After becoming only the sixth team in WPIAL history to win a PIAA title with an undefeated record, it’s hard to imagine Neshannock upstaging what it accomplished this season.
Believe it or not, though, this could be just the beginning of the Lancers’ reign over the rest of Class 2A.
Of the 18 players listed on Neshannock’s roster, only one is a senior — center fielder Neleh Nogay. Nogay, the leadoff hitter and a Fordham recruit, is certainly one of the most important pieces to the Lancers’ puzzle. The team won’t be the same without her unrivaled athleticism and uncanny ability to lead. But to say Nogay is leaving the program in good hands would be a massive understatement.
Her younger sister, junior shortstop Aaralyn Nogay, is a natural choice to take on more of a leadership role next season. First baseman Hunter Newman, who led the team with a .648 batting average and 1.042 slugging percentage, is another multi-sport standout who will be a senior next year. Both will have plenty of championship experience for the younger players to lean on.
It remains to be seen whether Aaralyn will take over her older sister’s spot in center field or stay at shortstop. She has excelled in the infield, but she normally plays the outfield in travel ball to use her speed to her advantage. Another option would be to keep Aaralyn at shortstop and plug in the youngest Nogay sister, Jaidon, at center field. Jaidon will be a freshman next season.
Elsewhere, freshmen Addy Frye and Gabby Quinn will look to take their skills to a new level after breaking onto the scene in 2022. Frye is Neshannock’s ace pitcher who finished her freshman season with a record of 21-0 to go with 175 strikeouts in 110 innings. She also hit .447 with a team-high 8 home runs and 49 RBIs and posted a .929 slugging percentage.
“I’m going to hope to get better and just keep grinding,” Frye said.
Quinn batted .455 with 6 homers, 37 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and a .948 slugging percentage, and she came up huge in the Lancers’ biggest games. In a 9-1 win vs. Frazier in the WPIAL Class 2A title game, Quinn went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. She then went 2 for 3 with a pivotal 2-run home run in a 4-1 win vs. Conwell-Egan in the state title game.
“I’ll try to top it,” Quinn said about her debut season. “It will be fun. I’ve just got to keep working.”
Rounding out the young core is sophomore catcher Gabby Perod, who hit .414 with 3 homers and 22 RBIs while providing a reliable backstop behind the plate. With such a talented mix of youth and big-game experience, Neshannock will surely be a popular pick to defend its WPIAL and PIAA titles — and there’s no telling how long the Lancers’ winning streak will last.
“We’re going to gain a lot more players next year,” Quinn said. “It will be a good year for us, I think.”
Golden girls
The Nogay sisters had already established themselves as one of the WPIAL’s most decorated duos in recent memory going into the softball playoffs. Now, they’re just running up the score.
Fresh off leading Neshannock to back-to-back WPIAL Class 2A titles and back-to-back PIAA championship appearances in basketball — including a state title in March — the Nogays took home some more hardware from the WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships in May. Neleh Nogay finished fifth in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters, while Aaralyn finished fourth in the triple jump.
Shifting their full attention to softball after competing at the PIAA track and field championships last month, the sisters helped lead the Lancers to an undefeated season and the WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A championships — and their blazing speed was a big reason why.
Batting at the top of the lineup, the Nogays used a variety of methods to set the table for Neshannock’s big bats, getting on base via walks, bunts, infield singles, doubles, triples, etc. Neleh batted .484 with 15 RBIs, 36 runs and 33 stolen bases, while Aaralyn hit .531 with 26 RBIs, 47 runs and 28 steals.
“They’re at the top of the lineup for a reason,” said Lancers coach Jackie Lash. “There’s just that natural athleticism, but they know how to play. They know what needs to be done. Both of them have a lot of tools in the toolbox. … They just offer this team so much.”
For her career, Neleh graduates with six gold medals (four WPIAL and two PIAA) and 16 medals overall. Aaralyn, a junior, now has five gold medals (three WPIAL and two PIAA) and eight medals overall.
Hanging up her cleats
Although Seneca Valley senior Maddie Gross ended her career with a disappointing defeat in the PIAA Class 6A championship game, there is no doubt she will go down as one of the best players in school history.
A four-year starter who transitioned from pitcher to first base midway through the season to make room for star freshman Lexie Hames, Gross batted an even .500 for the year with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs. She boasted a 1.037 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.565, and her 14 homers tied with Hames for the most in the WPIAL.
With her natural hitting acumen and eye-popping power, Gross certainly could have found a home to play at the next level if she wanted to. Instead, she will say goodbye to her competitive softball career, choosing to study computer science at the University of Tennessee instead. Gross said her desire to attend a big school contributed to her decision, along with a lack of viable avenues to keep playing softball beyond college.
“It’s a time commitment. It’s not my love for softball or lack thereof,” Gross said. “Because for a woman playing softball, there’s no professional career. It’s kind of just extending the end. So I kind of just decided to take this time to really focus on my future.”
Even though she lost her final game, Gross could not have scripted a much better way to go out. She went 8 for 12 with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs in three WPIAL playoff games, helping the Raiders win their first WPIAL title in 30 years and second in school history.
“Somebody asked me today what I’m going to do next year without Maddie Gross and how I’m going to replace her,” Seneca coach Marlesse Hames said after her team’s 5-0 loss vs. Spring-Ford in the PIAA championship. “You don’t replace a Maddie Gross. … We’re never going to fill that [void]. We have to learn how to work without her.”
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.
First Published: June 23, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
