The Hempfield Area High School softball team got a taste of its own medicine in the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals last Thursday.

The Spartans dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to Shaler Area, a team it defeated twice earlier in the season.

"We got beat at our own game," Hempfield coach Bob Kalp said. "Three well-placed bunts in the bottom of the seventh inning got us in trouble. I was surprised to see Shaler bunt that many times. We are the 'small-ball' team, and Shaler is a free-swinging team. I didn't expect Shaler to change its style of play."

Shaler scored the only run of the game in the ill-fated seventh inning, but Hempfield did have its chances.

"We had a few opportunities where we got a runner to second base, but couldn't come up with the key hit," Kalp said. "All during the playoffs, we came up with the clutch hit. [Last Thursday] was a different story. It could have been a storybook ending, but we just couldn't come through at the plate."

The loss ended Hempfield's 10-game winning streak, as the Spartans finished the season with a 16-5 record.

"We were an unknown commodity when the season started," Kalp said. "We had 10 letter-winners coming back from a team that was 11-9 last year. I knew we had talent. It was a case of us maturing as a team."

Hempfield lost four of its first 10 games, with all four decided by one run.

"Our record is deceiving because of the one-run losses," Kalp said. "I could see early in the season that we were able to play with any team. We just needed to continue to improve."

And that's just what Hempfield did. The Spartans won the last five games of the regular season to finish third in Section 2-AAAA, then added five more victories in the postseason.

Hempfield opened the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs with a 2-0 win against No. 8 seed Peters Township, then upset top seed North Allegheny in the quarterfinals and advanced to the title game with a 13-4 win against Connellsville, a team that beat the Spartans twice during the regular season.

Then came a rematch with Shaler, a team Hempfield defeated, 3-1, in its season opener, in the WPIAL final. The championship game was actually played on two days. The game began May 28, but was suspended in the second inning by a heavy rainstorm with Hempfield leading 2-0. The game resumed the following day and the Spartans held on for a 3-2 victory.

"We came up with big hits in all of our playoff games," Kalp said. "That was the key to winning the title."

Hempfield was making its sixth title-game appearance and claimed its second title, the other in 1998.

"The girls turned in a great performance in the championship game," Kalp said. "They also played well in our [PIAA] first-round win."

Hempfield faced District 9 champion DuBois in the first round and came home with a 4-2 victory. But the Spartans luck ran out in the 1-0 loss to Shaler in the quarterfinals.

"Over the past 14 games, we were 12-2 and had five one-run losses overall," Kalp said. "I couldn't be prouder of the team as a whole. We had a lot of kids who filled holes and contributed, and that's what a team is all about."

Six seniors, including five starters, graduate from this Hempfield squad. The six seniors are pitchers T'nia Falbo and Alyssa Grossman, second baseman Amanda Rupert, third baseman Rebecca Kuklar, first basemen Melissa Lupinacci and backup first baseman Olivia Dongilla.

"Amanda set a career record for assists with 165 in four years," Kalp said. "This year, she handled 101 chances and recorded 55 assists, 45 putouts and one error. She also had one error as a junior. She will be missed big time."

With Falbo and Grossman graduating, Kalp will be looking for a new pitcher, maybe two.

"We have three girls coming from the JV team and an incoming freshman who shows potential," Kalp said. "I will just have to wait to see who steps to the front of the pack."