Mohawk Promise Helps Spark Slippery Rock Softball’s Long-Awaited Playoff Breakthrough

Dan Beebe doesn’t want to keep the mohawk he is currently sporting. Nor does the Slippery Rock High School softball coach want streaks of red dye running through his brown hair.

Back in the playoffs after nearly a decade away from leading a high school program, Beebe, in his second season leading the Rockets, promised his team if they won a playoff game for the first time in eight years, they could shave his hair into a mohawk.

Freshman Sophia Lawrence scheduled Beebe’s appointment with the team hairstylist, junior Christy Frazier, by blasting a two-run, walk-off home run to help Slippery Rock beat General McLane, 8-7, in the first round of the District 10 Class 4A playoffs Tuesday at Allegheny College in Meadville.

“I’m going to let it go this weekend,” Beebe said. “I have a travel ball tournament. I’m going to wear a hat and on Monday or Tuesday I’m hoping more roots will come in by then and we’ll start over again.”

A Haircut Worth Waiting For

After its first postseason win since 2018, Slippery Rock (9-9) was eliminated in the semifinals by top-seeded Harbor Creek. Beebe, however, saw an early return on his building process with the Rockets.

Joslyn Korcok, a senior pitcher for the Rockets, appreciated Beebe's belief in them.

"It served as motivation for us as well," Korcok said. "No. 1, we wanted to win the game and get our first playoff game in eight years. But No. 2, we had the underlying motivation that he has the faith we can win this game and would let us do something like that to him because of how much he believes in the potential for the program, despite not a fun result for him."

Selling a Car to Build a Program

The Rockets finished 5-11 in Beebe's first season. With Beebe on board for a full offseason, many things changed. Slippery Rock ratcheted up its offseason program, holding 57 workouts from last June until before the start of the 2026 season.

Beebe also had someone reach out to him with a different way to raise money for the program. They partnered with a local car dealership to raffle off a new SUV.

Slippery Rock senior utility player Lilly Campbell, who will play collegiately at Geneva, said it was an intimidating challenge. The Rockets were tasked with selling several thousand tickets at $40 a piece. A few members of the team took marketing classes at their high school and leaned on what they learned to figure out a good sales plan.

When early numbers were slow, they adjusted on the fly.

"We had a few girls on the marketing team in the school and they were able to help with reels and things on social media to figure out how we can set this up to sell the best," Campbell said. "We made a lot of different, questionable and kind of embarrassing videos. We came up with things that were funny and it's what people want to see. It's hard when you have 3,000 tickets to sell."

The team created digital flyers, videos on TikTok and Instagram and other ads to move the tickets. Korcok said they were in a little bit of panic at first.

“We, collectively, did a lot of marketing,” Korcok said. “We created a lot of ads trying to send things out to everyone. I helped create some of the ads and had some marketing ads. We sent out the information to a lot of people we don’t know who didn’t have information about our program.”

It worked. The team generated more than $100,000 in ticket sales and netting enough money to upgrade their facilities.

Back Coaching After Nearly a Decade

Beebe never planned to return to coaching at the high school level. When his first time leading a program ended on a sour note, Beebe figured it was time for a change.

Before this past week, the last postseason game Beebe coached was in a state championship game.

Beebe led his alma mater, Moniteau, to a runner-up finish in the 2016 PIAA Class AA playoffs. The Warriors, who were making their first trip to a state final in any sport, lost to Holy Redeemer.

“I told the girls before the game, I’ve waited 10 years to be in a playoff game,” Beebe said. “I volunteered for a year with the previous coach and when the opportunity came up to work with the youth and with my niece coming up in the district, everything leaned toward me taking over and I couldn’t turn my back on them.”

Success and Heartache at Moniteau

After the Warriors lost in the state final, Moniteau chose not to renew his contract. Parents in the district voiced to the school board that they wanted to go in a different direction. Beebe had a hard time with the news.

Beebe compiled a 109-20 record during his six seasons with the Warriors, including four District 9 championships.

“I had a lot of great times and good memories at Moniteau. It’s disappointing how that ended,” Beebe said. “I’ll never get over how that ended. I went over to Butler County Community College and I never planned on coaching high school again. I had been there, done that.”

How Softball Pulled Him Back

During Beebe’s tenure at Butler County Community College, he led the Pioneers to three Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Community Conference titles. Meanwhile, Beebe stayed involved with coaching youth softball by working with his now 13-year-old niece, Adrian Basham.

Once a week, Beebe drives Basham to pitching lessons with Jim Moats in New Castle. Beebe goes along so he can serve as the catcher.

It brings back memories of watching his sister play, which first fueled his interest in the game.

“I had never been to many softball games,” Beebe said. “When I went and watched my sister play I saw how fast the game was and I really enjoyed it. (Moniteau coach) Dan Hindman needed help with coaching and I figured I was going to go to all the games anyway, I have a baseball background and can help coach.”

After-Prom Practice Provides a Spark

When Slippery Rock hit a rough patch this season, Beebe called for practice the morning after prom. The Rockets had a rough week before that with losses to Grove City, Hickory and Sharon.

“I was concerned they were packing it in for the year,” Beebe said. “The day after prom we had a 7 a.m. practice. It was the best practice we had during the year. It was focused and it was just softball. I wanted them to get the message that that season isn’t over, I’m not giving up, you aren’t giving up.”

The Rockets responded with wins over Lakeview and Oil City.

“I found it fun," Korcok said. "I love the early practices. I play travel ball and I have to get up at 6 a.m. and go to practices at 8 a.m. an hour away.”

A Freshman Delivers the Moment

Lawrence has a habit of coming through in big moments. She had four runs on the season, two of which were walk-off winners. Against General McLane, the Rockets trailed 7-5 going into the bottom of the seventh.

"She’s always had the power," Beebe said. "She started playing travel ball for the Pittsburgh Power, that's helped enhance her game. She started playing travel ball for the Pittsburgh Power. She's a strong girl and working on enhancing her game."

Korcok started the inning with a leadoff double. One batter later, she scored on a single by Savannah Smith. Lawrence followed with a home run that propelled Slippery Rock with the win.

"That was amazing to come from a freshman," Campbell said. "That's crazy from any school. For me, this is amazing, this is my senior year and we are going to keep going. We all thought what if we did win and keep going? When that did happen, we were in awe."

-Josh Rizzo | rizzo42789@gmail.com| @J_oshrizzo

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