Jaguars ready to play for program’s first state title

Thomas Jefferson’s softball team has spent the entire postseason defying the odds, and they’re now just one game away from claiming a state championship today.

After earning the No. 10 seed in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, the Jaguars (15-8) made an impressive run all the way to the championship where they lost to Armstrong.

Earning a spot in the state playoffs, some might have thought that the district playoff run was a fluke, but the Jaguars have proven that it was anything but that with another run in the state tournament. Now, Thomas Jefferson will make the journey to Nittany Lion Softball Park at Penn State, with District 2 champions Pittston Area the only squad between them and the state crown.

First pitch is set for 4 p.m. “We’re really excited,” Thomas Jefferson coach Heidi Karcher said. “We’re a little nervous, but a good nervous. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we’ve got a chance to make history for the school as one of the first female sports to possibly win a state championship. The girls are prepared and just ready to play.”

The Patriots boast four hitters that hit over .400 as Tori Stephenson leads the way with a .459 batting average. Lili Hintze (.440), Gabby Gorzkowski (.436) and Gianna Adams (.433) have been difference makers for their squad, as have Julia Mehal (.338) and Maria Antal (.324).

Antal leads the Patriots with 20 RBIs while Stephenson has managed 19, and freshman Gabby Roman’s two home runs also pace the team.

The real challenge for the Jaguars will be on the bump, as Adams is one of the best pitchers in the state. She sports a 0.33 ERA in 21 games, giving up just 29 hits in 128 innings. She also has 273 strikeouts to just 18 walks while allowing only nine runs.

Adams is coming off of a no-hitter in the 2-0 win over South Western in the state semifinals, so she’ll be looking to do the same against the Jaguars. The senior pitcher has seven no-hitters and four perfect games on the season.

“(Adams is) very hyped up in the northeastern part of the state, but we have very good pitchers here in District 7 that we’ve faced,” Karcher said. “My girls aren’t going in there afraid. They know that she’s throwing fast from what the papers and the stats are saying, but we know we’re a good hitting team. We’re just going to try and do our thing. … She doesn’t walk a lot of people, so she’s always going to be around the plate. We have to make sure we get a good bat on the pitches in and around the zone.”

It’ll be up to the likes of Zoe Krizan, Morgan Alisesky and Hannah Alonso among others to prevent Adams from taking over their state championship battle. The trio has been hitting the ball extremely well in the PIAA Class 5A tournament, culminating in a 19-hit, 17-run outburst in the squad’s opening game in the state playoffs, a 3-1 win in the quarterfinals and a dramatic 9-8 comeback win to reach the championship.

In TJ’s state semifinal victory over Central Mountain, the eventual winners trailed 8-4 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. From there, the Jaguars ripped off two solo home runs in the fifth and three more runs in the sixth to snatch the game away from their opponents.

They’ll be hoping to keep that timely hitting going when it comes to today’s matchup.

Krizan starred against Central Mountain, going 3 for 4 with five RBIs, while Alisesky went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Alayna Grese added an RBI as well.

One of the clear revelations for the Jaguars since the end of the regular season, a stretch where they own a 6-1 record, is the emergence of freshman pitcher Aubrey Shaffer.

As a rookie, she has been the starter for TJ all year, and it’s clear that she’s developed in a big way over the course of the campaign as she’s gotten more used to the varsity game.

“I think she’s developed more confidence,” Karcher said. “She’s taking ownership of the mound, she knows her role, she knows that she has a great defense behind her and an offense that will support her, but she’s also very objective. If she doesn’t feel like she pitched her best game, she owns up to it. She felt like that after the WPIAL (championship), and I told her, ‘You’re crazy. You pitched a great game.’

“She’s very poised for a freshman, 15-year old. She’s hard-working and determined. Confident, but not arrogant.”

With a chance at program history on the line today, part of the preparations for the game included a stop at the house of longtime TJ coach John “Hoppy” Mitruski’s daughter.

The Jaguars have devoted their whole season to Hoppy after he tragically passed away last May. On Wednesday, the team had some fun on the eve of their biggest game of the year.

“We were just at Hoppy’s daughter’s house,” Karcher said. “She had us over for a team dinner and the girls were swimming. It was a really nice evening to relax and talk about memories of Hoppy and things like that.”

There’s no doubt that Thomas Jefferson will have Hoppy in mind when they take the field today.