Seton Hill softball falls short of NCAA berth despite strong season under 1st-year coach

On a day before the Seton Hill softball team was to learn the outcome of a potential return trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament, coach Cassie Moore and her fiance were continuing their restoration project of a 100-year-old house situated in the apple orchards region near Follansbee, W.Va.

The couple purchased the property while Moore and fiance Tommy Williams were serving at nearby Bethany College, Moore four seasons as softball coach and Williams several as an assistant baseball and softball coach for the Bison.

Suddenly, the blueprint changed last fall when Seton Hill came calling after the departure of former coach Jessica Strong.

When Moore was named coach of the Griffins, Williams joined her as a volunteer assistant and the couple dauntingly faced a daily 150-mile roundtrip for their new job in Greensburg.

“I put 10,000 miles on my car in one semester,” Moore said with a laugh.

Restoring their home wasn’t the only overhaul confronting the couple. An hour-and-a-half away, Moore and her new staff were tasked with leading a Seton Hill program coming off a record-setting season that saw the core of the team exit upon graduation.

The Griffins posted a 42-12 mark in 2022, setting a school record for victories in a season and winning the NCAA Division II Atlantic and Super regionals.

Moore took over a team this year with no seniors and coaxed the squad to a respectable 29-17 record, including 22-8 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, where the Griffins won their third consecutive Western Division championship.

The uplifting season earned Moore PSAC West Coach-of the Year honors, but the Griffins fell short of another Division II Tournament bid when the field was announced May 8.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter to Moore after she witnessed the team rally from an early slump that saw the Griffins fall to 5-7 after a spring trip to Florida.

“I told the girls that it’s all them,” Moore said. “Coach of the year is team of the year. I knew what they could do. Our season was all about growth. Our juniors had to be the seniors. They went from being sophomores to essentially being seniors.”

While those would-be seniors couldn’t lead Seton Hill to a second berth in a row in the Division II playoffs, they developed a bond that Moore is hoping will carry over to another successful year and a possible return to the national playoffs in 2024.

“We talked a lot about growing pains. We talked about accountability. We talked about being really focused on both sides, hitting the ball and fielding the ball,” Moore said.

They sure enough, too, talked about pitching well, and they did, with Seton Hill junior right-hander Lauren Dellett (18-7, 1.89 ERA) being named PSAC West Pitcher of the Year.

Five Griffins, including Penn-Trafford product Brooke Cleland, earned second-team All-PSAC West honors.

“She’s such a hard worker, and it shows,” Moore said. “Brooke struggled a little after (labrum) surgery in the fall, but the hard work she put in during rehab really paid off and it was just a matter of her easing her way back into things.”

Moore said a pair of walk-off hits, including a three-run homer, during a March series against Mercyhurst highlighted the comeback for Cleland, who thrived as the team’s chief designated player.

“It was a show of her perseverance all year,” Moore said.

Cleland finished the season with a .324 batting average and six doubles, five homers and 23 RBIs.

Junior shortstop Nina Grandey (Serra Catholic) joined Dellett on the first team. Junior catcher Mackenzie Zang (Thomas Jefferson) and sophomore third baseman Grace Paredes also were named to the second team.

Dellett becomes a two-time first-team selection, while Cleland is a two-time second-team pick.

Now that her first season at Seton Hill is over, Moore was hoping to spend a little extra time with Williams working on that West Virginia fixer-upper. The ultimate goal, she said, is a bittersweet decision to part with their house and move closer to Seton Hill.

“The drive,” she said, “is enough to want to leave.”