- March 29, 2025
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Regardless of the sport, one of the most tried-and-true ways of identifying whether a team is merely great or if it has the make-up of a champion is not by seeing if it wins games or by how much it wins said game. Instead, the mark of a team truly hunting for a championship is how many different ways it can win games.
Can a team win by physically dominating its opponent? What about by out-thinking them? Outscoring the opponent? Not letting the opponent score? Can a team gut-out a win when nothing is going its way? When the referees are out to get you?
Although there is plenty of ball left to be played, one local team has shown the capacity to win games in a variety of ways this spring sports season: the Horizon Lady Hawks softball team.
“We’re a really well-rounded team,” said Horizon senior Mackenzie Duncan, a Penn State signee. “We have a lot of different strengths; a lot of different aspects of our team can be the reason we win a given game. Even though we lost a lot of players from last year’s team, we’ve kind of reloaded with this group of underclassmen who have come in and stepped into those voids. They know what they’re doing out there, and I feel like their hard work and talent have really allowed us to gel really well this year. … Obviously, (us) veterans have been the leaders of this team, but it’s been really nice to see some of the underclassmen step into those roles and also be leaders.”
Over 11 games in the 2025 season, the Hawks have a 10-1 record and are led by three veteran players. Duncan — the most accomplished player in program history — who is not only an intimidating force from the pitcher’s circle, currently sporting an ERA of .75 with 85 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched this season, but also is a major threat from the batter’s box, hitting .400 with 10 RBIs and two home runs. Senior pitcher Addison Lamb, who has an ERA of .37 with 39 strikeouts in 19 innings of action and junior outfielder Lila Hernandez, who boasts a ridiculous on-base percentage of .600 and has scored 18 runs and stolen 22 bases.
“It’s been a really big honor for me that coach has trusted me since my freshman season to be the leadoff hitter and really set the tone for our offense,” Hernandez said. “It really feels like every time I get on base in that opening inning, we always score a run. It’s like the whole team gets this energy to open a game, and we all start doing what we can to get me home. I know that being that first person in the batter’s box is a really important job for our team, so I try really hard to do my part and get on base to set us up for a good start to the game.”
Coming into this season, that was all Horizon was expected to bring to the field after losing six starters from a historic 2024 team that reached the state semifinals and won a regional championship. However, in its fourth year of existence, the Horizon softball program brought a little more than just their trio of stars to their 2025 team.
Nobody would have batted an eye if this Hawks team had taken a step back following a 23-win season. It even would have been completely acceptable if Horizon had called this season a rebuilding year and focused on development over results.
But coach Steve Lenzi and his Hawks don’t rebuild. They reload.
“Coming into the season, obviously, I knew what kind of players we were losing and the kind of players coming into the program from middle school,” Lenzi said. “I knew there was some talent, but it’s definitely been a bit of a surprise how quickly the younger girls have come along. Obviously, the headline is Lila’s little sister, Paisley Hernandez, who has been incredible for us, coming in as a freshman and being our three-hole hitter. What has also stuck out to me this year is our overall team speed. We have a lot of girls who can run, and that helps when we try to play small ball. … Another player (who has) been a great surprise for us is Brooke Grafton, who is a junior but is a first-time starter. She’s been stepping up for us as well.”
With the emergence of the younger Hernandez sister — who leads the team in batting average (.457), hits (16), RBIs (13) and extra base hits (6) — fellow freshman Maryn Neely, who is hitting .394, has scored 13 runs and drove in nine, and sophomore Morgyn Welch, a .419 hitter, Horizon has six players with a .394 batting average or higher and six players with 11 or more hits through 11 games. The Hawks also have stolen a total of 71 bases — with the Hernandez sisters combining for 33 and Neely bagging 15.
When you put it all together, it is hard to find a lot of holes in this Horizon team. The Hawks have two experienced and uber-talented pitchers — with a third in Paisley Hernandez waiting in the wings — a combination of six to seven bats that can bunt, hit for contact or go long, a collective overall team speed that haunts its opponents and a group of veteran leaders that have experience on the biggest stage.
Still, like most coaches, Lenzi isn’t letting his team’s early season success shift their focus away from putting in the work, day in and day out.
“Obviously, we’re very fortunate,” Lenzi said. “I think we have the best overall and complete pitching staff in the state. We have a ton of speed because of the freshmen and first-year players (who) came in, which means we can run the bases better. We can do a little more small-ball stuff. But ultimately, we can improve significantly in our hitting; it’s probably our weakest point. I also want to see us get tested a little bit more, which will start to happen on this side of the schedule through the rest of the year. I know we’ll be able to lean on our pitching and speed. You know what they say: ‘Speed doesn’t slump.’ But we still have a ways to improve before we reach our goal.
“The No. 1 thing we need to do to hit our goal is we need to get tested,” he said. “I need to get the younger players experience in those tighter games. We have the talent to be great, but we’re just so young that we might see one of these freshman get put in a pressure-filled spot, and I need to make sure they’re ready for it because if it happens in a state championship game, it’s different. So, that’s ultimately the things we’re focusing on, along with putting in the attention to detail on things like bunting and our short game, which are going to be crucial for us against some of the more talented pitchers.”
Although Lenzi is worried about the inexperience of his roster, one factor that gives him solace as the season progresses is that his veteran trio has managed to create an overall team culture that can be best described as loose.
“We don’t play with any pressure on ourselves,” Lila Hernandez said. “Coach Steve definitely harps on that a lot, just play loose and stay within yourself. We’ve just taken that as sort of our mantra: play loose, play fun and play your game. We really have taken a mentality of not putting all this pressure on our shoulders to win the game in one at bat or one play. Just take it one play at a time and when you do that you play confidently. That’s when you’re at your best.”
That mentality not only has allowed for a loose environment but also has created a culture that has allowed these young players to thrive quickly.
“Coming into my first season, I was just looking forward to playing for the first time with Lila and taking it all in, because I know we only have two of these,” Paisley Hernandez said about her expectations for her freshman season. “As the season has gone on and I’ve been able to develop and grow, thanks in large part to having Lila to lean on, I’ve also been able to really enjoy everything we’ve been able to do so far. One of the biggest reasons for our success is how much we do in our practices. Our practices have really played a big role in preparing me because, yes, we work hard but also because of the fun we have as a team. We’re a big family. That’s why it’s easy to grow, the environment is loose and makes me feel like it’s OK for me to not put pressure on myself and ask questions and build confidence.”
