After Penn-Trafford softball suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Shaler Area in the WPIAL Class 5A Championship last month, the Warriors immediately set their sights on a state title run. That lofty goal was realized on Friday at Penn State University, as the Warriors edged Greencastle-Antrim 2-0 to capture the PIAA crown.

On a senior-laden squad, sophomore Allyson Paulone tossed a shutout for PT, while junior Liz Welsh produced the go-ahead RBI double in the top of the seventh inning. As a result, Penn-Trafford claimed its second state championship, as the Warriors also took home gold in 2019.

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In a matchup of prolific offenses, pitching and defense reigned supreme for most of the contest at Beard Field. While Paulone was inducing plenty of ground balls, Blue Devils sophomore hurler Kiersten Swain registered the vast majority of her outs via fly balls. Both approaches proved equally effective, as the game was scoreless through six innings.

Playing as the visitors, Penn-Trafford (24-3) broke through in the seventh, courtesy of three doubles. Giuliana “G” Youngo started the surge with a one-out double to right-center field, but Lorryn Sepe popped out, putting the pressure on Welsh. After striking out in her two previous at-bats, Welsh pounced on the first offering from Swain, ripping a double to center that brought in Youngo for the first run of the contest. Ella Mains followed with a double to left, scoring pinch runner Brooke Boss to stake PT to a 2-0 edge.

That was all the run support that Paulone needed, as she blanked Greencastle-Antrim in the bottom of the seventh, despite a one-out single that brought the potential tying run to the plate.

In the triumph, Paulone went the distance in the circle, permitting just three hits and not issuing a walk, striking out one.

Swain was the tough-luck loser for the Blue Devils (22-4), as she allowed two runs on five hits and one walk, while registering five strikeouts.