Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Team East's Sidney Nihart rounds third base to score from second on a single by Dakota Hershberger.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

Participation in all-star games allows graduating or graduated high school seniors in every sport an opportunity to enjoy one special farewell experience — which is often their final competitive scholastic venture in the sport.

Cambria Heights graduate Sydney Nihart and Central graduate Madison Kennedy made the most of that opportunity Tuesday evening, as they led the Team East squad to a 7-2 victory over the Team West squad in the Pennsylvania Softball Coaches Association’s Senior All-Star Game on Penn State Altoona’s Stewart Field.

Nihart, who will attend Penn State Altoona this fall but will not play softball in college, had three singles in five plate appearances and scored three runs, while Kennedy turned in a stellar relief pitching performance and chipped in a key RBI single to highlight a four-run seventh inning that broke the game open for Team East.

Mifflin County’s Dakota Hershberger had three hits and knocked in two runs, while State College’s Tori Kroboth had an RBI single and a run-producing groundout for Team East, which mounted a 12-hit offensive attack.

Team West managed only three singles off Nihart and Kennedy combined, with Nihart tossing the first four innings and allowing two runs and two hits, and Kennedy throwing four scoreless innings in relief, and allowing just one hit.

“I loved playing in this game,” Nihart said. “It was a great game, great competition, I was playing with a great group of girls on my team, and we were playing to win, but it was also fun.”

Kennedy allowed only one hit in her four relief innings, preserving what had been a one-run lead for Team East by keeping Team West scoreless, striking out three batters, and walking none.

Like Nihart, Kennedy will also attend Penn State Altoona, but she is undecided on whether or not she will continue her softball career on the collegiate level. If Tuesday was her softball farewell, it was a very good one.

Kennedy said that she feels very comfortable throwing to her Central teammate, catcher Braylin Ellis, who was behind the plate Tuesday.

“A lot of it is due to my catcher,” Kennedy said of her success on the mound. “Braylin calls the pitches for me and we come up with a game plan about what is working the best.”

Team East scored single runs in the first, third and fourth innings, breaking a 2-2 tie with a run in the fourth when Bellefonte’s Madison Ripka singled with two outs, moved up to second after Mount Union’s Payton Criswell drew a walk, and scored on a single to right field by Mifflin County’s Alika Henry.

The game was still in the balance until the seventh, when Team East bunched together six hits and scored four runs to go ahead 7-2. Criswell started the rally with a leadoff single to center field, moved to second on Nihart’s one-out infield single, and scored when Kennedy punched a single to right field, giving Team East a 4-2 lead.

With Nihart moving to third on Kennedy’s single, Kennedy stole second base. Nihart scored on Hershberger’s single to left field, and Kennedy scored on Kroboth’s single to right field. Bellefonte’s Sienna Barnhart followed with a single to left field, scoring Hershberger with the final run of the inning.

“Both teams played a good game,” said Bellefonte coach Ella Diviney, who was coaching Team East. “These girls are playing their last game as high school players, and it’s always nice for them to go out with a win.”

Conemaugh Valley coach Paula McCleester was in charge of Team West.

“This was a wonderful experience for all of the girls,” McCleester said. “They’re all great players, they’re all all-stars, and they all made some new friends here.”

After Team East scored a run in the top of the first inning when Nihart led off with a single and eventually crossed the plate on Kroboth’s bases-loaded groundout, Team West took a temporary 2-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Claysburg-Kimmel’s Emalee Cavender and a run-scoring groundout by West Branch’s Gresyn Grable.

Team East tied the score, 2-2, with a run in the top of the third inning when Nihart singled to left field, was moved up to second base on Kennedy’s bunt, and scored on Hershberger’s single to center field.

“It was really fun to come out and play one last high school game,” Kennedy said. “This was a great opportunity.”

Hall-of-Fame inductions

During a ceremony that was held on the field after the first four innings of the game had been completed, the Pennsylvania Softball Coaches Association added six graduates from the class of 2019 to its District 6 Hall of Fame.

Inductees included Central graduates Dylan Claycomb, Maddie Metzler and Ashley Neagly, Claysburg-Kimmel grad Emily Claar, and Philipsburg-Osceola graduates Madison Lucas and Kameryn Harris.

PSBCA all-stars from the 2024 season who were undergraduates this past season were also publicly recognized.

TEAM EAST (7): Nihart p-lf 533, Kennedy 2b-p 211, Ellis eh-c 400, Hershberger 1b 313, Kroboth lf 401, Barnhart 3b 401, Tobb rf 400, Ripka ss 311, Criswell c-1b 311, Henry cf 301. Totals – 35-7-12.

TEAM WEST (2): King 3b 311, Rydbom eh-c 410, Malone p 200, Stiffler cr-rf 100, Cavender ss-p 301, Buterbaugh eh-ss 200, Gable c 300, Rose 1b-cf 300, Shay lf 300, Pace lf 201, Winkleman 2b 200, Stiffler cr-rf 100. Totals — 29-2-3.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Team East 101 100 40–7-12-2

Team West 200 000 00–2-3-0

RBI–Hershberger 2, Kroboth 2, Barnhart, Kennedy, Henry, Cavender, Gable. SAC–Kennedy. SB–Gable, Kennedy. LOB–Team East 11, Team West 3.

PITCHING

Team East: Nihart (W) 4IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 1SO; Kennedy (SV) 4IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3SO.

Team West: Malone (L) 4IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 4BB, 4SO; Cavender 4IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 1BB, 2SO.

Umpires: Jim Campbell (plate); Jim Noye (bases).