May 15, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

Name: Carys McConnell

School: Carmichaels

Class: Junior

Sport: Softball

McConnell’s week: The Lady Mikes’ shortstop was 2 for 2 with a home run, double and four RBIs in Carmichaels’ 6-1 victory over West Greene last Tuesday in Section 2-1A action at Bobtown-Dunkard Township Municipal Park.

The game was called after five innings, as the umpires deemed the condition of the field, which was caused by inclement weather, to not be safe for the competitors. The contest was moved from Center Township Community Park where the Lady Pioneers play because of the weather.

The changes didn’t affect McConnell, as she got her team on the scoreboard in the top of the first with a run-scoring double to left field after fouling off three straight pitches on a 3-2 count.

McConnell’s three-run homer to left field came on an 0-1 count. The blast gave the Lady Mikes a 4-1 lead in the top of the third inning after West Greene had tied the game in the bottom of the first frame.

McConnell drew a four-pitch and scored in the top of the fifth inning. She assisted on recording the second out in the first inning.

“I know they like to throw around me a lot, so I just take a see-ball, hit-ball approach,” McConnell said. “I don’t get into a lot of studying of what my opponent throws.”

Section champions: Carmichaels not only won the game, but clinched the section championship outright with a 10-0 record. The Lady Mikes are 14-0 and the second seed in the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

Carmichaels received a bye into the quarterfinals, and will play the winner of Serra Catholic and Cornell at a day, site and time to be determined.

“We definitely want to win a championship,” McConnell said. “We were also excited to defeat West Greene and win the section because they were always the top team in the area when I was growing up. All we heard about was how good West Greene was. They had those two twins (McKenna and Madison Lampe) and a very good team.

“They are still a solid team, and we were pretty excited to play them. It is always fun and competitive.”

Learning from the best: McConnell and her teammates have the luxury of working with the best pitcher in program history, as assistant coach Nikki (Gasti) Onderko, was the starter in the Lady Mikes’ 5-2 victory over South Williamsport to win the Class AA state championship in 1998 at Shippensburg University.

Onderko is also the mother of Carmichaels’ current starting pitcher, Bailey Barnyak. The Lady Mikes played for the state title in Class A last season.

“We love Nikki, and she pushes us in the right direction,” McConnell said. “She teases us about winning that state title. It is awesome to have a coach on staff that won a state championship.

“Coach (Dave) Briggs was on staff, but Nikki played in the game. Last year in warm-ups for the state final, I broke a string on my glove, and Nikki joked about me using her glove from when she played in the state final.”

McConnell said pitched some, but she has settled in nicely at shortstop.

“I have played pretty much every position in softball, and sometimes I play in the outfield in travel ball, but shortstop is definitely my favorite position,” McConnell said. “I think I like it so much because you are moving the whole time and always have to be ready.”

The next level: McConnell has an interest in studying criminology and forensic psychology in college, and the odds are high that she will continue her softball career.

McConnell plays travel ball for the Pittsburgh Roadrunners, which has helped her develop as a player and attract attention from college coaches. She is still in the process of choosing a college to attend.

“I have been in talks with some schools,” McConnell said. “I play pretty much everywhere in travel ball. I have been playing travel ball since I was 12. I started playing when I was 8 or 9, and softball came easy to me. I did play T-ball, but I hated it.”