Generational talents
Barnyak, Clark top H-S All-Area Softball Team
If there was a game that summed up what Carmichaels senior Bailey Barnyak is all about on the softball field one only had to look back at the WPIAL Class A quarterfinal playoff game between the second-seeded Mikes and Sewickley Academy this past season.
It’s a clear indicator why Barnyak is the Herald-Standard All-Area Softball Team’s Player of the Year.
Carmichaels was coming off a first-round bye and found itself locked in an unexpected, tense, scoreless battle with the seventh-seeded Lady Panthers. A loss would’ve been catastrophic for the Mikes, ending their season well short of expectations.
Barnyak would have none of that.
The fire-throwing right-hander refused to bow to the mounting pressure. Through five innings, 16 Sewickley batters had stepped to the plate. One had singled. The other 15 went back to the dugout as strikeout victims.
Finally in the bottom of the fifth inning, Ke’Lani Chun hit a two-out single for Carmichaels. Barnyak then stepped to the plate and drilled a line-drive triple to center field, knocking in the one precious run she would need. She retired the last six Sewickley batters in order, racking up four more strikeouts.
A one-hit shutout with no walks and a career-high 19 strikeouts, and knocking in the game’s only run. Quite a performance.
And, oh, by the way, Barnyak snapped her legendary mother’s career strikeout record in the same game just two batters in. Nikki Gasti Onderko ended her career with an astounding 850 strikeouts. Her daughter remarkably now stands ahead of her at No. 1 on the Mikes’ list with 897.
The Mikes would defeat West Greene in the semifinals to reach the WPIAL final for the third time in four years, but then would fall short with a loss to top-seeded and eventual WPIAL and PIAA champion Union.
Barnyak reflected on the game against Sewickley.
“I felt like I put everything out on the field that day for me and my teammates,” Barnyak said. “It was kind of empowering going into the game where, hey, there’s this strikeout record that I’m going to most likely break today. That definitely lit a fire underneath me. But once I got past that, I was determined that we were not going to lose that game. I had confidence in us. We never lost in the first round. I just kept my head down and kept concentrating on doing what I was doing while I was pitching.”
It’s no surprise Barnyak’s signature game included a huge, clutch hit. Always an above-average hitter, she worked on getting better with the bat in the offseason.
“I focused on improving my hitting this year and this was one of my best offensive seasons,” said Barnyak, who was the area’s fourth-leading hitter in the regular season with a .500 batting average. “I definitely came out of my shell in that aspect of my game where I felt I took it up another level and I’m pretty proud of that.”
Onderko, an assistant under head coach Dave Briggs, and Barnyak unfurled a banner noting the passing of the torch of the school strikeout record following the game.
“It was awesome,” Barnyak said. “After the Sewickley game we shared a pretty sweet moment on the field. I loved it. I’ll always remember that.”
Barnyak posted a minuscule 0.47 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP (walks/hits to innings pitched ratio) during her senior season with 247 strikeouts to 29 walks and 52 hits in 133 ⅓ innings pitched.
In the four years Barnyak was on the team, Carmichaels had an overall record of 71-14, including 52-2 in section play which led to four consecutive section championships, and played in three WPIAL finals (2023, 2025 and 2026) and one PIAA final (2024) although it fell short in each one.
Barnyak has no regrets, though.
“The highs definitely outweighed the lows,” said Barnyak, whose career numbers included a sparkling 0.90 ERA, 13 no-hitters and a .387 batting average with 70 RBIs. “Obviously you want to win. It sucks to lose especially so close to a title but it was still a great experience all around and I’m not one to look back and say well I wish I could change this or change that. No, I don’t look at it that way.”
Barnyak is now turning the page. She’ll continue her academic and softball careers at Indiana University of Pa.
“I’m excited, maybe a little bit nervous,” she said of playing in college. “It’s like starting fresh. It’s going to be challenging, but fun at the same time. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Another generational talent graduated in 2026 who also was a record-breaking pitcher.
Ava Clark of Brownsville is the Player of the Year Runner-up.
Clark shattered all of the Lady Falcons’ pitching marks, ending her career with 765 strikeouts. While Barnyak was the area’s overall strikeout leader, Clark was No. 1 in the regular season at 226, with a 1.71 ERA and a .339 batting average.
It was a team accomplishment, not an individual feat, that the PennWest California recruit will be best remembered for.
The right-hander led 13th-seeded Brownsville to a stunning 7-1 upset of No. 4 South Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, giving the program, along with longtime head coach Jane Bock, its first ever playoff win. Clark allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out eight and took a shutout into the seventh inning. She added an RBI double and a two-run single with her bat.
Bock, whose assistant coaches included Albert VanDivner, Bill Rouse and Patty Columbia, was in her 42nd year as the Lady Falcons head coach and 44th overall with the team.
Barnyak and Clark lead the way for the All-Area First Team, which also includes Barnyak’s teammate Carys McConnell, the Mikes’ shortstop over the last four years who ended her career with a .481 batting average, 21 home runs and 140 RBIs. This year McConnell hit .406 with five doubles, four triples, five home runs and 35 RBIs with 24 runs scored while committing only two errors.
