Westmoreland players Skrabak, Osikowicz lift Seton Hill softball team into PSAC semis

Seton Hill softball players Jenna Osikowicz and Christiana Skrabak were as impactful in Thursday’s 16-0 runaway against Mercyhurst in the deciding game of a best-of-three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal series as they have been all season.

Osikowicz is a senior with perspective — and a bonus year to play the game she loves — and Skrabak is a grad student who is making sure her finale ends with fireworks.

The Westmoreland County products are embracing another chance to keep the kick-seeking Griffins in the championship chase.

“I never realized how much I truly love this game until it was taken away,” said Osikowkicz, a right fielder from Hempfield. “We know how fortunate we are to be playing. We have something special, and we want to capitalize on it.”

Seton Hill (30-11) not only lost most of last season because of the pandemic, but also had to endure two covid shutdowns this season as it makes inroads to what could be a lengthy postseason run.

“I wanted to come back for one more year, and it was like, let’s not take this season for granted,” said Skrabak, a Norwin graduate. “I wanted it to be more of a team focus. I have been more mentally relaxed. I used to put too much pressure on myself to produce.”

The Griffins, the No. 1 seed from the PSAC West, had the drop on the visiting Lakers from the start Thursday.

Osikowicz went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and four runs, and Skrabak hit her team-leading 10th home run as the Griffins mercy-ruled Mercyhurst.

The game started late as the teams waited for an umpire to arrive. But Seton Hill’s offense was right on time – time and again – producing 17 hits, seven that went for extra bases.

The team advances to a best-of-three semifinal series against No. 2 seed Gannon (27-13) that begins Sunday.

“We knew we could do this,” said Skrabak, a shortstop who went 2 for 2 had four RBIs in the win. “This is what we’re capable of doing. If our mindset is right, we can produce like this.”

Osikowicz, a speedy contact hitter who can hit from both sides of the plate, leads the Griffins with a .406 batting average, 52 hits, 29 runs and eight doubles. She has 24 RBIs.

She had hit safely in six straight games and is 12 for her last 22 at-bats. She has developed into a slap hitter, something she wishes she would have tried to perfect earlier in her career.

“Every time I see those eyes brighten up, you know (Osikowicz) is about to do something exciting,” Griffins coach Jessica Strong said.

Skrabak, who has three homers in her last five games, has a .350 average with 28 runs. Her 30 RBIs and .689 slugging percentage lead the team.

“I remember saying (in 2019), it would be great to have (Skrabak) for another year,” Strong said. “It was like a running joke. Then last year we found out it was actually going to happen. It has been fantastic having her back.”

Skrabak initially committed to Ohio, but decided to transfer to Seton Hill to be closer to home.

“Now I feel so old,” she said with a grin. “Sometimes I feel like a third coach. I really take my leadership role seriously.”

“Tape” and “Jo,” the nicknames Skrabak and Osikowkicz carry, have become stat-producing fixtures in the Griffins’ lineup as well as respected leaders.

“Tape” stuck with Skrabak in youth softball when a coach put tape on her back and wrote her name on it.

Osikowicz used to go by “Oz” at Hempfield, where she helped the Spartans to three WPIAL and two PIAA titles.

“Both would run through a brick wall for me, if given the opportunity,” Strong said. “We’re thankful to have them both. As time goes on in a program, you find out who you can rely on to relay my message. They took that as a challenge.”

Osikowicz plans to pursue a MBA in project management, and Skrabak wants to be a physician’s assistant. She works a few nights a week in the emergency department at three local hospitals.

“I have worked the 1-7 a.m. shift,” Skrabak said. “I love it. I always went to help people.”

Skrabak admitted to having the coronavirus in the winter but has not had side effects.

“The thing about it was that I got vaccinated in January, then got a call that I was positive,” she said. “It was weird. I have doctors telling me they don’t think that was right. They said I am the first person in Westmoreland County to get the vaccine and then get covid.”

Senior Allison Kapoll also went 4 for 4 with two triples and four runs for Seton Hill, and freshman Nina Grandey and grad student Alexis Vargas also homered.

Three other local players saw their season come to end from the Mercyhurst side: senior Sarah Koscho (Penn-Trafford), redshirt junior Kaitlin Hoffner (Hempfield), and freshman Morgan Hilty (Penn-Trafford).

Hilty and Hoffner both pitched Thursday but were not match for the Griffins. Hilty was impressive in Game 2 as she limited Seton Hill to four hits in a 4-0 shutout.