Return to state playoffs a learning experience for Latrobe softball

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, June 1, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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There were a lot of empty seats on the Latrobe softball team bus Tuesday after the Wildcats lost to Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL Class 5A third-place game at Gateway.

The reason was several players decided to drive home with family instead of going home with the team.

But the Wildcats had to quickly reassemble to get ready for the next challenge.

At least one more bus trip awaited Latrobe (11-12), which will open the PIAA playoffs 4 p.m. Monday at Armstrong (18-3), the WPIAL champion.

Latrobe has not been to the state tournament since 2018, and veteran coach Bob Kovalcin is trying to navigate an inexperienced group through the process.

“It’s a new experience for them, a learning experience,” said Kovalcin, who led Latrobe to a pair of state finals appearances in 2007 and ’08. The Wildcats won WPIAL 4A titles in both of those years.

“I want these girls to realize that we should be in this situation every year. This is where I want the program to be.”

Latrobe only had four hits against Penn-Trafford in a 4-1 loss. The Wildcats lost to Thomas Jefferson in the semis 4-2, so a win in the state opener would snap a two-game losing streak.

“We were flat in the dugout and flat in the field the first few innings,” Kovalcin said after Tuesday’s loss. “We swung at some bad pitches.”

Latrobe made the PIAA quarterfinals in 2018, falling to Nazareth, 6-0, in Carlisle. Kovalcin, who also won a WPIAL title in 2011, was not the coach then. He returned for his second stint with the program in 2020, taking over for Rick Kozusko.

“The girls are leery right now, but they have to realize we’re not done yet,” Kovalcin said. “There are 16 teams still playing. That means there are, what, 128 around the state who are not. That should mean something.”

Senior pitcher Kayla Williams, a Slippery Rock commit, believes Latrobe has enough left in the gas tank to ignite another run.

“We are more than capable of beating anybody on any given day,” Williams said. “If we play good defense, hit the ball, pitch well and bring the energy, if we do those things, we can make a deep run in the state playoffs.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe