BY LAURA BASCIOTTA AND EMMA DOWKER
Staff Writers

The girls softball team beat Latrobe at WPIAL semifinals Wednesday night, and will be playing against Hempfield next Thursday for the championship at Cal U.

Baldwin won 6-3. Seniors Ana Hale and Jamie Schleicher, juniors Katie Knezevich and Sam Wampler, and sophomore Taylor Dadig all earned RBIs, with Wampler picking up a pair.

The game was tied 3-3 until the seventh inning, when the Highlanders scored three.

“Since we were behind for the first few innings, we were really motivated. Taylor and I kept each other on our toes the whole game,” Wampler said.

The team had strong fielding, Dadig said.

“For the game on Thursday we need to work on getting hits sooner and not waiting until the third or fourth inning,” Dadig said.

Hempfield is well-known for having players going to play Division 1 after high school, and are currently ranked No. 1.

“This is our first time at WPIAL (championship) in a while, and we’re really excited to play as a team. We want to win Thursday, but it’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Wampler said.

She credited Coach Vince Sortino for his role in Wednesday’s win.

“He is extremely hard on us during practice, but during the game he wants us to have fun,” Wampler said.