PIAA SOFTBALL FINAL: Players make Piercy's bold prediction a reality
Jun. 17—Joe Namath predicted victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
Muhammad Ali often told the press in what round he planned to finish an opponent — and frequently did.
All Mid Valley softball coach Mike Piercy did was say his Spartanettes would be playing for the state championship this year.
Three months ago.
Before a pitch was thrown.
And with five new starters on the team.
There are plenty of examples of those who couldn't back up their words, but Piercy made believers out of doubters, and Mid Valley fulfilled his prediction. It will play District 7 champ Mount Pleasant for the PIAA Class 3A title today at 1:30 at Penn State's Beard Field.
"There's some teams that think they're better than they are, think they're indestructible, and they need to be knocked down a peg or two," Piercy said. "This team, we have five kids that never played a varsity game and they needed to understand how good they were.
"I saw it in the offseason. I was able to tell that this is a special group. I don't think they had any clue."
Telling it to the players in an early-season team meeting is one thing. Saying it to a reporter writing the season preview is a different story.
"When he told us that we all laughed at him," senior shortstop Lindsey Jason said. "I said, 'I can't believe you said that in the paper.' But I guess it motivated us.
"I guess he manifested it. He's a fortune teller. But it gave us motivation to be where we are today. I guess we didn't want him to be proven wrong."
Their play has turned Piercy into a Nostradamus of sorts. Not that he's surprised by the deepest run in school history.
"None of them had seen the field in a district or state playoff game," Piercy said. "We had to build these kids up, let them know what their real capability was and I think once they started winning, they started believing. Maybe we could win the district. Maybe we are state contenders."
What started as a motivational speech — albeit one Piercy believed — has given the team incredible confidence, even as they face an opponent with four Division I softball prospects and two others who will play at Division II.
"It's very important," Jason said. "We knew early on we wanted to be one of the best, and we were going to be one of the best. So going into this game, we want to prove it not just to ourselves but to our community and for our school, which is supporting us like crazy."
That belief not only led the team to a 13-1 mark en route to the Lackawanna League Division III title, but to a second straight District 2 championship and a never-say-die attitude that has seen the Spartanettes rally in the fifth inning or beyond to win three of their five elimination games.
"When we got rolling, I think they 100% believed they belong here, and they had a legitimate shot to pull it off," Piercy said.
Dramatic home runs have become almost expected, starting with Emma Kobylanski's game-turning homer in the fifth inning of the District 2 championship game against Holy Redeemer, and Jason's two-run shot two batters later.
After a five-homer outburst against Loyalsock, Jason delivered a tying two-run blast in the sixth inning of the quarterfinal against North Schuylkill, with Kaylee Terranella winning it with her RBI double an inning later.
Monday, it was again someone different, which has become the norm for a team whose leading hitter, Maranda Runco, has just three at bats in her last 19 plate appearances, 14 of those intentional walks.
"I told them before the game against Central Columbia, 'I don't know who's going to be the hero, but I know we're gonna win this game,'" Piercy said. "It might be a great pitching performance, it might be a big home run, it might be a big hit, I don't know who's gonna do it, but I know one of you is going to do it."
Zoe Zelinski, one of just two senior starters, grabbed the spotlight with a fifth-inning single to win the semifinal, 1-0.
"It's just been a different person stepping up every game, and you don't know who it's going to be next, but you know someone is going to," Piercy said. "I'm telling you, from our opening meeting, we told them we're going to Penn State. You guys are that good, and I think they were kind of taken back and I'm always honest with my kids and I told them I don't tell this to every team, but, you know, looking at you guys you have to have potential.
"I think they maybe either thought I was crazy or didn't believe me. I'm not sure which one, but that was really 100% my belief. Me kind of doubling down on that and telling them this is where we belong, I think that helped get us where we needed to be mentally and have enough focus that this is a possibility."
The challenge is formidable against Mount Pleasant, which has been at least a state semifinalist each of the past five seasons.
"We need to play a really good game," Piercy said. "You know this is a good team but we scouted them. We know what they're going to do, but our focus is on what we're going to do.
"We have a really good pitcher, we have a really good defense. We can hit the ball. If Maranda throws a good game, and we make the plays behind her and we execute our game plan offensively, we can beat anybody. We know they're solid but we've played many good teams this year. We think if we play up to our capability we're going to come up with a win."
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