Fresh faces have Burrell softball team 1 win from PIAA playoffs

By: Michael Love
Monday, May 30, 2022 | 5:06 PM

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Bella Stewart said it all was a bit nerve-wracking at first when she jumped in head first as the Burrell softball team began the season.

“We knew that there were spots that needed to be filled,” said Stewart, the team’s starting catcher from Day 1 and one of six freshmen, including four starters, on a team of 13 that is one win from a spot in the PIAA playoffs.

“We had to do our jobs to help each other. As the season went on, the team, everyone, grew closer and meshed. With all we’ve gone through, from the freshmen all the way up to the juniors and Caroline as the one senior, it doesn’t matter what we are or how long we have played, we’re on the same level and are playing as one.”

The No. 3 Bucs (12-2), who also count freshmen starters in second baseman and cleanup hitter Pyper Ferres, third baseman Bray Jones and left fielder Rae Seibert, hope to play as one Tuesday when they face No. 5 Montour (14-5) in the third-place consolation game at 1 p.m. at Mars.

The winner goes to states, and the losing team will see its season come to an end. Burrell coach Rick Nealer said his players refocused well after last Wednesday’s tough 2-1 semifinal loss to No. 2 Elizabeth Forward at Norwin that dashed their hopes for the program’s first WPIAL title since 2011.

It also was the last time the team qualified for the PIAA tournament as it made it to the Class 2A semifinals before falling to District 6’s Philipsburg-Osceola.

Another freshman, Sabrina Hoover, was in the starting mix earlier in the season before leaving the lineup with an injury suffered in a Section 1 game against Knoch on April 15.

“We had a great practice Thursday,” Nealer said. “We spelled it out for them so they knew just what was at hand for them. Only so many teams are left playing. Burrell hasn’t been to states in 11 years, and I want them to cherish this opportunity, go all out and give it everything they have to win this game.”

Said junior first baseman Cassidy Novak: “We came into practice (Thursday), and coach told us to just flush (the semifinal loss). We went to practice with such good moods and turned it around after that because we knew we still had a chance to make it big.”

Normally, a team banquet is at the end of the season after all the games have concluded. But Burrell’s team banquet Friday at Hill Crest Country Club in Lower Burrell, scheduled awhile ago, Stewart said, was more like a pep rally where parents, family members, coaches and players reflected on the season up to this point and also built added momentum for the game at hand.

“The banquet was a lot of fun,” said Stewart, who singled and scored Burrell’s lone run against Elizabeth Forward.

“We basically joked around and celebrated what we have already accomplished in the middle of some serious preparation. We made sure the air was light. We were all a little bit upset after Wednesday’s loss, but we quickly realized that we have another opportunity in front of us. We got back into practice and are ready to play.”

The Burrell players, Novak said, are ready to match up with a Montour team that outlasted No. 12 Knoch, 11-9, in the first round and edged No. 4 Yough, 2-1, in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 1 and undefeated Beaver, 6-1, in the semifinals.

The Spartans, runners-up to Beaver in Section 3, are similar to Burrell in that it’s been a decade since they made it to states.

In 2012, Montour won the WPIAL Class 3A crown and made the PIAA semifinals.

The Spartans qualified for the Class 5A semifinals in 2017 but lost 10-9 to West Allegheny before falling to Albert Gallatin in the third-place game with a trip to states on the line.

Junior outfielder Mia Arndt is one of a number of offensive threats in the Montour lineup. She went 4 for 5 with a home run and three runs batted in to lead the Spartans to the win over Knoch in the first round. Fellow junior outfielder Avrie Polo also homered and had three hits.

Three of Montour’s five losses came to Beaver.

Novak said the team understands the gravity of the situation at hand.

“We just need to stay focused and play our game,” Novak said. “We have to treat it like any other game and not get too high or hyped up. That’s when mistakes can happen. We want to go in trusting our game and trusting Katie (Armstrong) to do what she’s done all season.”

Armstrong, a junior, has been an MVP-level performer in the pitching circle all season for the Bucs, and she was strong again in last Wednesday’s game with Elizabeth Forward.

She gave up two runs, walked none, scattered four hits and struck out 11 to give her 209 strikeouts for the season.

The two runs Elizabeth Forward scored in the semifinal matchup were unearned, leaving Armstrong with one earned run given up in 14 games.

She owns a 0.071 ERA and a .475 WHIP as she has walked 12 batters all season.

“Katie and Bella have become a really strong battery for us,” Nealer said of his young catcher and star pitcher.

“Katie is pretty difficult to catch because the ball moves everywhere, but Bella is so solid behind the plate and her confidence keeps growing.”

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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