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Hazleton Area shortstop Marissa Trivelpiece didn’t even have to step on the field this season to be named the best in the state.
Trivelpiece was selected the 2019-20 Gatorade Pennsylvania Softball Player of the Year on Thursday despite the PIAA wiping out all spring sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is the first Wyoming Valley Conference softball player to receive the honor.
“It’s very exciting to know all your hard work paid off,” Trivelpiece said, “but I wish I would have been able to share it with my teammates.”
Trivelpiece didn’t get an opportunity to follow up her junior season in 2019, in which she led Hazleton Area in batting average (.474), home runs (12), RBI (12) and triples (5). She was also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts and had a .954 fielding percentage.
The Cougars finished 23-2 last season and played for the PIAA Class 6A state championship.
“You show me a championship team and I’ll show you a team with a great leader and that’s what she was,” Hazleton Area coach Bob Bertoni said. “She was the epitome of a team player. She led by example. She put team success ahead of individual success. She had all the qualities to be a great player — respectful, hard working, just a great leader.
“This award is a perfect fit for her. There are not enough good things I can say about this kid.”
Trivelpiece started since her freshman season and finished her career with 23 home runs, 101 RBI and a .456 batting average. She was pursued by several Division I programs and will play at Michigan State.
Trivelpiece is the third and final sister to have a huge impact on the Hazleton Area program. Maria went on to play at Fordham from 2016-19. Megan was in her junior season at Drexel when college sports were shut down for the remainder of the season.
“There was always a rivalry,” Trivelpiece said. “Both my older sisters set the bar high, and I kind of wanted to reach the same bar as them. They’ve been my role models my entire life and to share that with them was very exciting.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field.
The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. Trivelpiece has volunteered locally with an elementary school reading initiative, a suicide-prevention program and youth sports teams. She plans on majoring in elementary education at Michigan State.
One National Player of the Year will be selected in each sport. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete will be named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year.