Deer Lakes softball team off to good start in pursuit of section title

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 | 6:00 PM

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Early last season, Deer Lakes suffered a 6-3 loss to Valley, and that ended up playing a big part in costing the Lancers a share of the Section 1-3A championship.

North Catholic and Deer Lakes ended up splitting their season series, but the Trojans won the title outright with a 9-1 record to the Lancers’ 8-2 mark.

Deer Lakes has its sights focused on a section title this spring, and making sure it started the section slate off on the right foot against Valley on April 4 was a part of the plan.

The Vikings were no match for the pitching of sophomore Maddie Kee (three hits allowed, seven strikeouts) and an offense that produced nine hits to earn a 7-0 victory.

“I think we are showing now that we are a solid team up and down the lineup,” said junior Shayne Cerra, who went 2 for 3 with a double against Valley and joined senior Reese Hasley at the top with .480 averages through Monday’s 16-1 rout of section foe Derry. “The thing about this team is you can count on every single one of these girls.

“We’re not always looking for home runs. We’ll take singles. We just want to get on base and score runs. That wins us games, and that has really helped us in recent games. Everyone feeds off each other, and that’s what we want.”

Senior Anna Bokulich, who shared a .417 batting average with junior Delanie Kaiser over eight games, doubled in the game with Valley, and sophomore Tia Germanich knocked in a pair of runs.

Deer Lakes started to turn around its 0-4 start to the season, which included a trio of tough losses at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with an 8-0 shutout of perennial Class A power Leechburg on March 30.

The Lancers put up 17 runs through six innings of a section matchup with Shady Side Academy on April 6. The game was suspended because of time constraints with field rental and is scheduled to be completed April 25 before the teams’ section rematch.

Deer Lakes pounded out 12 hits in Monday’s four-inning section victory over Derry.

Hasley was the hitting star with a double, a triple and four RBIs, and Germanich singled twice and collected three RBIs. Bokulich added two hits and two RBIs, and Kee helped herself with a double and two RBIs.

Kee didn’t allow a hit and struck out seven in her four innings.

“Down south in Myrtle Beach, we just weren’t stringing the hits together like I know we can,” Hasley said. “To see that finally coming around, especially with starting section play, that’s a good feeling. In one inning Monday, we batted around, and we scored eight runs. Everyone was getting on base. You don’t see that every day.”

Coach Rick Cerra said Kee has made the most of her opportunity as a starter. In 31 1/3 innings of work heading into Wednesday’s matchup with North Catholic, Kee fashioned a 1.35 ERA (six earned runs) and gave up 21 hits and 15 walks while striking out 42.

“Last season, Maddie was more in a backup role,” coach Cerra said. “I saw what she was capable of, but we felt she just needed to mature a little bit more. I knew coming in this year that she could make an impact in the circle. She also has Jenna Bisegna, as a senior, there as a mentor. It’s just a really good situation.”

Bisegna remains in the pitching mix, and she also has helped with a .325 batting average.

Deer Lakes headed south for the first time since 2019 when the current seniors were freshmen. That year, the Lancers went 0-5 at the Ripken Experience, but they came back north and reeled off seven wins in eight games en route to a 7-3 mark in section play and a trip to the WPIAL playoffs.

“It was a great bonding experience for us,” Shayne Cerra said. “The seniors had done it before, so they were great in helping us come together and making sure everyone took advantage of the opportunity. Also, on the field, it really helped us find out a lot about ourselves. We didn’t get the wins we wanted, but we were able to find out who works well where and how we are able to work together.”

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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