Don鈥檛 bet against Bailey
Mikes鈥� Barnyak throws 2-hit shutout in victory over Brownsville
CARMICHAELS 鈥� Bailey Barnyak walked the first batter she faced in Carmichaels鈥� non-section game against Brownsville on Friday at Carmichaels Area Junior/Senior High School as the Mikes were celebrating Senior Day.
The Mikes鈥� senior ace didn鈥檛 walk any more while striking out 13 and limiting the Falcons to two hits in a 6-0 victory.
The game featured two of the top strikeout pitchers in the WPIAL, as Barnyak鈥檚 pitching opponent was PennWest California commit and senior Ava Clark. Both squads are headed to the WPIAL playoffs, as Carmichaels (14-3) is in the Class A bracket and Brownsville (9-7) will battle for the title in Class 2A.
Barnyak and Clark entered the contest with over 1,500 strikeouts in their careers, as Barnyak checked in with 810 and Clark was sitting at 701. Barnyak鈥檚 mother, Nikki Gasti Onderko, who is an assistant on coach Dave Briggs鈥� staff, is the all-time leader in strikeouts at Carmichaels with 850.
Barnyak is 27 strikeouts shy of catching her mom, and while the regular season is ending, the Indiana University of Pa. commit is hoping for a playoff run that ends in mid-June.
鈥淚 really can鈥檛 go anywhere when it comes to softball when all my mom鈥檚 accomplishments are brought up, but it is also really nice,鈥� Barnyak said. 鈥淚t is a really cool thing, but it will be even cooler when I beat her record. We have to take it one step at a time, but we want to go out with a bang this season.鈥�
Clark battled through her four innings, and despite taking the loss, allowed just one earned run (two unearned) on five hits. She had six strikeouts and walked one.
Brownsville coach Jane Bock removed Clark for Lena Rechichar, who threw the final two innings.
鈥淎va has been sick the last couple of days and I give her credit for coming in and trying to put a whole game in,鈥� Bock said. 鈥淭he weather didn鈥檛 help either, and Carmichaels is one of the top teams in Class A.
鈥淲e are working to get multiple looks at some of the pitching that we will be facing in the playoffs, and Bailey (Barnyak) is one of the best pitchers in the WPIAL. We have scheduled some games with some good teams so that we can get more prepared for the playoffs.鈥�
Barnyak and Clark pitched two scoreless innings before the Mikes broke through in the third for two runs, as the home team took advantage of a break for a 2-0 lead.
Avery Voithofer singled on a line drive to center field to lead off the frame, and with two outs, Clark appeared to escape the inning unscathed with a strikeout, but the ball was dropped into the dirt and Carys McConnell sprinted to first base to keep the inning alive. Voithofer advanced to third on the play.
McConnell stole second, and she and Voithofer raced home on Kenlee Machesky鈥檚 base hit to right field.
鈥淲e were able to take advantage of that dropped third strike and Kenlee got the big hit,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚 was really glad to get this game in. We wanted to face a solid team to help us prepare for the playoffs.鈥�
Barnyak was pleased to get the break, and the home team pushed its advantage to 3-0 in the fourth when Joselyn Carter tripled to right field and scored on Payton Plavi鈥檚 sacrifice bunt.
鈥淲e were able to get some good fortune and turn that into two runs, but we also had some other big hits, which isn鈥檛 surprising because I know my team always has my back,鈥� Barnyak said. 鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 much easier to pitch when you have a comfortable lead. I was glad to play this game because I knew Ava (Clark) was a good pitcher and Brownsville is a playoff team, so we were excited for the challenge.鈥�
Carmichaels added three runs in the fifth on McConnell鈥檚 two-run home run to center field and Giana Colarusso鈥檚 run-scoring single.
Barnyak walked and scored when McConnell blasted the 21st homer of her career.
Machesky followed McConnell鈥檚 homer with a single, and courtesy runner Kaitlyn Kramer stole second, advanced to third on a groundout to the pitcher before scoring on Colarusso鈥檚 base hit.
鈥淐arys coming up with a big hit like that is nothing new for her,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淪he has been doing that all four years. Bailey was also dealing. We want to get some work in next week. It鈥檚 good to get some rest, but we don鈥檛 want too much before the playoffs start.鈥�
Jordyn Davis had both hits for the Falcons.
Both teams hope to play several non-section games next week before the WPIAL announces the softball playoff pairings on May 7.