Trib HSSN Softball Player of the Week for May 6, 2024

By: Don Rebel
Monday, May 6, 2024 | 11:48 PM

Trib HSSN softball player of the week – Bailey Barnyak

School: Carmichaels

Class: Sophomore

Position: Pitcher, shortstop

#Earned: The sophomore has picked up this season where she left off from a fabulous freshman campaign. On Monday, she picked up her fifth shutout of the season when she blanked playoff-bound West Greene, 2-0, on two hits with six strikeouts. Shutout No. 6 came two days later when she allowed one hit and struck out 14 Mapletown batters in a sixth straight Carmichaels victory, 7-0. Then on Thursday, in the completion of a suspended game against first place Chartiers-Houston, Barnyak yielded five runs on seven hits and struck out 19 in the Mighty Mikes’ big 15-inning victory over the Buccaneers, 7-5.

What coach says: “I think it was her command of her pitches,” Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said when asked about Barnyak’s pitching performance this past week. “She was really hitting her spots and kept them off balance.

“She really came up big (against Chartiers-Houston). She got some key strikeouts with runners in scoring position. Of the six outs recorded Thursday, four were by strikeout, one was a grounder and one was a pop-up. That’s huge when you are in an international tiebreaker situation. Hopefully, it gives us a boost of confidence going into the playoffs.

“She is batting .350 for the season with 15 RBI and 22 runs scored. She has been walked 15 times and as she said in the video (podcast), she has been hit by a pitch five times.”

Background: In her freshman season, Barnyak was perfect in the regular season and finished with a record of 17-2 in the circle while helping Carmichaels reach the WPIAL championship game and the PIAA quarterfinals. She was one of the district leaders in strikeouts. Barnyak is an example that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Her mom, Nikki Onderko, is the Carmichaels pitching coach, returning to her alma mater after, as Nikki Gasti, she was a perfect 26-0 in leading the Mighty Mikes to a WPIAL and PIAA championship in 1998. For her career, Gasti was 69-6 with a 0.23 ERA and 850 strikeouts in 455 innings and went on to pitch at Pitt. Barnyak was into gymnastics growing up, retiring from the spot before high school to focus on softball.

2024 Trib HSSN Softball Players of the Week

Week 4 – Mackenzie Reese, Hampton

Week 3 – Sydney Gonglik, Bentworth

Week 2 – Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley

Week 1 – Sydney Sekely, South Park

Tags: Carmichaels