CLARION — No wins, 43 losses.

That was Clarion University softball’s won-loss record in 2019, the year Karns City senior Alyssa Stitt won the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference MVP award in the sport. She didn’t care about the Golden Eagles’ won-loss record then.

Nor did she care about it the following year, when she was a freshman criminal justice major at Clarion and decided to try walking on for a spot on the roster.

“All I cared about was making the team,” Stitt recalled. “I didn’t go to Clarion for softball. I wasn’t even thinking about playing anymore after high school. I wasn’t actively recruited and I didn’t worry about it.

“But once I got there, after talking to the coach and my parents ... I realized I wasn’t ready to stop playing.”

Stitt wound up missing all of the COVID-shortened 2020 season with an injury. The Golden Eagles went 1-11 that year.

“It turned out to not be much of a season since most of it was canceled,” Stitt said. “I didn’t miss much.”

But Clarion will certainly miss her next year.

After hitting .290 in 2021 and .267 in 2022 with a combined no home runs and 20 RBI, Stitt is putting together a memorable senior season.

“She’s elevated this program, our expectations, everything,” first-year Clarion coach Marissa Pullo said. “Alyssa is an amazing person, on and off the field. She puts everybody before herself. She always will. I love her.”

Now the Eagles’ left fielder, Stitt is hitting .394 this season with four homers and 35 RBI. She has 11 doubles, two triples and a .435 on-base percentage — and she is on scholarship for the first time.

“I just decided to have fun this year,” Stitt said. “It’s my final season, so enjoy it. I was stressing too much the last couple of years. I’m playing relaxed now and it’s making a difference.”

And how.

Clarion is 16-18 through 34 games this season. The 16 wins are the program’s most since 2003 and the team is still alive for a potential PSAC West playoff spot. Stitt’s 35 RBI are a single-season Clarion record.

“Alyssa plays with so much heart,” Pullo said. “She works hard at everything, offensively and defensively. She’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime players a coach comes across.

“We were playing a game at Slippery Rock, down by a run, and she makes a diving catch down the left field line that ended the inning and prevented two runs from scoring. Then she comes up the next inning and hits a home run. That’s the type of impact she makes.”

Stitt is proud of the RBI record. She’s more proud of the team’s win record.

“When I started playing here, all I wanted to do was help the team win games and improve,” she said. “Things are headed in the right direction here and it’s exciting. I want to leave here feeling like I was a part of it.”

She’s more than that in Pullo’s mind.

“She is the trigger,” the coach said. “Alyssa got this whole thing started. We depend on her for everything. I’ve never felt I put too much on her shoulders because she handles everything so well.”

Stitt’s father, Mike Stitt, is Karns City’s varsity softball coach. He took over as head coach during her sophomore year with the Gremlins.

“Alyssa has a true passion for this game,” Coach Stitt said. “She’s the reason I started coaching. She wasn’t recruited out of high school, but we could tell she wasn’t through playing.

“We all talked her into giving it a shot. Her hard work did the rest. She hit the weight room, worked on her game. She’s an example for all of our younger players on how to make it happen.”

Coach Stitt sends videos to his daughter, gets tips on drills from her for use at Karns City. She comes back to help out as a volunteer assistant with the Gremlins when she’s able.

Alyssa Stitt said she wants to get into coaching softball at some point.

“No surprise there,” her father said. “She’s a great teacher and she loves working with younger girls, helping them get better.”

Scheduled to graduate from Clarion in May, Stitt will be attending the police academy in Harrisburg before taking a job as a police officer in the Gettysburg area.

“Again, she puts others before herself,” Pullo said. “That’s just who she is. I’m depressed I only get her for one year. We’re really going to miss her.”