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.
“The last few years we’ve put a lot of girls on the all-state team,” Briggs said. “To get four again is a nice team accomplishment.”
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’s 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’t lost on how important Leichliter was to the Lady Falcons’ success.
“Cali meant pretty much everything to our team,” Burd said. “She’s one whale of a ballplayer. We batted her leadoff because I wanted her to get the most at bats she could. She’s just one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached.
“Everyone knows she’s a great hitter but she’s also our best fielder with a cannon for an arm. I’m glad I’ve got her for a couple more years. We’re depending on her. She’s very deserving of this honor.”
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.
“For Bailey and Carys, they’ve been on there every single year since they were freshmen,” Briggs pointed out. “That’s quite an accomplishment and they definitely earned their spots each year. Hopefully, they’ll have strong seasons next year, too, and both make it four for four.
“And that’s two years now Katie has made the second team so I’m happy for her. When you see the way she plays the game you realize how good she is. She’s a tough player.”
Briggs had special praise for Batis who made the First Team for the first time.
“I’m so happy for Ashton. She had to overcome two ACL injuries in her career,” Briggs explained. “The 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.
“Then her junior year she tore it again, same knee, in volleyball. So we didn’t 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.
“To 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.”
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.
“She’s our first girl to be named All-State team which is a great accomplishment for a junior who’s worked consistently over the last three years to be one of the best,” Brownsville coach Jane Bock said of Clark. “I’m glad she’s 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’s looking to get to 700.”
Bock cited the improvement the West Liberty recruit has made while playing for the Lady Falcons.
“I think she believes in herself a lot more now than when she was a freshman,” Bock said. “She 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.”
West Greene put two players on the 2024 All-State Team and upped that by one in 2025.
“It’s nice to see us put three players on there,” Lady Pioneers coach Bill Simms said. “Payton 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.”
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’s top defensive centerfielders while also leading her team in runs (25) and stolen bases (16) as a lead-off hitter.
“I’m just glad people look at the defensive metrics we put out there,” Simms said. “In the regular season against the tough competition we faced in our section she didn’t 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.”
Marissa’s younger sister Kendra Tharp batted .288 with six doubles, and team-high 19 hits and 12 stolen bases while sporting a .918 fielding percentage.
“If you watched all of our games this year you would’ve thought Kendra was a no-brainer as an All-State pick,” Simms said. “Any time you’re in the shortstop category you’re 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’s very deserving and we’re excited to see her make the team as well.”
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’s third-leading run producer behind Leichliter and McConnell with 28 RBIs.
Etling had another monster year for coach Todd Bunner’s 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.