State stars: Lady Leopards’ Metikosh among 12 local softball players honored
Belle Vernon’s Maren Metikosh stands on second base after hitting a double in the first inning of a WPIAL Class AAAA softball quarterfinals against Burrell at Norwin High School on May 23. Metikosh was not only named to the PaHSSBCA All-State First Team but also chosen as the Class 4A Position Player of the Year.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Frazier’s Jensyn Hartman takes a big cut during the Lady Commodores’ Section 3-AA game against Carmichaels in Perryopolis on April 22. Hartman was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State First Team.
Waynesburg Central shortstop Kylee Goodman settles under a pop fly for the out in a Section 3-AAA game against Southmoreland on April 20 at Alverton. Goodman was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State First Team. (Photo by Jim Downey)
West Greene catcher London Whipkey looks to make a play in the top of the third inning in the PIAA Class A softball quarterfinal playoff game against DuBois Central Catholic at Slippery Rock University on June 9. Whipkey was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State First Team. (Photo by Jim Downey)
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Mount Pleasant’s Katie Hutter leads off third base in the top of the fourth inning in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal playoff game against Avonworth at Deer Lakes High School on May 19. Hutter was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State First Team.
Southmoreland second baseman Brynn Charnesky makes the catch on a pop up as teammate Amarah McCutcheon backs up on the play during a WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game against Avonworth at Boyce Mayview Park on May 24. Charnesky was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State Second Team.
Frazier's Delaney Warnick sprints to the plate during the season-opening game against Thomas Jefferson in Perryopolis on March 25. Warnick was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State Second Team.
West Greene shortstop Katie Lampe sets on defense as the pitch is delivered during the 2022 WPIAL Class A Softball Championship against Union at Cal U’s Lilley Field. Lampe was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State Second Team. (Photo by Jim Downey)
Southmoreland's Tyson Martin follows through after making contact during a Section 3-AAA game against Waynesburg Central on April 20 at Southmoreland. Martin was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State Second Team.
Frazier teammates greet Victoria Washinski (10) after she belted a grand slam in the season-opening game in Perryopolis against Thomas Jefferson on March 25. Washinski was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State Second Team.
West Greene’s Kiley Meek unloads a pitch during the 2022 WPIAL Class A Softball Championship against Union at Cal U’s Lilley Field. Meek was named to the PaHSSBCA All-State Second Team. (Photo by Jim Downey)
Another stellar softball season by area teams led to another wave of all-state honors in 2022.
Of 12 local honorees, Belle Vernon junior Maren Metikosh led the way by not only being named to the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association’s All-State First Team but also being selected as its Class 4A Overall Position Player of the Year.
Three area squads put multiple players on the PaHSSBCA team. Frazier and West Greene both had three while Southmoreland had two.
Also earning First Team All-State honors were Frazier’s Jensyn Hartman (Class 2A outfield), West Greene’s London Whipkey (Class 1A catcher), Waynesburg Central’s Kylee Goodman (Class 3A shortstop), Mount Pleasant’s Katie Hutter (Class 3A shortstop) and Southmoreland’s Brynn Charnesky (Class 3A second base).
Second Team All-State honors went to Frazier’s Tori Washinski (Class 2A shortstop) and Delaney Warnick (Class 2A first base), West Greene’s Katie Lampe (Class 1A second base) and Kiley Meek (Class 1A DP), Carmichaels’ Sophia Zalar (Class 2A outfield) and Southmoreland’s Tyson Martin (Class 3A third base).
Metikosh batted .557 with a 1.029 slugging percentage and a .622 on-base percentage. She belted five home runs, 14 doubles and two triples with 32 RBIs. Amazingly, she struck out just three times in 83 plate appearances.
Lady Leopards coach Tom Rodriguez was happy to see his star centerfielder get the attention he felt was due to her.
“I thought she might make one of the teams but to be recognized as the 4A player of the year was a surprise,” Rodriguez said. “I’m glad she got noticed by them. She was such a great hitter for us.”
Metikosh was just as good defensively as she was offensively, according to Rodriguez.
“She’s quick and she’s smart,” Rodriguez said. “She knows when to dive for a ball and when not to. She’s a junior but she was one of our three team captains.
“Maren worked really hard to improve her game over the past couple years and it’s good to see all that pay off for her.”
Frazier had two players, both juniors, excel after changing positions. Hartman was shifted from catcher to center field while Warnick moved from third base across the diamond to first base.
Hartman hit .477 with a .575 on-base percentage and a .738 slugging percentage and totaled 36 runs, four home runs and 16 RBIs.
“Jensyn switched positions this year because her knee was a little banged up,” said Frazier coach Don Hartman who also is Jensyn’s dad. “She shocked me a little bit. I didn’t know she could run that fast or cover that much ground. She made some outstanding plays out there.
“At the plate, she led the team in runs and was up there in home runs, RBIs and on-base percentage. She did her job as a lead-off hitter for sure to help us get as far as we did.”
Warnick led her team in batting average (.509) and RBIs (33) and tied Washinski for the top spot in home runs (5).
“Delaney was my starting third baseman last year and just the way the make-up of our team worked out she was a better fit at first this year,” Don Hartman said. “I asked he if she was willing to make that move for us and she said yeah she’ll give it a try, even though she had never played there before.
“She took to it very naturally and became a fantastic first baseman. She was recruited as an outfielder but I told her you’re a super first baseman maybe you should continue to pursue playing that position. Anything that will get you on the field at the next level. I don’t think she made an error and she hit well for us. She led the team in home runs and was a great clutch hitter.”
