PATCHOGUE – The Raiders came marching into battle on the diamond in 2026. The girls’ varsity softball team at Patchogue-Medford High School played a great regular season. Playoffs are up next, with Half Hollow Hills or Ward Melville being the opponent of the third seed, Pat-Med Raiders.
The Patchogue-Medford girls varsity softball team is a member of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and competes in League I. The Raiders are led by fourth-year head coach, alumna, Alexa D’Onofrio. The skipper grew up on Long Island playing softball and made stops around Suffolk County before landing at her alma mater. She’s joined in the dugout by assistant coach Nico Siracusano.
“It feels great. I have a lot of pride in being from the program and being able to return there now to coach all these years later. I think it’s a great community to be a part of. I just feel really grateful to be given that opportunity a few years ago. I was an assistant coach at several programs and was kind of always waiting for the job to open up, and when it finally did, I was very excited to get it,” said D’Onofrio.
The last time a league title was claimed by Pat-Med was in 2006. 20 years is a fairly long time… D’Onofrio would know, she was on the team that won it. The Raiders came close the last three seasons, finishing top-three. As we know, to come that close is not close enough. Winning it this season wasn’t a question. Now, twenty years later, the Patchogue-Medford Raiders are Co-League I champions.
“We told them there’s still lots to be proud of, even though we’re sharing the title. It’s something that we haven’t been able to do in 20 years. Just trying to celebrate that and still have the girls be proud of the work that they’ve done, even if we do have to share it,”
The Raiders finished the 2026 regular season with a 16-4-0 record. In 20 games, the Raiders only lost four times. Interestingly, each loss came with the opponent scoring four runs. Other than those ‘Ls’, Pat-Med put up a quality season, outscoring its opponents 163 to 51. Their highest scoring game was a 23-2 win over Middle Country.
“We weren’t sure what to expect because we had five starters graduate last year. We had the entire outfield graduate, so we had a lot of roles to fill. This year, I would say we kind of changed things up where we didn’t rely on power on offense at bat, but more of a mix of power and small ball to try to move runs across. We have speed and some other factors that we didn’t really rely on or utilize in the past. We definitely used more of a combination of all-around types of offensive strategy. Having her [Kelly-Weihberg] return and trying to build off of that has been really big. We have a pretty young team, a lot of juniors, one senior. They’re a motivated group that’s been trying to win the league and just place higher and just keep improving from year to year.
First baseman Junior Ahria Treschl and pitcher Sophomore Arianna Kelly-Weihberg were named to Newsday’s Top-100 softball players list prior to the season. Kelly-Weihberg was awarded League I Pitcher of the Year in 2025, winning 13 games and recording 100 strikeouts
Ahria Treschl has put her name in the record books for Pat-Med this season. She’s now the single-season record holder for doubles, recording 12 in 2026.
The Raiders have one senior on the squad, and her name is Alley Reynolds. The second baseman will graduate next month before heading off to college in the fall, where she’ll continue her athletic and academic career at SUNY Cobleskill. Reynolds has played varsity softball at Pat-Med for two years. The Senior Captain is a multisport athlete, competing in basketball and cross-country as well. She’s seen as a leader, no matter what sport she’s playing, getting the ‘C’ in all three varsity sports. Last but not least, Reynolds is a four-time scholar athlete.
Speaking of seniors, the Raiders have a strong alumni support group that has been making its way back to their old stomping grounds this season. The alumni have served as a motivation factor for the 2026 Raiders.
D’Onofrio stressed the importance of coming out of the gate strong. In doing so, take it one step at a time and execute the fundamentals the right way. The Raiders received their playoff t-shirts earlier this week, and their motto is “Set The Tone”.
“We always say, one pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time, and that’s really the mindset for playoffs,” D’Onofrio told the Messenger.
