Reaping rewards
Area well represented with 13 players on All-State softball team
Dave Briggs has seen this show before.
It never gets old for the veteran Carmichaels softball coach, though.
For the third year in a row the Lady Mikes put four players on the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association All-State Team, and two of them have been selected in each of those seasons.
Juniors Bailey Barnyak and Carys McConnell ascended into rare air as three-time Class 1A All-State players and were chosen to the First Team for the second year in a row.
Carmichaels senior Kaitlyn Waggett is on the Second Team for the second consecutive season, while senior Ashton Bates was named in two categories, being chosen as a First Team second baseman, and also as one of three Courage Award Honorees, which goes to players who have overcome major injuries.
鈥淭he last few years we鈥檝e put a lot of girls on the all-state team,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淭o get four again is a nice team accomplishment.鈥�
All in all, there were 13 area players chosen to the PAHSSBCA All-State Team, including three apiece from both West Greene and Southmoreland.
Ava Clark became the first Brownsville softball player to be named All-State, while Frazier and Connellsville each also put one representative on the team.
Seven of those local players were First Team selections with Lady Commodores senior third baseman Grace Vaughn in Class 2A, Lady Scotties senior catcher Makayla Etling and freshman second baseman Makayla Brown in Class 3A, and Connellsville sophomore shortstop Cali Leichliter in Class 5A joining Barnyak, McConnell and Batis.
In addition to Waggett, Second Team selections were senior pitcher Payton Gilbert, senior outfielder Marissa Tharp and junior shortstop Kendra Tharp of West Greene in Class 1A, junior pitcher Clark in Class 2A and Southmoreland senior shortstop Riley Puckey in Class 3A.
McConnell, Barnyak, Waggett, Gilbert, Marissa Tharp and Etling are all repeat choices from 2024.
Leichliter had a stellar season in helping coach John Burd鈥檚 Lady Falcons reach the playoffs as she led area players in batting average (.632), home runs (10, tied for Etling), RBIs (30) and runs (36).
Burd wasn鈥檛 lost on how important Leichliter was to the Lady Falcons鈥� success.
鈥淐ali meant pretty much everything to our team,鈥� Burd said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 one whale of a ballplayer. We batted her leadoff because I wanted her to get the most at bats she could. She鈥檚 just one of the best athletes I鈥檝e ever coached.
鈥淓veryone knows she鈥檚 a great hitter but she鈥檚 also our best fielder with a cannon for an arm. I鈥檓 glad I鈥檝e got her for a couple more years. We鈥檙e depending on her. She鈥檚 very deserving of this honor.鈥�
McConnell was an excellent fielder who batted .519 with five home runs, 29 RBIs and 23 runs while Barnyak was 16-2 with a 0.74 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched with only 34 walks, and also hit .411 with 16 RBIs.
鈥淔or Bailey and Carys, they鈥檝e been on there every single year since they were freshmen,鈥� Briggs pointed out. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 quite an accomplishment and they definitely earned their spots each year. Hopefully, they鈥檒l have strong seasons next year, too, and both make it four for four.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 two years now Katie has made the second team so I鈥檓 happy for her. When you see the way she plays the game you realize how good she is. She鈥檚 a tough player.鈥�
Briggs had special praise for Batis who made the First Team for the first time.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy for Ashton. She had to overcome two ACL injuries in her career,鈥� Briggs explained. 鈥淭he first one occurred the first scrimmage of her freshman year. She missed the season but rehabbed, came back her sophomore year and played second base for us when we made the WPIAL finals and won one state game.
鈥淭hen her junior year she tore it again, same knee, in volleyball. So we didn鈥檛 have her for her junior season either. But she rehabbed hard again and came back strong again, had a good senior year and gave us a nice boost offensively and defensively.
鈥淭o overcome two severe injuries like that, with the hard work and determination that takes, not only physically but mentally, that just tells you a whole lot about Ashton.鈥�
Clark finished second in the WPIAL regular season in strikeouts with 231 and went over the 500 strikeout mark for her career. The right-hander was 11-6 with a 1.73 ERA and only 11 walks and she also batted .340 with an OPS of .817.
鈥淪he鈥檚 our first girl to be named All-State team which is a great accomplishment for a junior who鈥檚 worked consistently over the last three years to be one of the best,鈥� Brownsville coach Jane Bock said of Clark. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad she鈥檚 getting the recognition she deserves for all her hard work. I look for her to continue dominating on the mound. She sets personal goals for herself. She wanted to reach 500 strikeouts. She did that. Now she鈥檚 looking to get to 700.鈥�
Bock cited the improvement the West Liberty recruit has made while playing for the Lady Falcons.
鈥淚 think she believes in herself a lot more now than when she was a freshman,鈥� Bock said. 鈥淪he gained a lot of confidence this year, especially when she went against Sydney (Gonglik of Bentworth) and struck her out five times in six at bats.鈥�
West Greene put two players on the 2024 All-State Team and upped that by one in 2025.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see us put three players on there,鈥� Lady Pioneers coach Bill Simms said. 鈥淧ayton and Marissa were second team All-State last year as well. Payton was on the team as a utility player because she pitched and was a position player when we used Samantha Zimmerman to pitch at times. This year she made it as a straight pitcher. She did a fine job pitching and batting for us.鈥�
Gilbert was 16-4 with a 2.92 ERA and 102 strikeouts and batted .458 with nine doubles and 22 RBIs. Marissa Tharp was one of the state鈥檚 top defensive centerfielders while also leading her team in runs (25) and stolen bases (16) as a lead-off hitter.
鈥淚鈥檓 just glad people look at the defensive metrics we put out there,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淚n the regular season against the tough competition we faced in our section she didn鈥檛 make a single error. She has a lot of speed which allowed us to cheat with our left and right fielders where they could play closer to the lines. I was very proud to see she made it.鈥�
Marissa鈥檚 younger sister Kendra Tharp batted .288 with six doubles, and team-high 19 hits and 12 stolen bases while sporting a .918 fielding percentage.
鈥淚f you watched all of our games this year you would鈥檝e thought Kendra was a no-brainer as an All-State pick,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淎ny time you鈥檙e in the shortstop category you鈥檙e in with the elite players across the state. Lo and behold there were enough committee members that must have seen her and the caliber of player she was. She鈥檚 very deserving and we鈥檙e excited to see her make the team as well.鈥�
Frazier did not have an All-State representative last year but the slick fielding Vaughn gave the Lady Commodores one this season. Vaughn was the area鈥檚 third-leading run producer behind Leichliter and McConnell with 28 RBIs.
Etling had another monster year for coach Todd Bunner鈥檚 Lady Scotties, hitting .569 with 10 home runs, 24 RBIs, 11 doubles, 29 runs and 10 stolen bases. Teammate Brown, the lone area freshman on the team, racked up 26 RBIs and Puckey hit at a .563 clip.