. The “mighty, mighty Lancers” erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to blow the game wide open and activate the mercy rule, then ace pitcher Addy Frye shut down South Williamsport (24-3) in the top of the fifth to close the show.
The win brings Neshannock its third state title in school history and second in the past three years, improving the Lancers’ pristine record to 74-1 since the start of the 2022 season. Neshannock is now the first team to win WPIAL and PIAA titles with a perfect record multiple times, having accomplished the feat twice in the past three seasons.
“I’m just so proud of the girls,” said Lancers coach Jackie Lash. “That was the best offensive performance that I think we’ve had this entire season. So what a way to end. … On this big stage, they weren’t rattled. The girls were very comfortable.
“They came here to do their job, and they had fun while doing it.”
After entering Friday’s championship contest with a streak of five consecutive postseason shutouts, Frye allowed two runs on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in five innings pitched to pick up the win. The Providence recruit did her best work at the plate, though, finishing 2 for 2 with a walk and a game-changing two-run homer while putting her jaw-dropping power on full display.
“We worked really hard this year. This team did something so special,” Frye said. “That [PIAA semifinal loss in 2023] was definitely a big motivation for us. … We wanted to come back and win this again this year.
“This one, I think, is definitely a lot more special.”
The rest of Neshannock’s usual suspects also enjoyed big games on the big stage, namely sophomore center fielder Jaidon Nogay and junior third baseman Gabby Quinn. Nogay went 3 for 3 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored in her first state championship appearance, while Quinn went 2 for 3 with a homer and four RBIs in yet another monster championship performance. A Kent State recruit, Quinn also homered in the Lancers’ 4-1 PIAA championship win against Conwell-Egan as a freshman in 2022.
“Whenever the team is there and the energy is up and everybody is happy and excited, it honestly just takes away all the nerves,” Quinn said. “We all play our best whenever we’re relaxed and having fun.”
Neshannock got the scoring started early after a one-out single by Jaidon Nogay in the bottom of the first. Frye followed with a single that rolled through the left fielder’s legs and all the way to the wall, and Nogay raced home to score easily from first. Two batters later, Quinn roped an RBI single up the middle to make it a 2-0 lead for the Lancers.
With Frye’s postseason track record, it appeared the game may have been decided right then and there — but South Williamsport had other plans. In the top of the third, Gianna Goodman singled home Maddie Pinkerton to snap Frye’s shutout streak after Pinkerton walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Alizabeth Schuler then doubled home Goodman to tie the score, 2-2.
“The shutout wasn’t something I was looking for,” Frye said. “I was looking to produce outs and let my defense make plays. I knew this team was a good hitting team. We did some scouting on them. I knew they were going to put the ball in play. They’re very aggressive.
“I was just trying to get them to miss pitches and not hit the ball hard.”
The score wouldn’t remain knotted up for long, though. In the bottom of the third, Frye followed Nogay’s second single of the game with an absolute moonshot way over the left-field wall for a go-ahead two-run homer — her sixth home run of the year and No. 21 for her career.
“[Assistant coach Kyle Piper] said she was throwing a lot of screwballs to righties, so I worked a lot on trying to hit the inside pitch, because I had been getting jammed,” Frye said. “I knew it was coming in my second at-bat. … I’ve been working really hard on my hitting, trying to produce for my team. It’s just something amazing.”
With Neshannock on top, 4-2, the bottom of the order got the ball rolling for the Lancers in the bottom of the fourth, as Callie Biondi singled to lead off the inning before coming home to score on an RBI single by Katherine Nativio. That turned the lineup over and opened up the floodgates, as Nogay laced a bases-clearing double to the gap in right-center to make it an 8-2 ballgame.
“I definitely had big shoes to fill,” Nogay said about following in the footsteps of her older sisters, Neleh and Aaralyn. “I’m hoping to repeat this season next year and the year after.”
After an intentional walk to Frye, senior catcher Gabby Perod lined an RBI double down the left-field line for her team-leading 14th double of the season, bringing Nogay home to make it 9-2. That set the stage for Quinn, who put an emphatic stamp on Neshannock’s historic season with a three-run homer for her sixth home run of the season and No. 18 for her career.
“I’ve kind of been quiet the last couple games,” Quinn said. “When I had my first RBI hit, I was like, ‘Hey, I can help out my team here.'”
Now, with nothing left to prove and their place in history firmly secured, what could the Lancers possibly have in store for an encore? With Frye coming back to lead the way for one more season and others like Quinn, Nogay and Miley Anderson returning to bolster the heart of the lineup, could Neshannock somehow be even better next year?
And with a record of 74-1 over the past three seasons — including a pair of 26-0 seasons on their resume during that span — could the Lancers get next year’s senior class to 100 career wins before they graduate? Nobody has ever done it, but that hasn’t stopped Neshannock from making history before. Why should it now?
“This was an amazing win for us,” Quinn said. “We’re all so excited. It’s the final product of all the work we’ve been putting in for all these years.
“It’s a full-circle moment.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