In the Lady Commodores’ loss to Neshannock in the WPIAL final, Warnick had two of her team’s four hits. Jensyn Hartman had a single and scored Frazier’s lone run on a triple by Washinski.
Washinski ended the season with five homers, 28 RBIs and an impressive .956 fielding percentage.
“Tori was the heart and soul of our team this year,” Don Hartman said. “She was our only senior and the last player from our state championship team. I think she did a great job of leading the team and bringing the young players along. We started a bunch of freshmen and Tori really talked them through a lot of different parts of the season. Sometimes when a teammate talks to a player it resonates differently than when it’s coming from a coach.
“There was such great competition at the shortstop position across the state this year, she should be very, very proud to be on this team.”
Hartman lauded all three of his all-state representatives.
“It’s a testament to them,” he said. “All three of them put up some outstanding numbers and they won the section and made it to the WPIAL championship. We’re real happy they were recognized for their performances.”
Warnick and Washinski are both Glenville State recruits. Jensyn Hartman was one of two Frazier players who were named all-state in 2021.
West Greene coach Bill Simms was pleased to have three Lady Pioneers get state recognition for the second time. The Lady Pioneers had five all-state players in 2021.
“I was excited to see West Greene get three girls on the 2022 all-state team. All three were returning all-state players,” said Simms who Lady Pioneers won a section title and reached the WPIAL final for the sixth year in a row although their run of district championships was stopped at five by Union.
“I’m very proud of not only these three girls, but the team in general. London Whipkey made first team for the second straight season. Kiley Meek followed a first-team bid in 2021 with a second team selection in 2022. Katie Lampe made second team for the second straight season.”
Whipkey, a junior, batted .493 with with eight doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs, all team highs. She also led the Lady Pioneers in slugging percentage (.761) and an on-base percentage (.615).
“London had another outstanding year, and was very deserving of a first team selection,” Simms said. “Her defense gets overlooked on behalf of her offensive prowess, but she is a great defender as well.”
Lampe hit .405 with 23 RBIs, eight stolen bases and a team-leading 30 runs. She had an on-base percentage of .568. Meek was West Greene’s pitcher and went 12-5 with a 3.30 ERA and held opponents to a .202 batting average. She had 105 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. She also batted .328 with 22 RBIs.
“Katie and Kiley had great seasons, and look to keep their athletic career going at Saint Vincent,” Simms said of the two seniors.
Goodman, a senior who is another Glenville State recruit, batted .507 with a 1.443 OPS, an .896 slugging percentage and a .548 on-base percentage. She hit eight doubles, six triples and two home runs with 19 RBIs.
“Kylee was awesome,” said Waynesburg coach Jim Armstrong whose team reached the WPIAL quarterfinals. “She’s a premium player. She only had six strikeouts all year. She was my lead-off batter.
“When I first saw Kylee years ago she wanted to pitch. When she walked into the building, as a coach you can see a natural talent. I could tell this girl had the ability to do whatever she wanted to do. Then she started working on her fielding and batting and she wound up playing third base and shortstop for me. She’s an outstanding young lady who loves the game of softball. Almost every day she practices on something to improve herself.”
Goodman had a sparkling fielding percentage of .921.
“She only made six errors all season,” Armstrong said. “She has an arm like a cannon. She made a lot of plays that didn’t show up in the scorebook, like diving and stopping a ball to keep it from reaching the outfield to save a base.
“She’s a coach’s dream.”
Charnesky and Martin helped take Southmoreland to the WPIAL semifinals where it fell to eventual WPIAL and PIAA champion Avonworth.
Charnesky, a junior, was one of the Lady Scotties’ leaders.
“Brynn was a team captain who played a great second base for us,” Lady Scotties coach Todd Bunner said. “She hit in the .440s out of the three or four spot all year and was very productive there for us. She had 28 hits, seven doubles, put the ball in play and had a lot of RBIs.
“She was great in the field, only made four or five errors all year. She had a .980 fielding percentage. I’m glad to have her back next year. She’s real good with the younger kids.”
Martin, a senior, was Southmoreland’s lead-off hitter and one of the Lady Scotties’ best players. In the playoff loss to Avonworth, Martin had two of her team’s three hits. She was also an excellent fielder.
“Tyson was the MVP on our team,” Bunner said. “She did a real nice job this year offensively and defensively. We’re really going to miss her. She was just an outstanding player for us.”
It’s the second year in a row Southmoreland had multiple all-state representatives following Jess Matheny and Amarah McCutchen in 2021.
Zalar, a junior, repeated as a All-State Second Team outfielder for playoff qualifier Carmichaels.
“She played center field for us,” Lady Mikes coach Dave Briggs said. “She was our lead-off hitter. She gets us going. The games that she was successful at the plate and got on base were the games we usually did well in.”
Zalar hit .508 and had 21 RBIs which is unusually high for someone at the top of the lineup.
“Sophia has shown tremendous improvement in her three years here,” Briggs said. “She’s gotten better at all aspects of the game, hitting, base running, defense.”
Hutter, a senior, was one of the area’s best hitters with a .597 batting average in the regular season. She had six home runs, 22 RBIs and 41 runs.
“Katie is an integral part of what we have done the last four years as the Mount Pleasant Area softball program,” said Lady Vikings coach Chris Brunson, who guided the team to WPIAL and PIAA championships a year ago.
“Someone is getting a steal wherever she lands to continue her athletic career. You never replace a kid like that. You only hope to make up some of the numbers.”