Sky is the limit for Lady Scotties
Little has changed for the Southmoreland girls softball team since last year.
“If the girls come with the right attitude and play to their abilities, we can meet any of the goals we set,” said third-year coach Todd Bunner. “If they stay focused and play to our ability, we can match up with any team in the WPIAL.”
He said those goals are to be competitive in a challenging section, win as many games as possible and qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.
Last season, the Lady Scotties went farther in the WPIAL playoffs than any softball team in school history, upsetting fourth-seeded Beaver and fifth-seeded Hampton before losing to eventual champion Belle Vernon in the bottom half of the seventh inning.
Southmoreland’s five losses were to Belle Vernon, section champion and WPIAL runnerup Yough, playoff qualifier Greensburg Salem and PIAA runnerup Trinity.
The team returns all but three players, with one of those graduates being Kristen Suhan, who was the winning pitcher in the playoffs against Beaver and Hampton.
“Whatever we asked of Kristen, she did,” Bunner said. “A player like that is hard to replace. But we’ve got to move forward and fill the shoes.”
The Lady Scotties return eight starters and a wealth of multi-position players, to go with six freshmen who might be starters on a lot of other teams.
Bunner’s daughter, Briana, leads a trio of senior starters along with Kylee Wisilosky and Kaylie Robaugh. Briana Bunner can pitch and play first base or outfield, Wisilosky can play infield, outfield and catcher, and Robaugh is an outfielder.
Junior pitchers Katie Troisi-Clark and Adeline Nicholson also play in the infield, Olivia Porter begins her third year at shortstop, Taylor Eutsey plays third base and catcher, and Kelsey Dorman, Alexis Williams, Kaitlyn Keefer and Caitlyn Walch are outfielders.
Sophomores include starters Makenna Myers (catcher and third base) and Bethany Bunner (outfield). Additional sophomores are Carissa Cyphert (infield), Alexi Belzer (infield and outfield), Alayna Perbonish (first base) and Felicia Grosser (outfield).
The freshman group includes Lexi Klatt (all positions), Megan Shetterly (infield and catcher), Justina Howell (outfield or infield), Hannah Corvin (infield or outfield), Destiny Ballew (infield or outfield) and Jordan McKnight (outfield).
Todd Bunner points out that while his daughter was an all-state selection, she was joined as all-section selections by Myers, Suhan and Bethany Bunner. Both Bunner girls, Myers, Porter, Nicholson and Troisi-Clark were Herald-Standard post-season honorees.
“Most of these girls have played together since they were eight to 10 years old,” Todd Bunner said. “It’s a long season, and most girls can play multiple positions. That’s a big advantage we’re blessed with.”
He noted that the section grind should be challenging with his team having had to grind out close wins against Mount Pleasant (twice), Greensburg Salem, Derry Area and Uniontown.
Bunner credited assistant coach Wes Nicolson and new coaches Bob Wisilosky and Jason Bandemer with being great assets to the program.
“If we play game to game and not look ahead, then we can be very successful,” he added.