California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

People now refer to the women’s softball team at California University of Pennsylvania as a “dynasty.” That recognition didn’t come out of nowhere. For years, California softball teams have had to work hard to push the program to where it is today. One team had to be the beginning of the dynasty, and that team had to include some terrific players. Hall of Fame inductee Paula Mastrean, a right-handed pitcher, was one of those great players.

“Our team was the beginning of the softball success. We actually brought the team to where it is today. It was the first women’s team to ever win the state title at the school. It was exciting. It wasn’t like it is today. The girls walk on the team and it’s a winning team. We brought it to where it is today,” Mastrean said.

Mastrean knew that she was sports-oriented from the time she was very young. She said that her whole family was athletic.

“My sister plays softball and my brothers played baseball. I just got into sports from them. My dad always says that from when I was two years old, I could bounce a ball. He said that I would stand outside on the porch and bounce a ball over a thousand times without missing. Ever since I can remember, I have always had a ball in my hand,” Mastrean said.

“Also, having a dad who was a coach, all of my athletic abilities came from him. He is retired now, but he coached baseball and football for St. Vincent College,” she continued.

Mastrean played softball and tennis while attending Keystone Oaks High School. She lettered four years in both sports and was selected MVP in both tennis and softball and voted the most athletic student in the high school. When she graduated from Keystone Oaks in 1987, she could have gone to Clarion to play tennis.

“I had a full scholarship to Clarion to play tennis. I went and saw the school, and I wasn’t too thrilled with it. So, I decided to go somewhere to play softball. I got a partial scholarship for softball here,” Mastrean said.

“I enjoyed both tennis as an individual sport and softball as a team sport. I just felt that I wanted to go somewhere and play softball. My mom, on the other hand, was disappointed because she had spent a lot of money on me for tennis,” she continued.

While at California, Mastrean had a career ERA of 1.17 and a compiled pitching record of 53 wins and 17 losses. Consistency was the key to her success.

“I never was a junk pitcher, whereas you could throw all different kinds of pitches like curves, drop curves and risers. I never excelled in learning how to do that. But I was very consistent in hitting the corners with just a fastball. That was the key to my game. Anytime the catcher would put her glove to where she wanted me to pitch, I could hit it probably 100 times out of 100,” Mastrean said.

California compiled a cumulative record of 110 wins and 34 losses over Mastrean’s final three seasons. Throughout Mastrean’s career at California, the team won three PSAC West titles and one state championship and made two PSAC state game appearances and two NCAA appearances.

During her junior year, the softball team made one of those two NCAA tournament appearances. In the first game of the tournament, Mastrean pitched a shutout over Bloomsburg, 1-0, and also drove in the winning run with a RBI single.

“They never liked the pitchers to bat for fear of the getting hurt, like if you were on base and had to slide. I always could hit the ball. I never really got the opportunity to do it much, though. That particular game, I was shocked that she (the coach) let me in there to bat. It just so happens that I hit the double and scored the winning run. Bloomsburg was always our rival. So when we beat them, that was the most exciting game,” Mastrean said.

With 20 wins and four losses during her senior year, Mastrean became the second 20-game winner in school history. Also during her senior year, Mastrean was named to the all-regional team and California won the PSAC state crown.

“During my senior year, to win when we won the states, we played a game against Bloomsburg that went 13 innings. I pitched the entire 13 innings. We ended up losing the game by one run. And then the next morning, we ended up beating Bloomsburg and winning the title,” Mastrean said.

“It was exciting to win the first state championship. It was never done before. We worked really hard to get to where we were, and it paid off. That was the highlight of just knowing that all the hard work that we had gone through paid off. We finally got something for the work. They gave us rings for winning,” she continued.

Mastrean graduated from California in 1991 with a travel and tourism degree and has no regrets about not taking the full scholarship to play tennis at Clarion. Six years later, she is being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Whenever they called me and said that I was elected to the Hall of Fame and the first softball player to be elected, I was very excited. But then I was also disappointed because I thought our whole team should have the award. But I know that they can only pick one. So, I am definitely accepting the award on behalf of the whole team because it is a team effort, not just one person,” said Mastrean, who is to be married this September.

Paula Mastrean was a right-handed pitcher who hurled for the Lady Vulcan women's softball team from 1988-91. She compiled a 53-17 career record. After going 5-5 in 1988, Mastrean produced single-season records of 16-4, 12-4 and 20-4 to compile a 48-12 three-year cumulative mark. She became only the second 20-game winner in school history during her senior year and defeated Bloomsburg twice in the 1991 PSAC Championships, including a 6-1 complete game in the title game. The 1991 women's softball team's PSAC title was the first women's PSAC team championship of any sport in Cal history.

As a junior in 1990, Mastrean helped Cal softball make its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and she shutout Bloomsburg 1-0. Mastrean also drove in the game's only run with a RBI single that scored Karen Yoder. Her career ERA was 1.17 and Cal won three PSAC West titles with two NCAA appearances, two PSAC "State Game" appearances and one state crown during Mastrean's final three years. Cal compiled an impressive 110-34 cumulative record during Mastrean's final three seasons.

Mastrean, who earned both all-conference and all-region honors, is originally from Pittsburgh and a graduate of Keystone Oaks High School. Engaged to John Barlock, Mastrean resides in Carnegie and is a Customer Service Representative for Columbia Gas.