Mar 24, 2016 By Bill Hughes for The Herald Standard 2 min read

A year ago, Belle Vernon Area manager Tom Rodriguez knew that he had something special in pitching ace Bailey Parshall.

After all, Parshall had committed to Penn State before the season had started, and she did so without ever having thrown a high school pitch.

A year ago as a freshman, Parshall went 21-2 on the mound, was the team’s leading hitter with a .418 batting average, and led the Lady Leps to the WPIAL Class AAA title, the second in school history.

This year, Parshall is one of only four returning starters along with senior second baseman Erica Amoroso, senior third baseman Alyssa Larson and junior outfielder Megan Christner.

Amoroso and Larson are the team captains.

Despite losing so many starters from last season’s title-winning team, Rodriguez has set the goals high.

“One expectation is to win Section 3-AAA,” said the 14-year veteran with an overall record of 201-95. “And we want to go deep in the state playoffs.”

So how will the team accomplish those goals?

“We have to play great defense and have timely hitting,” he said.

Only two other positions are set in stone as sophomore Kourtney Gavatarta is at shortstop and junior Lexie Church is in the outfield.

Either junior Mattie Tedrow or a pair of sophomores, Hanna Legazza and Alex Sokol, will handle the catching duties while Sokol, seniors Paige Parshall and Katelin Legazza and junior Kelsey Lynn are competing for the first base job.

A quartet of juniors, Brooke Farmer, Sokol, Paige Burrows and Hunter Stangroom are all competing for the third outfield position.

As far as the section, Rodriguez feels that Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward, Trinity and Thomas Jefferson all have the chance to win the section.

“All four of us have our starting pitchers back,” he said. “It is too close to call.”

The Lady Leopards open their season today when they host Mount Pleasant in a non-section game.