Nazareth softball coach Stephen Genzale said he didn’t think anything he would experience as a coach would top what happened in the first round of this year’s PIAA Class 6A tournament on June 2. His Blue Eagles were playing defending state champ North Penn, and the situation was bleak.
“We were down 5-4 and had two outs and Alina Weaver was batting and down to her last strike,” Genzale said. “And then Alina hits the two-run home run, and Shauna McNamee hits another home run, and we win 7-5. But then what happened Tuesday is something I know I will never experience as a coach again.”
Eight days after the rally at North Penn, Nazareth staged a comeback that may never be duplicated by any local softball team.
Trailing 4-0 and down to its last out and strike, Nazareth fought back for six runs and stopped Hempfield Area for a 6-4 victory.
Now, the Blue Eagles seek one more win, and one that would cement their legacy as one of the greatest comeback stories in local sports history.
Nazareth will play Central Dauphin at 4 p.m. Thursday at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park for the 6A state title.
It would be the program’s first and the first for any СŷƵ team at the 6A level. When Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic won state championships on the same day at Penn State in 2015, 4A was the highest classification.
More than that, it would be the final chapter in a remarkable four-game run that would be the ultimate sample of resiliency and perseverance.
“What happened Tuesday was something as dramatic and as amazing as I’ll ever experience,” Genzale said. “It was just amazing to watch these girls and the contributions from seniors and the bottom of my lineup.”
What made it even more special was that virtually everyone thought the game was over. Everyone, that is, except for those on the Nazareth bench.
“We found out a couple of things after it was over,” Genzale said. “We found out that they had already put Hempfield on the PIAA bracket as advancing to the state finals. And then the announcer was already saying that Hempfield was going to be playing for the state championship. Nobody knew that it was going. So it was wonderful and incredible that it happened.”
The only thing more wonderful and incredible would be one more victory that would bond the girls on this year’s Nazareth team forever.
Earlier this year, Parkland held a reunion for its five state titles, and the ladies from the first championship team, the 1975 squad, said they were friends for life and will never stop reliving the moment in their hearts. The same was true of Northwestern Lehigh’s 1985 state champs.
Now, Nazareth has a chance to etch its name in the history books with an incredible trail of come-from-behind victories, having led them to Penn State.
A team that had high expectations has yet to win a championship, but after being denied in both the league and district title games, it has one more shot.
Emma Infantino, who had the three-run double that trimmed the deficit from 4-0 to 4-3, said: “This run we’re on means everything, especially coming off the losses we had in the EPCs and districts. It feels amazing to come back, especially having been down in all three state games. We like being the underdogs. It’s better for us than when we’re expected to win. We just have more energy when we’re down. It’s more fun coming back.”
Infantino said she has played a lot of softball on a lot of different teams over the years, and she said this Nazareth team is as special as they come.
“Whenever it could be our last game, however, we think about the bonds we have and it just kicks in,” she said. “We’re really good under pressure. When I was [batting] when it was 4-0 and down to my last strike, I looked over and my teammates were up and cheering for me. Our pitcher, Kylie Grover, was upset because we were down 4-0, and she loves this team so much. Kylie carried us through this season. I never played with a better pitcher than Kylie. As soon as I saw her, I just felt I had to come through and do something special.”
With all of the offensive outbursts and late comebacks, Grover’s ability to keep her team in these games against great opponents has been overlooked.
“We’ve played the maximum number of games you can play, getting to the league and district finals and now the state championship game,” Grover said. “I try to keep a good mentality and just try to be a dog out there and trust my mechanics and what I have worked for all offseason and during the season. I know my defense has my back. The defense has been really good throughout the state playoffs. I just keep the trust in them and also trust in the offense.
“We were disappointed not to win the league and district, and they are big. But now we’re playing for something bigger. If we can get this one, it would be really special. I think we can.”
