CHERRY TWP — The postseason honors keep rolling in for graduated Moniteau softball pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis.

Already named the District 9 Player and Co-Pitcher of the Year, DeMatteis was recently named All-American Small School second team by MaxPreps.

That places her as one of the top 20 small-school high school pitchers in the country.

“I definitely wasn't expecting that,” DeMatteis admitted. “But when we beat that highly-ranked team (2-0 win over East Carter and University of Alabama pitching recruit Montana Fouts) in Kentucky early in the season, that put us in the national news a little bit.

“I'm sure that helped.”

Not that DeMatteis needed much help. She's been helping herself to success at the expense of opposing hitters for the past four seasons.

DeMatteis was 79-5 with 37 shutouts, 622 strikeouts in 461 innings pitched for the Warriors as a four-year starter. At the plate, she was a career .581 hitter, collecting 182 hits in 313 at bats and compiling 158 runs batted in.

“Kennedy's work ethic is unmatched and she's the smartest softball player I've ever been around,” Moniteau coach Lennie Claypoole said. “She knows how to dissect a situation and make it work to her advantage.

“She knows how to put whatever spin on the ball she needs to make a pitch work the way she wants.

Having her twin sister, Kristina, behind the plate catching doesn't hurt, either.

“I don't feel as uncomfortable shaking off pitches because we know each other so well,” Kennedy said. “Instead of throwing a changeup, I may want to come with a curve ball. She understands all of that.”

Another key to DeMatteis' mound success is spotting her pitches.

“Hitting the corners is key for me,” she said. “Throw it down the middle and anybody can stick a bat out there and hit it.

“Hit the corners and it's tough to get any kind of solid contact.”

DeMatteis is pitching this summer for the Ohio Outlaws — a collection of top softball players from Ohio and Pennsylvania — and is the No. 1 pitcher on that team.

“That's saying something,” Claypoole said. “That Outlaw team travels all over the place. It is extremely high-level softball.”

DeMatteis' high level of production at the plate is still more impressive when one considers she was a right-handed hitter up until her U-14 softball season.

DeMatteis battled through a hand injury that season that was particularly painful when batting from the right side of the plate.

So she made herself a left-handed hitter.

“She worked at it and worked at it,” Claypoole said. “She could protect her pitching hand better from the left side, too, and that was around the time she began going to a pitching coach and dove into the pitching craft hard.

“She became such an accomplished hitter from the left side, she never switched back.”

Kennedy will be joining Kristina at Gannon University in the fall. The Golden Knights are coming off a 28-14 season and return two veteran pitchers, including North Allegheny graduate Madi Beining. She was 9-3 with a 2.26 earned run average as a freshman.

A third pitcher on the roster — junior Jennifer Frappa — missed all of last year with knee surgery. DeMatteis will be one of four pitchers on the squad.

“We don't red-shirt anybody. It's not in our budget to do that,” Gannon coach Tom Jakubowski said. “Kennedy's not going to jump to the front of our rotation, but we believe she can help us right away. That's why we're bringing her in.

“Madi was an all-state pitcher at North Allegheny and our pitching coach helped her progress to the next level. Kennedy is an all-state player and our pitching coach will help her get there as well. She is capable of developing into our No. 1 pitcher here.”

DeMatteis is ready for the challenge that college softball will bring.

“I don't expect to play a lot — not right away — but I think I can play some,” she said of her freshman year. “The hitters will be better. That will make me work harder and that's a good thing.”