Burrell softball team has high standards this season

By: Michael Love
Monday, April 10, 2023 | 8:05 PM

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Alanna Miller said the Burrell softball players, two weeks into the season, are not where they want to be.

And the Bucs senior outfielder said that is OK.

Despite a strong start — the Bucs are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Section 1-3A heading into a section contest at rival Freeport on Thursday — Miller said there are a number of things to build on for them to reach their peak performance.

“I think we are in a better place than at this point last year,” said Miller, a key starter and contributor to last year’s Burrell run to a third-place WPIAL finish in Class 4 and the PIAA quarterfinals.

“We have a little more depth to work with, only losing one starter (Caroline Dynka) from last year and bringing in some freshmen who are really good. We’re on track to do the things we want to do, and there always is room for improvement.”

The four seniors on the team — Miller, Katie Armstrong, Abby Larko and Cassidy Novak — also are the team’s captains.

“Those seniors, they do everything the right way,” Burrell coach Rick Nealer said. “They lead by example, and the younger kids are following.”

Thursday’s game with Freeport starts a stretch of games in section that are expected to test Burrell’s mettle.

There’s no time to rest as the Bucs will face defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion Avonworth on Friday at Bon Air Elementary and visit 2022 PIAA Class 3A quarterfinalist Deer Lakes on Monday.

Burrell didn’t play either team the past two years as the Antelopes and Lancers were in Class 3A while Burrell was in Class 4A.

“We knew what we were facing as soon as (the alignments) came out,” Larko said.

“It is an extremely tough and challenging section with a lot of really good teams. Our practices have been about working hard and preparing with every little detail covered so we can be ready. Freeport always has a great group of hitters, and you always know you’re going to have to come ready to hit against (Sydney Selker). We’ve struggled with them in the past. It always seems to be a pitchers’ duel.”

A pitchers’ duel was spot on in describing last year’s section matchups between Burrell and Freeport. Both games were 1-0 wins by Burrell.

Freeport is 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the section. The Yellowjackets lost 6-3 to Deer Lakes on April 3 and 10-0 to Avonworth on April 5.

A sizeable portion of the foundation for this season was set at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with workouts and games from March 30 to April 1.

Burrell went 2-1 on its trip with wins over Willoughby South (Ohio), a team that boasts a number of Division I players; and a defending New York state champion in Moore Catholic, 2-0.

“Moore’s pitcher was (6-foot-1), 6-2, and she threw hard,” Nealer said. “The teams we face in Myrtle Beach were really good. I am glad we had those three games. It taught us a lot about what we have.”

The Bucs also suffered a tough 2-1 loss to Chardon (Ohio) as the Hilltoppers scored twice in the bottom of the seventh — both runs were unearned — to pick up the walk-off victory. Pyper Ferres smacked a solo home run in the loss.

“I think the biggest thing, aside from playing well and getting a couple nice wins, was the team bonding aspect,” Larko said.

“We built some really good chemistry between us as the older players and the freshmen. We were able see each others’ strengths and even some of our shortcomings. That gave us a better idea of what we needed to do to help each other build up our games.”

Burrell established itself in Section 1 last week with wins over Shady Side Academy (21-0) and Valley (10-1) in consecutive days.

The Bucs collected 13 hits off Vikings senior starter Morgan Dunkel. Miller, Novak, Armstrong and Ferres led with two hits apiece. Dunkel, a week earlier, limited Highlands in a 4-1 Valley victory.

Miller and Novak each drove in three runs, and Ferres recorded two RBIs and scored four runs.

“We didn’t enter the season with any pressure on ourselves that we had to do it all over again or go farther,” Novak said. “We are just making sure we leave practices knowing we are ready to compete against anybody. We know we have a really tough schedule, and we are excited to see what we can do.”

Armstrong complemented the offense against Valley with a four-hitter. She walked one and struck out 11.

The standout senior who will play in college at Gannon has 77 strikeouts through six games and heads into Thursday’s matchup with Freeport needing three strikeouts to reach 500 for her varsity career.

“My dad mentioned it to me the other day, saying that I was close (to 500),” Armstrong said. “It’s just hard to believe. It’s gone by so fast. There are still a lot of games left and a lot of opportunities for this team, but with me and the other seniors, we’re thinking about a lot with it being our last year.

“The freshmen who came in and also the returning players, we are just so hungry. We weren’t satisfied with all we did last year. The goal is to keep pushing ourselves to be better each day.”

Nealer said Armstrong, last year’s Valley News Dispatch Softball Player of the Year, is looking strong in the early going of the season.

“This is the week of the school play, and she has one of the lead parts, so she’s balancing that with softball,” Nealer said. “We moved up Friday’s game to 4 p.m. because she has to get over there and get ready. She’s putting in a lot of hours this week, but she is focused on making sure she is ready to do her best in each thing.”

Armstrong and Kiski Area senior Hannah Simpson combined to surrender just five hits and strike out 24 in the season opener.

Armstrong gave up three hits, struck out 15 and surrendered the game’s lone run on a hit from Cavaliers catcher Isabella Delia in the fifth inning.

“I wasn’t sure if it was going to turn into a pitchers’ duel,” Armstrong said. “It was a good battle between me and (Simpson) and just a good battle overall between two really good teams. I like the tough competition, and we had that with Kiski.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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