PIAA Class 6A softball
Who: District 11 No. 2 Nazareth (22-6) vs. District 3 No. 3 Central Dauphin (20-3)
When/where: 4 p.m. Thursday at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park
At stake: Nazareth’s first-ever state softball title; Central Dauphin is going for its second state gold after beating Hazleton 3-1 for the 2019 6A title.
NAZARETH
Coach: Stephen Genzale (sixth season, 84-40)
How they got here: In the state tournament, beat North Penn, District 1’s No. 2, 7-5 in the first round; beat Cumberland Valley, the District 3 champ, 5-4 in the quarterfinals; beat Hempfield Area, the District 7 champ, 6-4 in the semifinals.
Key players: Shauna McNamee (Sr. C) .453, 20 RBIs, 13 XBH, 7 HRs; Alina Weaver (Sr. 2B) .455, 27 runs, 29 RBIs, 8 HRs; Natalie Chloros (Sr. CF) .358, 7 XBH, 14 runs, 18 RBIs; Taylor Friel (Jr. 3B) .313, 19 RBIs, 3 HRs; Gianna Perillo (Jr. DH) .385, 11 XBH, 20 runs, 19 RBIs, 7 HRs. Pitching, Kylie Grover (Jr. P) 1.47 ERA, 34 BB, 102 Ks, 100.1 IP.
Of note: After losing in both the EPC and District 11 championship games, the Blue Eagles have had an exciting run in the state tournament with a come-from-behind win over defending state champ North Penn in the top of the seventh in the first round and then broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the seventh against Cumberland Valley. The best rally of all came in Tuesday’s semifinals when the Blue Eagles trailed 4-0 in the top of the seventh and had two out before striking for six runs. Weaver is 7-for-9 with eight RBIs in the state tournament. Nazareth is 9-5 all-time in the state tournament. This is the first time the program has made it to the state finals and is the first Blue Eagles program, with the exception of wrestling, to compete in a state final. They would become the 13th СŷƵ team to win state softball gold. Parkland has won five PIAA championships, Northern Lehigh two, and Allen, Bethlehem Catholic, Emmaus, Northampton, and Northwestern Lehigh all with one apiece.
CENTRAL DAUPHIN
Coach: Sam Hartley
How they got here: Beat District 4 champ Williamsport 10-0, beat District 3 No. 4 Wilson West Lawn 4-3, beat District 1 No. 3 Perkiomen Valley 2-0.
Key players: Kayla Fletcher (Jr. SS) .589, 17 XBH, 7 HRs, 32 RBIs, 24 SB; Gabby Shirk (Jr. RF) .415, 4 2Bs, 20 RBIs; Isabel Rodriguez (Fr. CF) .385, 24 runs, 11 SBs; Stella Gasper (Sr. P-3B) .368, 9 HRs, 29 RBIs; Bre Lock (Sr. 2B); .348. 12 runs, 14 RBIs; Rachel Burke (Sr. 1B) .260; Abby Rheem (Jr. C) .383; Pitching, Gasper 73 IP, 1.73 ERA, 68 Ks, 14 BB; Autumn Andreoli (Fr.) 43 IP, 1.26 ERA, 20 Ks, 7 BB.
Of note: The Rams are 12-16 all-time in the state tournament and are in the finals for the second time after beating Hazleton 3-1 for the 2019 6A gold. They have only played one other СŷƵ team in the state playoffs, falling to Southern Lehigh in the 1978 3A quarterfinals. Last year in the PIAA tournament, they beat Boyertown and Quakertown before losing to eventual state champion North Penn 9-7 in the semifinals. In the semifinal win over Perkiomen Valley, freshman Autumn Andreoli pitched a 3-hit shutout, and Fletcher, a Duke commit, played strong defense at shortstop and went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI. The other Rams run came on an RBI single by Shirk. Gasper is headed to Central Connecticut State; Lock is going to Mansfield. Fletcher is a junior but is the program’s all-time leader in hits for a season with 43 and career, 135.
Keith Groller’s pick: Nazareth 7-5
