Former Westmoreland County softball standouts find 'extra' special roles in 'A League of Their Own'

Mollie Kovalcin watched the film “A League of Their Own” so many times growing up, she lost count.

It was part of her childhood and still holds a special place in her film collection. You might say it is “extra” special now.

“I’ve probably seen it maybe 300 times, over and over again,” the former Latrobe and Catawba College softball standout said. “I love that movie.”

Bree Acalotto, meanwhile, had never seen the hit movie, about women’s professional baseball in the 1940s, until she joined Kovalcin — and several other locals — as extras in the new streaming series by the same name that was filmed in parts of Western Pennsylvania.

“I didn’t watch it until I got the part,” said Acalotto, a Norwin graduate.

Both were tuned in to watch the premiere Friday and are in full binge mode as they look for themselves in scenes.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Kovalcin said. “Even if I didn’t make it, I could at least say I tried out.”

But she did make it through two tryout sessions, after sending in videos and pictures as part of the application process. Kovalcin, who made trips to the area from her home in Guthrie, Okla., plays for the Kenosha Comets and makes a key putout when one of the Rockford Peaches is sliding into third.

At least four other women with Westmoreland County ties play “specialty extras” in the series — based on the 1992 film starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna and others — which has scenes in Ambridge, Monroeville, Crafton and Pittsburgh.

The reboot launched Friday on Amazon Prime.

Other local high school alums who could see screen time include Makayla Munchinski (Latrobe), Christiana Skrabak (Norwin) and Jenette Johnson (Mt. Pleasant). They, too, passed tryouts and met casting criteria.

Munchinski cut her playing career at Cal (Pa.) short but is chasing a degree there on an academic scholarship.

Skrabak played at Ohio University and Seton Hill.

The local women began filming last June, and some worked 12- to 16-hour days for months. But they didn’t complain. As they say, there is no crying in … you know the rest.

“I saw on KDKA they were looking for extras,” said Acalotto, who has scenes with two of the four teams, the Racine Bells and the Comets, and plays catcher and center field. “The tryout had major league scouts and coaches working with us. But we didn’t use any baseballs. You had to go through motions and sell it.”

Munchinski, a gritty catcher when she played at Latrobe, could end up with the most on-screen time among the locals. She made the featured Rockford Peaches and appears with the team on the field, in the dugout and with teammates in 1940s street clothes.

“Extra Peach,” she said. “That’s what I was called. I worked three or four days a week. I never acted; I never did theater in high school or anything. I saw an ad on Facebook and decided to try out. The cool part was getting my hair and makeup done. They covered my tattoos. It was neat seeing how real actresses work.”

Munchinski, a middle school softball coach at Upper St. Clair who lives in Uniontown, said she was paid $28 an hour, plus overtime, for her time on set.

She also snagged a souvenir hat. She had additional scenes where she runs the bases and slides.

“My family said it will be hard to watch because I will be pausing it every few seconds,” Munchinski said. “I wear No. 27, so I’ll be looking for that.”

Kovalcin said she made about $1,000 for about three months of work.

Acalotto, who still plays in adult softball leagues in Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburgh three times a week, parlayed the opportunity into another series, “Mayor of Kingstown,” a second-season thriller also filmed locally.

She has her own business, Petals Boutique in Irwin, and sings in a local band called “Band Anna.”

“I wanted to change up my life a little bit, and this kind of played into that,” she said.

There are four women’s baseball teams in the series: the Rockford Peaches, Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets and South Bend Blue Sox.

Kovalcin, the daughter of Latrobe softball coach Bob Kovalcin, works as an oral surgical assistant.

“When I saw a picture of her in uniform, I didn’t even recognize my own daughter,” Bob Kovalcin said.

He and his daughter had a personal workout at a local field before the tryout.

“He just slammed me with ground balls, fly balls, whatever else, to get me ready,” Mollie said. “He even had a Latrobe player come and catch first base for me.”

Parts of the eight-episode series were filmed in Western Pennsylvania. The pilot was shot in Southern California before the covid pandemic. Production relocated to Pittsburgh when the show was set for series.

The Peaches’ home field was built at the CCAC Boyce baseball field, while a Rockford boarding house for players is in Crafton.

Also, the Greensburg Amtrak Station doubles as the Rockford train station in the seventh episode.

Rosie O’Donnell, who was in the original film, is featured in a scene in episode six where the Benedum Center camouflages into the Coronado Theater.

Ambridge is another site for on-field scenes.

The series follows the stories of Black and gay players but veers some from the initial theme of rights-seeking women playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.