South Williamsport High School’s softball team will compete for a state championship Friday and some players will have a familiar feeling.
Some competed in the 2019 Little League World Series.
The Mountaineers had a historic 2024 season with former Major League Baseball player Tom O’Malley leading the team to the title game at Penn State University.
“I’ve been here for five years and these girls played in a Little League World Series when they were a younger nucleus of the team. But this is the first opportunity at Penn State playing in the final game,”O’Malley said.
The team will compete for the state Class 2A championship against undefeated Neshannock High School on Friday at 11 a.m.
At the season’s final practice Thursday, O’Malley, district athletic director Scott Hill and players spoke about the season.
O’Malley, who grew up in Montoursville, played 10 seasons in the majors with the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Montreal Expos.
Hill has followed the players since he was their elementary school principal.
The team was physically smaller then, but the talent was just as big.
“All those years since, they’ve grown and I'm happy for them. They work so hard and the coaches do such a great job and work with them so hard,” Hill said.
Competing in the state championships was a dream come true for catcher Lily Reidy, a junior who played in the World Series. She has trained for the moment since playing T-ball at 5 years old.
“Since freshman year that's been our goal to just make it there. To be able to actually do that, It's just an unreal thing,” Reidy said. “It's fully set in about how big of an accomplishment we've actually made, but I think tomorrow will sink in and be fun.”
Last year, South Williamsport lost the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 2A semi-final game to Bald Eagle Area High School, but beat Bald Eagle 3-0, to reach the final.
Now, it’s their chance for redemption, O’Malley said.
“We remember the feeling last year when we lost in the semi final game, so we took it one step further and hopefully we can bring home the gold,” he said.
South Williamsport won 24 games and lost two. One loss was to Pittston Area High School, 4-3 on April 26, which played Thomas Jefferson High School for the Class 5A title on Thursday.
After the Pittston Area loss, South Williamsport won 17 games in a row, O’Malley said.
“That catapulted us, and knowing the caliber of that team, it only helped us get better,” he said.
Competition was tough for South Williamsport. It only got them one step further, said the team’s pitcher and another junior who competed in the World Series, Alizabeth Schuler.
“It's just amazing knowing that little South Williamsport is going all the way,” she said. “Competition has been tough the entire season but having a 24-2 record has proven that we can do anything.”
The Mountaineers are a young team with no seniors so many will play again next year.
“Even though we don't have any seniors, they’ve played a lot of softball and they're fun to watch that’s for sure,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley doesn’t want to change the team’s routine. It’s the “key” to a possible final win, he said.
Their talent will speak for itself as they “leave it all out on the field” tomorrow, Reidy said.
“After tomorrow, there's no other games or practices to save anything for. I’m just putting it all out on the field, doing my best and hopefully come out with a win,” she said.
