Replacing a group of three- and four-year starters as well as putting together most of the infield were the tasks in front of the Ambridge Area softball coaching staff heading into this season.

Sounds like a tall order but the Bridgers were lucky enough to have as talented a crop of freshmen as there is around.

Eight freshmen and sophomores contributed to an Ambridge team that went 11-8 overall and 8-7 in Section 1-AAA during the regular season. The Bridgers finished tied for third place with Moon Area. Because they took two of their three meetings with the Tigers, the Bridgers advanced to the WPIAL tournament.

They were scheduled to face Knoch in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs yesterday at Seneca Valley.

Freshman Stephanie Beck was the team's offensive catalyst with a team-high three home runs, .441 batting average and 18 RBIs.

"She puts the ball in play," Bridgers coach Jim Huwar said.

"She played well on our junior high team and from the get-go, she was our starting catcher. Stephanie just had an exceptional year as a freshman."

Another freshman, Kayla Haslett, a versatile player hit two home runs and was batting .289. Haslett can play third base, outfield, pitcher and has been used as a designated hitter, too. Breanna Gleason in center field and Emily Mley at third base are two other contributing freshmen for Ambridge.

Six letter-winners returned from last year, including senior pitcher Kristen Pinkosky. She worked the majority of games with sophomore Amber Borkowski spelling her from time to time. Borowski averaged .269 and plays outfield when she is not pitching.

At first base, senior Danielle Droz returned after starting last season and is hitting .319 with two home runs.

The seniors on this team were freshmen when Ambridge captured the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA championships in 2005. In their sophomore years, Ambridge advanced to the WPIAL title game again and to the PIAA quarterfinals. Last season, the Bridgers went 9-6 in the section and defeated Chartiers Valley in the first round before being knocked out by Hampton, 3-0, in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

"The biggest difference was that last year's team had a lot more experience," Huwar said. "A lot of the kids last year played travel ball and had been in our program. This year, the girls are just getting acclimated to the pressure of high school playoffs.

"Each team is unique in its own way and this group of kids has come along so much with their progress. The coaching staff is very pleased. All the time we worked with the kids you can see the fruitfulness of it at the end of the year."

Sophomores Heidi Frynkewicz in the outfield and Becky Deane at second base are starters. Deane was second on the team with a batting average of .380.

A transfer from Quigley, senior shortstop Janet Zahorsky hit .286.

The Bridgers had holes to dig out of twice in section play. They opened the section schedule by dropping decisions to Moon, 14-4, and to New Castle, 3-0. They rebounded by winning four of their next five section games to get back into the race until a three-game section losing streak in mid-April put them at 5-7 in the section and in danger of missing the playoffs.

Ambridge responded by defeating Moon, 5-2, and Hopewell, 9-0, on consecutive days before closing out the season with a 6-1 win at Blackhawk.

"I think the kids started to believe in themselves a lot more as the season went on." Huwar said. "There was a lot more hitting and our defense really played a big part.

"In some of those games in the middle of the year, we made a lot of errors with people moving to different positions, but we rebounded. The girls were excited and real energized to get into the playoffs."