PIAA Class 6A Championship: Hempfield Area (21-3) vs. North Penn (27-0)

Location: Beard Field, Penn State University

Game Time: Thursday, 4 p.m.

Head Coaches: Tina Madison (Hempfield, 2nd Season); Richard Torrresani (North Penn, 23rd Season)

Live Broadcast: Westmoreland Sports Network (3:45 p.m. airtime) - LISTEN LIVE

When Hempfield Area softball captured the PIAA Class 6A Championship in 2017, the team enjoyed a perfect season, finishing at 27-0. In order for the Spartans to claim their fifth state title, they must now prevent North Penn from achieving an unblemished campaign.

Hempfield Area (21-3) will meet the District 1 Champion Knights (27-0) Thursday at 4 p.m. at Beard Field at Penn State University. The Spartans have previously captured PIAA gold in 1999, 2016, 2017, and 2018, while North Penn reached the pinnacle in 1976, 1981, 1985, and 2021.

The Spartans will enter on a five-game winning streak, all of which have come in postseason play. In the WPIAL Class 6A bracket, Hempfield Area notched an 8-5 come-from-behind victory against Norwin, and then edged top-seeded Seneca Valley 2-1 in eight innings, courtesy of a winning homer by Mia Bandieramonte.

As the lone representative of the WPIAL in the PIAA Class 6A field, the Spartans recorded consecutive shutouts against Mifflin County and Downingtown East, 5-0 and 2-0, respectively, and ousted District 3 Champion Cumberland Valley 6-1 on Monday at Saint Francis University. In the triumph against the Eagles, freshman Lauren Howard compiled a triple, double, and single, while Emily Griffith and Sarah Podkul each homered. Sophomore Riley Miller continued her stellar run in the circle, permitting one run on seven hits while striking out eight.

Prior to Monday’s action, Miller had posted a mark of 18-3 with a sterling ERA of 1.27 and 164 strikeouts.

Similar to the WPIAL title game against the Raiders, though, Miller will be overshadowed by the opposing hurler, as North Penn senior Julia Shearer has won every game in the circle, compiling a microscopic ERA of 0.22 with 346 strikeouts in 159 innings.

Shearer, a Maryland commit, is nearly as impactful at the plate, as she’s registered a batting average of .634 with 52 runs, 34 RBIs, and 11 home runs. In addition to Shearer, seven players for North Penn have amassed a dozen or more RBIs, and the team has smacked 30 homers total.

North Penn, which is located in Lansdale, reached the state title game courtesy of a controversial 1-0 victory in eight innings against Chambersburg on Tuesday. The Knights left no doubt in the quarterfinals, smashing Hazleton 18-0 in five innings, while they edged Governor Mifflin 3-1 in the opening round of the PIAA bracket.

Second-year head coach Tina Madison guides Hempfield Area. As a player for the Spartans, Madison propelled Hempfield Area to its first state gold in 1999. She continued her career collegiately at Penn State. Longtime North Penn coach Richard Torresani reached the 450-win milestone earlier this campaign.