Connellsville grad Rachel Oplinger keeps busy with softball, school musical
Not everyone visits Orlando to mingle with Mickey and parade around the Magic Kingdom.
For some, such as recent Connellsville Area graduate Rachel Oplinger, it's all business. Last August, she was a member of the USSSA Under-18 World Series fastpitch softball championship Ligonier Valley Shock team that rolled to an undefeated 8-0 tournament record to cop the title and claim the USSSA's No. 1 ranking, competing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex against 54 teams from 17 states.
Being on center stage, however, is nothing new to Oplinger. A four-year letter winner and three-year starting catcher for the Lady Falcons, Oplinger earned all-Fayette County honors as a junior (section and county recognition has not been determined as of this writing) before going behind the plate this season for first-year head coach Vaughn Hempfield.
“Rachel is a take-charge player,” noted Hempfield, a Swissvale High (now Woodland Hills School District) grad who spent three years in the Kansas City Royals organization. “She is strong behind the plate and has a good arm. She has a good command at calling pitches and she is not afraid to be vocal with her teammates, understanding how to position our defense for different situations. She understands that there is more to catching than just receiving the pitches. Offensively, she is a clutch hitter, batting in our cleanup position.”
Being a member of two distinct softball programs, Oplinger is quick to note how mutually beneficial they have been. Making the Ligonier Valley squad following an open tryout, Oplinger, who also played tennis for the Falcons, referred to the opportunity as an honor playing in and winning the tournament, after the Shock qualified for the USSSA tournament in earlier summer tournaments.
“Playing for the Shock helped prepare me for my senior season since we were going up against tournament-caliber competition all season,” Oplinger said. “And playing high school softball last spring got me in a mind-set of playing on the summer tournament team. In high school we practice more, which definitely gets you ready for summer softball, and then high school season this year became somewhat easier to focus on because we played a couple games a week.”
In the semifinal and championship games, the Shock faced the same opponent. In the tournament finale, the Shock trailed, 5-2, in the last inning. But with two outs and no one on base, Oplinger walked to key a rally to win the game and the title.
Softball, however, has represented only one venue for Oplinger. She portrayed Mama Ogre in Connellsville Area's spring production of “Shrek the Musical” and sang the opening song, “Big Bright Beautiful World.”
“Rachel is a very talented young lady,” noted Henry Molinaro, Connellsville Area High School director of vocal music and musical director/producer. “She is a member of both our Chamber Ensemble and a smaller group called The Sixteen Notes. Rachel has an excellent ear and is a leader in the alto section.”
Reflecting on her final year in high school, Oplinger said her “senior year meant a lot. It was my last year to play high school softball and be in the musical at the same time. If there was a drawback, it was that softball and the musical overlapped, and there often was not enough time to devote to both activities. Being with my teammates and laughing on the bus and spending time rehearsing (for the musical) will always bring back special memories.”
Oplinger will attend Chatham University in Pittsburgh to study psychology.
Les Harvath is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.
