Nogay comes in clutch at the plate for Union softball

May 15—Union High's Addie Nogay always delivers at the plate for her softball team.

On Monday, the Lady Scots posted a 6-2 nonsection win over Mohawk. Nogay supplied two of the total nine hits recorded by Union in the game.

"It felt good," Nogay said of the win. "We just rallied together. It came a little late but it came when it needed to."

The win over the Lady Warriors marked another team in a higher WPIAL classification that Union beat. Union plays in the 1A classification while Mohawk is in the 3A classification.

"We need to tune-up before playoffs," Nogay said. "You have to see better competition before you get to where we want to be."

On Wednesday, the junior led the Lady Scots with 4 RBIs and had two home runs in a 6-3 nonsection win over West Allegheny. Nogay's first home run in the game was in the top of the first to give her team a 1-0 lead.

"I don't really know. It felt like it was going," Nogay said on the first homer of the game. "It felt nice."

With the score of the game knotted at three, Nogay's final home run of the game came in the top of the seventh and brought in the final three runs for the win.

"It felt good," Nogay said of her second home run. "After that, we knew we had to go back onto the field, execute and we would be done."

For her efforts, Nogay was named Lawrence County Athlete of the Week as voted on by the New Castle News sports staff.

Union coach Doug Fisher said any time Nogay goes to the plate "there's going to be damage done," adding, "She's having a great year. Her hands are faster, the power is there, she's a perfect two spot. She's becoming more clutch. Last year she was good but she didn't have that clutch about her. Now, this year, she's got it. I think she's settled in more along with her power and speed she's just got way more pump."

A daughter of Rob and Season Nogay, the junior has been playing softball for around nine years. She credits her father for getting her involved in the sport.

Nogay plays left field but considers herself a utility player.

"I kind of just play wherever (Fisher) puts me," Nogay said. "I'd like to say I'm a little bit of utility so I'll go wherever he needs me. I like left field though.

"I used to be an infielder and got moved to outfield in my freshman year. I never really wanted to move."

Said Fisher of Nogay's abilities in the outfield, "She's a no fly zone as you say. She really makes some nice catches out there. She had a nice one sliding on her knees. It was really nice out there. She's locked down out there. You couldn't ask for anything more."

The Lady Scots ended the regular season with an overall record of 18-1. Nogay credits the success of this season to "practicing, hitting and we come together as a team really well," adding, "When someone goes down, everyone else picks them up so we never have a very down moment. We're always equal out."

Nogay said the batting lineup, Mia Preuhs in the pitching circle and the infielders are the strengths that Union possesses. She said working on small fundamentals and working on the main goal of a championship and taking it day by day is what the team needs to focus on.

During the week, Union found out it was name the No. 1 seed heading into the WPIAL Class 1A playoffs. The Lady Scots are looking to go back to the WPIAL championship and win its third consecutive title.

"We just don't want to get in our head. We want to stay focused and go game by game and try not to expect things in the future," Nogay said on heading into the postseason. "It's the goal and hopefully we make a run in the state playoffs. We want to make sure we're staying focused on that."

Last season, the Lady Scots made it to the PIAA Class 1A championship, but came away with silver.

"We just know we want to go back and make it gold, hopefully," Nogay said.

Nogay also plays travel ball for the Ohio Outlaws to keep her game sharp. Nogay also plays basketball for Union.

"I think it's great because you don't get any downtime so everyone has that work ethic where it's always about practice, being better and winning," Fisher said on Nogay being a multi-sport athlete.

Nogay praised Fisher

"I think he's a great coach," she said. "He knows what he's talking about, he knows how to keep us calm and he's not too pressuring. He want everyone to stay calm and let it be easy to win."

"She leads by example," Fisher said of Nogay. "She's always here on time or early. She always stays late and always wants to get more reps and always wants more balls. She's a student of the game and a perfectionist. Everyone else sees that and they all want to follow suit."

Nogay is one of four juniors on Union's roster.

"We have a strong junior class with Mia (Preuhs), Piper (Jendrysik) and Mackenzie (Siddall)," Nogay said. "Our seniors are a big attribute too with Bella, Mallory and Tori. It's going to suck to see them go but they're a good part of the team right now.

"I like bringing in the freshmen and the younger kids. We have good kids coming up. We're going to be a strong program for a while."

Nogay said a goal of hers is to start talking to a couple of colleges this summer and move forward with recruiting in the fall to play at the next level. She said she has help with her cousins, Neleh Nogay and Aaralyn Nogay, who graduated from Neshannock with offers to Division I colleges to play softball.

"It's great. They're big supporters," Addie Nogay said of her cousins. "Jaidon's (Nogay) a supporter too. It's nice having all of the behind (me)."

Fisher said Nogay has taught him to "be patient, watch and learn," adding, "Just grasping a patience about her. In years prior maybe she was a little jumpy in there and I learned to close my mouth and just let it go. Everybody has a trigger word or something you can say to them that helps. She's taught me to be a little more patient to where I let it unfold."