Other First Team members are junior infielder Cali Leichliter of Connellsville, sophomore catcher Juliet White of Uniontown, sophomore pitcher Payton Senge of Laurel Highlands, freshman outfielder Addyson Newman of Belle Vernon, junior outfielder Madelyn Roberts of West Greene, sophomore infielder Emme Travalena of Frazier, junior pitcher Emilee Bazzoli of Jefferson-Morgan, senior pitcher Gina Tedrow of Waynesburg Central, junior pitcher Danica Trainer of Mount Pleasant, and sophomore infielder Makayla Brown of Southmoreland.
There were numerous coaches worthy of consideration for Coach of the Year but that honor is shared by the only two to pull off the trifecta of winning a section championship, advancing to the WPIAL final and qualifying for the PIAA tournament.
They were Dave Briggs of Carmichaels in Class A and Paul Reho of Mount Pleasant in Class 3A. Both teams fell to the top seed in their respective district championship games.
Brigg has guided the Mikes to four section titles and 12 postseason wins over the past four years.
Coach of the Year honorable mention honors go to Bock, Pat Livingston of Laurel Highlands, Jason White of Uniontown, Rich Rush of Jefferson-Morgan, Bill Simms of West Greene and Don Hartman of Frazier.
White led the Lady Raiders to their school record fourth consecutive playoff berth and first even postseason win.
Livingston led the Mustangs into the postseason for the first time in 13 years and to a playoff victory for the first time in 27 years.
Rush’s Lady Rockets handed Carmichaels only its second section loss in the last four years and he led J-M to the WPIAL semifinals and the into the PIAA playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
Simms picked up his 300th career win while guiding the Lady Pioneers into the district final four.
Hartman rallied the Lady Commodores from a 4-6 start with a 7-1 stretch that saw them rise to a second-place finish in the Section 1-2A standings behind WPIAL champion Bentworth. They went 1-1 in the playoffs, holding eventual state champion Laurel to its lowest output of its eight postseason games in a 4-2 loss.
Other coaches who guided their teams into the postseason were John Burd of Connellsville and Gary Welsh of Beth-Center.
The Freshman of the Year is Newman, who was the area’s leading hitter with a .605 batting average while striking out only three times all season.
The complete Herald-Standard All-Area Softball Team follows:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR RUNNER-UP:
Ava Clark, Brownsville
COACHES OF THE YEAR:
Dave Briggs, Carmichaels; Paul Reho, Mount Pleasant
COACHES OF THE YEAR, HONORABLE MENTION:
Jane Bock, Brownsville; Pat Livingston, Laurel Highlands; Jason White, Uniontown; Rich Rush, Jefferson-Morgan; Bill Simms, West Greene; Don Hartman, Frazier.
FIRST TEAM:
Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels
Carys McConnell, Carmichaels
Ava Clark, Brownsville
Cali Leichliter, Connellsville
Juliet White, Uniontown
Addyson Newman, Belle Vernon
Payton Senge, Laurel Highlands
Danica Trainer, Mount Pleasant
Makayla Brown, Southmoreland
Emme Travalena, Frazier
Gida Tedrow, Waynesburg Central
Madelyn Roberts, West Greene
Emilee Bazzoli, Jefferson-Morgan
SECOND TEAM:
Kalyn Cole, Connellsville; Katie White, Graci Rodeheaver, Uniontown; Kaylee Sypolt, Belle Vernon; Emme Cavalilere, Liv McClelland, Laurel Highlands; Kendra Brunson, Chloe Borelli, Mount Pleasant; Zoey Murphy, Southmoreland; Addison Hiles, Morgan Fisher, Frazier; Lena Rechichar, Lyla Gill, Brownsville; Kenlee Machesky, Ke’Lani Chun, Carmichaels; Katie Brudnock, Kendra Tharp, West Greene; Ava Wood, Gabby Marmie, Jefferson-Morgan.
THIRD TEAM:
Kaylee Roadman, Connellsville; Sincere Duinlap, Uniontown; Bella Williams, Belle Vernon; Chloe Komacko, Payton Rambo, Laurel Highlands; Sadie Poole, Mount Pleasant; Grace Polkabla, Emma Essington, Frazier; Ellie Makel, Waynesburg Central; Emma Leigh Bailey, Brownsville; Gabby Luncinski, California; Makenna Lotspeich, Mapletown; Payton Plavi, Carmichaels; Emmaline Beazell, Josie Mason, West Greene; Ashlynn Snyder, Jefferson-Morgan.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Emmaleigh Noah, Lauren White, Uniontown; Ava Jones, Belle Vernon; Kayla Howell, Laurel Highlands; Jenna Whipkey, Mount Pleasant; Abagail Grabiak, Southmoreland; Zoey Zurenski, Frazier; Tavan Ternitsky, Brownsville; Lainey Taylor, Mapletown; Jocelyn Carter, Avery Voithofer, Carmichaels; Addyson Teagarden, Kelsey Vessels, Jefferson-Morgan; Keira Lamp, Kendall Welsh, Beth-Center; Jenna Myers, Albert Gallatin; Khyler Davis, West Greene; Emma Larkin, Nolace Petrosky, Mallory Clemmer, Geibel Catholic.