Belle Vernon pitcher Bailey Parshall strikes out 23 to break own record
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Tuesday, April 10, 2018 | 11:15 PM
Bailey Parshall keeps baffling hitters as her arsenal of pitches and her execution of them gets sharper and more threatening.
Just when it looked like she could not be more dominant, the hard-throwing senior pitcher from Belle Vernon struck out 23 Waynesburg batters on Tuesday in a 6-2, nonsection road victory that lasted nine innings.
The left-hander has now broken her own school record twice in just more than two weeks.
She opened the season with a 20-strikeout performance against Steel Valley to eclipse her mark of 17 in a seven-inning game. She also broke the overall single-game strikeout mark of 19 set by Ashley Nichols during a 12-inning game in 2007.
Now, Parshall has really raised the bar — and the strike zone, which is why she thinks hitters are flailing against her.
Her exploration of the zone, from bottom to top, corners and edges, has made the Penn State recruit much more than just a power pitcher.
“My screw and rise (balls) were working really well today,” Parshall said Tuesday night. “I've been working up in the zone to get batters to chase pitches. My coaches and I have been working on new pitch sequences, and I think that is the main reason for my success for the season so far.”
Parshall now has 64 strikeouts in four games for the Leopards (3-1), ranked No. 2 in WPIAL Class 4A behind Mt. Pleasant. The classification is loaded with talent, but Parshall believes she can lead the Leopards to back-to-back WPIAL titles.
“I'm satisfied with 64 K's: it's a great start for me,” she said. “I worked all winter on improving my game. I just hope we can keep hitting to become an all-around team.”
Parshall has allowed 10 hits, four walks and one earned run so far.
Belle Vernon hit three home runs during a four-run ninth inning Tuesday, including one by Parshall. The others came from Natalie French and Mekenze Sokol.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.
Tags: Belle Vernon
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