Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Week for May 18, 2024

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, May 18, 2024 | 8:44 PM

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Trib HSSN softball player of the week – Alivia Lantzy

School: Avonworth

Class: Senior

Position: Pitcher

#Earned: One of the top pitchers in the district enjoyed a big week with a couple of playoff victories, moving Avonworth two steps closer to a WPIAL Class 3A three-peat. On Tuesday in the opening round, Lantzy wasn’t at her physical best, but she still dominated, allowing no earned runs on only two hits with five strikeouts in a rout of No. 16 seed Hopewell, 12-2. Lantzy helped the Antelopes with her bat as well with two doubles and two RBI. In the 3A quarterfinals Thursday, she was racking up the strikeouts once again in a shutout victory over No. 9 Yough. Lantzy yielded only one hit and struck out 10 as the Antelopes blanked the Cougars, 4-0.

What coach says: “I think the biggest thing that stood out to me in the Hopewell game is something that no one really knows,” Avonworth coach Jenna Muncie said. “Alivia wasn’t feeling great, yet she was able to go out and compete on the mound and at the plate. Her toughness and will to win really stood out to me in that game.”

“Alivia did a nice job against Yough. We had a game plan. She followed it and executed. My proudest moment is when she got into a little trouble. She really buckled down and kept them from scoring.”

“I think the funny thing about that is that she didn’t want to know,” Muncie said of Lantzy hitting the 600-strikeout mark in her career. “When she was about 30-40 strikeouts away, I mentioned it to her. She said, ‘Don’t tell me. I just want to win.’ I know she doesn’t love the attention, but it truly is something that puts her in an elite category as far as pitching goes. And for her to do it in the playoffs, it felt good and was a great time for a big moment.”

“Well, that’s a tough one,” Muncie said when asked about the legacy Lantzy will leave on the program. “I’m trying to not think about what our program looks like without our seniors just yet. But when I think back over Alivia’s career, I think about big games that she has had, in particular, her state championship run as sophomore. She was truly so dominant in those games. Most of all, I think of Liv and think of a kid who I was able to talk to about things — whether it was strategy or school or even fun things. She’s a great kid. And she will go down as one of the best to ever do it in Avonworth, in the WPIAL and in the state.”

Background: Deal will continue her academic and softball career starting in the fall at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke. Lantzy also played three years of volleyball at Avonworth. This past fall, she was a third-team all-section setter as the Antelopes lost in the district semifinals to Freeport and to eventual champion Philipsburg-Osceola in the state first round. In middle school, Lantzy was a four-sport athlete, also participating in cross country and basketball. In the win over Yough, her eighth strikeout of the game was No. 600 for her scholastic career.

2024 Trib HSSN Softball Players of the Week

Week 6 – Addison Deal, Laurel

Week 5 – Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels

Week 4 – Mackenzie Reese, Hampton

Week 3 – Sydney Gonglik, Bentworth

Week 2 – Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley

Week 1 – Sydney Sekely, South Park

Tags: Avonworth