STATE COLLEGE — State College softball senior pitcher Paige Moriarta has been named the Centre County Gazette Athlete of the Month for the month of May.
Moriarta has been the starting pitcher and co-captain for a Little Lion team that has overcome many obstacles and that, in the end, emerged as the D6 Class 6A champion and regional finalist.
In the Little Lions’ 4-1 victory over arch-rival Altoona in the D6 Final, Moriarta pitched a complete game four-hitter with no earned runs and 14 strikeouts. She retired 12 of the last 14 batters she faced in that game, and she held off the Mountain Lions for SC’s third consecutive D6 Title and fourth in the past 10 years.
It doesn’t stop there though.
In the month of May, Moriarta was 2-1 in 20 innings with 12 hits, just 2 earned runs and 34 strikeouts as the team clinched the No. 1 seed in District 6.
For the season, Moriarta was 8-5 in the very tough Mid-Penn Commonwealth with 87 innings pitched, 46 hits, 26 earned runs and 161 strikeouts. She had an ERA of 2.076 and held opponents to a batting average of only .147. She averaged over 11 strikeouts per game.
Mariarta was also very effective at the plate. She batted .333 for the season so far with 17 hits, 4 doubles, a home run and 20 RBIs. She had a .444 on base percentage and a .471 slugging percentage.
“Paige is a force to be reckoned with,” State College head coach Vanessa Gordon said. “Stepping into the starting pitching role this year after only pitching 53 total innings her sophomore and junior year, was a huge ask. She has done so with poise and determination.
“Paige is a natural born leader both in the circle and at the plate. She is willing to go the distance for her team, throwing 87.2 innings with 161 strikeouts, while also batting over .330 this season.
“She’s one of our three captains, accompanied by Elizabeth Sikorski and Kara Rhinehart. This team has surprised a lot of people this year and we hope to continue to do that well into the state tournament, with Number 19 at the helm of it all.”
After winning the D6 Championship, SC will next travel to play Erie McDowell in the District 6-10 Regional Playoff with a spot in the PIAA Tournament on the line.
Moriarta, a 2026 graduate, will continue her education and softball career next year at James Madison University.
