One more game
Carmichaels’ Barnyak, McConnell selected for All-Star game
Carmichaels’ Bailey Barnyak and Carys McConnell will play one more game together.
The senior duo, who were key cogs for the Mikes the past four years, have been selected for the third annual Western Pa. Softball All-Star Game.
The game is scheduled to be played at Plum on June 16 at 7:15 p.m.
The rosters for both teams are exclusive to seniors in the WPIAL and City League. The players were nominated by their coaches and selected for each squad by a committee.
Barnyak and McConnell will represent the Gold team, who is coached by Plum’s Phil DeLondardo and Peters Township’s Jenna Muncie.
Shaler’s Tom Sorce and former Franklin Regional coach Jim Armstrong will lead the Black team. Toryn Fulton, a Franklin Regional graduate who is playing for South Florida, will be an honorary coach for the Black team.
The Black team won the first two games in the event, which has provided scholarships of $250 each to four players, two from each team, as offensive and defensive MVPs.
The game will be made up on June 17 in the event of inclement weather.
Barnyak knew she and McConnell had made the team before the rosters were released publicly, but she wasn’t thinking about it because Carmichaels was in the midst of the WPIAL playoffs during that time.
“We found out about a week or two ago, but I didn’t think about it when I was playing,” Barnyak said. “I still want to be playing with the girls from Carmichaels, but it is nice to be selected.”
Barnyak, who finished her career with the Mikes as the program’s leader in strikeouts with 897. She had a career record of 69-13 with an ERA of 0.90.
Barnyak wasn’t too shabby offensively, as she hit .387 with three home runs and 70 RBIs in her career. She was also selected First-Team All-State the past three seasons, and there is a good chance she will be a four-time All-State player this year.
Barnyak will continue her academic and softball careers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but she will never forget her time playing with Carmichaels.
“It’s very bittersweet knowing that my high school career is over,” Barnyak said. “I am excited to move on to IUP and still be playing, but I don’t think it’s going to be the same. The community rallies around us, and half these girls I’ve grown up with and played with them. It is going to be hard to let it go.”
McConnell had a career batting average of .481 with 21 home runs and 140 RBIs. She had 130 hits over four years with 22 doubles and 14 triples while playing solid defense at shortstop.
“I don’t really even know how to put it into words,” said McConnell in reference to her high school softball career coming to a conclusion. “When we were playing in that last game and down, I was in the field before I took my final at-bat and started crying.”
McConnell will play her final softball game at Plum, as she has elected to concentrate on her studies in college. McConnell will study Pre Law at the University of Pittsburgh.
It’s really sad to know that it’s almost over, so I am excited to play in this final game,” McConnell said. “It will be fun to play with Bailey (Barnyak) one more time. I really haven’t been told much about the game, so I would assume I am going to play shortstop because that’s all I ever played in high school. I begged Coach (Dave) Briggs to play me in the outfield, but he never did.”
McConnell has also been named to the All-State squad on the First-Team the past three years, and is most likely destined for a fourth season, which had many college coaches looking for her to join their team, but she put so much time into softball over the years, the spark to continue started to fade.
“I have been playing travel ball since I was 10 or 11, and softball pretty much consumed my whole life,” McConnell said. “It took me away from so many things and I started to hate it, and when I quit travel ball this fall, I started to feel a little more relaxed. I was beginning to feel some burn out. However, I am torn because I still enjoy playing the game. I was even thinking about looking into playing on the club team at Pitt, but I’m not sure because school is going to be a big challenge for me.”
Briggs has gotten to sit back and enjoy what Barnyak and McConnell have done for the program, which included three appearances in the WPIAL championship final and one in the state final.
“They were part of a senior group that put Carmichaels softball back on the map,” said Briggs following the Mikes’ final game of the season on Monday at Berlin Brothersvalley. “It is tough to see them go, and I wish we could have won some of those title games, but not too many people can say they did what those girls did.”
McConnell received some insight from West Greene coach Bill Simms at a recent event, which put her career at Carmichaels in perspective.
“We were at this All-County banquet a few days ago, and Billy Simms said, ‘A lot of people would die to lose in the first round of the state tournament,'” McConnell said. “Him saying that was very helpful because it really made me think about everything we accomplished over our four years.”