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Way back in early April, Holy Redeemer was 1-2. Not a great start for the defending PIAA Class 2A softball champion.
There was no panic. Standout shortstop/pitcher Morgan Bienkowski was out with a wrist injury. A couple freshmen were getting accustomed to playing at the high school level. A transfer was finding her place with the team.
Let’s just say everything worked out quite well as Redeemer (24-3) finds itself back in the state championship game, facing District 9 champ Moniteau (24-1) at 3 p.m. Thursday at Nittany Lion Softball Park at Penn State.
Redeemer coach Jerry Paulukonis was among the optimists after losses to Nanticoke and Valley View were sandwiched around a blowout win against Meyers.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Paulukonis said. “It’s early in the season. Morgan wasn’t healthy, so that makes a little bit of a difference. People are in a little bit different spots than they’re used to. They haven’t seen pitching in months. It takes a lot of stuff just to make it work.”
A veteran presence certainly helped. When Redeemer takes the field Thursday, it will have six girls who played in last year’s 10-5 victory over Deer Lakes for the state crown. Bienkowski and Kristen Coffay will alternate between short and pitcher. Abby Shorts will do the catching. Brittany Hebda is back at third, Olivia Mennig will be at second and Sam Rajza will be in left.
“It helps we know the field because we’ve been on it before,” Shorts said. “I think it takes the nerves off a little bit because we’ve experienced it once.”
Hebda, who scored a run in Redeemer’s five-run fourth inning against Deer Lakes, agreed.
“The experience will help us a lot because we’re not going to be nervous,” Hebda said. “The other team will probably come in nervous.”
Of course, there are a few Royals who haven’t played on high school’s biggest stage and live on television as PCN will broadcast the game statewide. But freshman outfielders Tiana Wren and Allyson Lauivara and first baseman Meghan Armstrong, who came over from Nanticoke, have been as instrumental in Redeemer’s success as the holdovers from last year.
Lauivara admitted she might have some pre-game jitters, but also knows she has teammates to lean upon.
“They’re going to help us,” Lauivara said. “I know if we make a mistake or get down on ourselves they’re going to pick us up like they always do. It really isn’t anything new. They’re always really close so it helps.”
Moniteau had minimal state exposure in 2014 and 2015 as the Warriors were bounced in the first round both those years. But they had to replace just one starter both those seasons. So that coupled with an impressive state run to Thursday’s game could cut some of the stress.
Both teams may have run into each other prior to Thursday. They both decided to stay overnight at Penn State. Moniteau left Wednesday morning and practiced at a high school in the State College area. Redeemer practiced in the morning and left mid-afternoon.
The PIAA began softball playoffs in 1975 with one class, expanded to two classes in 1979, then to three in 1999 and four in 2005. Only three programs have managed to win consecutive state championships — Minersville (1979, 1980), Iroquois (1982, 1983), Minersville again (1986, 1987) and Susquehannock (2007, 2008).
“Yeah, it’s exciting but yet you’ve been there so you don’t have all that anticipation of what do we have to do,” Paulukonis said. “You kind of know what to do when you get there. For coaches, it’s a little more relaxed and we know what we want to get done.
“For some of the kids, they have that super excitement. For others, they’ve been there and know what to expect. But just getting there, I know they’re excited to say, ‘All right. We’re back.’ ”
