H-S Athlete of the Week: Ava Clark, Brownsville
Name: Ava Clark
School: Brownsville
Class: Junior
Sport: Softball
Clark鈥檚 week: Clark has had an array of memorable performances this softball season with the latest coming last Thursday when she recorded 10 strikeouts, including the 500th of her career, in a 6-3 win at California. Also this season, Clark, a 5-foot-10 junior righthander, retired the first 16 batters in a 9-1 victory over Ringgold on March 19, struck out a career-high 19 batters in a 2-0 win over 2024 Wisconsin state playoff team Johnson Creek at the Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on March 25, and passed Stacey Knox鈥檚 then-school record of 376 strikeouts with 11 in a 1-0 loss at McGuffey on April 2. Clark stood at 503 career strikeouts as of Wednesday.
Into the postseason: The 17-year-old daughter of Terry and Christina Clark also helped the Lady Falcons clinch a WPIAL playoff spot for the first time in over a decade. Brownsville currently is 9-5 overall and 6-3 and locked into third place in Section 4-2A. The WPIAL pairings meeting will take place Thursday. 鈥淚t definitely feels like a big accomplishment for us,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working towards this for a few years now and it鈥檚 so great to finally get there. I鈥檓 glad for my coach (Jane Bock), too, we really get along well together. I think our team deserved it with all the hard work everybody on his team has put in this year so I鈥檓 happy we kind of got rewarded for that.鈥� Clark doesn鈥檛 think she鈥檒l feel any playoff jitters. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 very calm and collected on the mound,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really get nervous that much.鈥�
Memorable moments: Even Clark is amazed at her and list of accomplishments this season. 鈥淚t kind of shocks me when I see all the things me and also my team have done this season,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e been putting a lot of work in, getting into the gym everyday, and I worked really hard to get where I am now. I think breaking the school record was probably the highlight because that was one of my goals this year and of course making the playoffs also. Now I just want to keep adding on and adding on to it. My goal is to get to 700 some time next year.鈥� Clark focuses on keeping more than just her arm in shape. 鈥淚鈥檓 always working on improving my pitching but also I want to keep myself fit,鈥� she said. 鈥淏asically when we have practice, afterwards I鈥檒l go to the gym and lift and stuff. Game days I might go for a run afterwards. I always try to keep moving. Anything to keep in shape.鈥�
West Liberty-bound: Clark has already committed to play softball at NCAA Division-II West Liberty University which is a little over an hour away from Brownsville Area Senior High School. 鈥淚 picked them, first, because I really liked the coach (Sara Pelegreen),鈥� Clark said. 鈥淲e just had a great bond when I got there. She showed me around and we had a really good practice with the whole team. It also just felt like a good environment for me. It felt like home basically. I didn鈥檛 want to go that far from home because I鈥檓 really close to my family and I wanted them to be able to see me play.鈥�
Pitching arsenal: Clark throws a fastball, curveball, screwball, riseball, drop and even a knuckleball occasionally. 鈥淭he curveball is probably the toughest for me because your spin has to be right for it to work,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淚鈥檓 working to get my drop better, too.鈥� Clark鈥檚 main pitching mentor is Megan Uhler. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working with her since I was about 9 or 10,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淪he was my first trainer and taught me all my pitches, basically.鈥�
Way back when: 鈥淢y mom started me out pitching on the bucket when I was like maybe 8 years old,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 the one who introduced me to softball and pitching. She was a pitcher herself in high school so she showed me the basics on how to throw. She played at Bentworth. My dad helps me out a lot with the training part of it. My mom and dad have been there for me through it all, supported me and sacrificed a lot for me and just done everything for me.鈥�
Soaring Lady Falcons: Clark is one of several outstanding female athletes to come out of Brownsville in recent years, including soccer player Tessa Dellarose who helped lead North Carolina to a national championship this past season, distance runners Gionna and Jolena Quarzo at North Carolina State, sisters Maris, Alie and Emma Seto, as well as current teammate Skyler Gates who is a Virginia volleyball recruit. 鈥淚 feel Brownsville gets a bad rap sometimes but there are a lot of athletes who work hard here and go on to do great things and I think maybe not enough people give us credit for that,鈥� Clark said.
Hoop stars: Clark and Gates were the top players on Brownsville鈥檚 girls basketball team under coach Patty Columbia which advanced into the playoffs for the second year in a row this past season. 鈥淚 love basketball,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淚 started in like second grade. It鈥檚 my fun sport, I just love playing it with my friends. I love playing with Skyler.鈥� Clark has been a three-year starter and will enter her senior season needing 153 points to reach 1,000.
Tidbits: Clark has yet to throw a no-hitter in her high school career. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 definitely one of the goals I still have out there to do,鈥� Clark said. 鈥� Clark plays for the Steel City Athletics travel team. 鈥淚 usually pitch and play first base for them.鈥� 鈥� Clark has come on as a hitter this season. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working hard on improving my hitting, getting with my trainer, hitting off a tee. I鈥檓 a much better hitter this year. That鈥檚 another thing I had on my checklist that I can check off.鈥� 鈥� Clark loves to watch college softball. 鈥淚 watch some of the best teams like Texas and Oklahoma,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hose teams are so locked in, so professional with how they play.鈥� 鈥� Clark likes to chill with her friends in her free time. 鈥淎 lot of them are like non-athletes so I can kind of just forget about sports for a while and hang out with them and have fun.鈥� 鈥� Clark has one sister, Olivia Clark, who is a 19-year-old freshman at IUP.
鈥� Compiled by Rob Burchianti