Members of the Evans City 18-U slow-pitch softball team pose with their trophies after beating Butler Township for the League championship. Members of the team picture, front ,from left: Calista Jessell, Madeline Williams. Middle: Carley Weigel, Jessica Osselborn, Kaylee Bussard, Michelle Franks, Dalayna Frankenstein and Emily Russ. Third row: Kristen Welsh, Kayla Weigel, Taylor Annarumo, Kaitlyn Welsh, Jennie Stiefel, Audrey Lang, Hailee McCann. Coaches of the team include: Jim Welsh, Ron Osselborn, Dave Frankenstein, Brian Williams.

EVANS CITY — From winless to total bliss.

That’s the softball ride Michelle Franks recently enjoyed while playing for Evans City in the Butler County 18-Under Slow Pitch Softball League.

Franks wrapped up her seven-year playing career with Evans City by playing numerous positions — outfield, second base and catcher among them — on a team that finished 16-0. Evans City won the league championship game by shutting out Butler Township, 10-0, in a five-inning no-hitter.

“They beat us in the league championship game last year,” Evans City coach Ron Osselborn said. “To come back and beat them in the finals this year meant a lot to these girls.”

It meant the world to Frank.

Now entering her junior year at Indiana (Pa.) University, she first played softball for Evans City as an eighth-grader.

“We didn’t win a game. I don’t think we came close to winning one,” Frank said. “I couldn’t even hit the ball. I played right field because none of the balls ever went out there.”

But Franks got better.

So did her team.

She was the oldest player on the Evans City roster this year.

“Michelle kind of typifies what this team is about,” Osselborn said. “They’re all friends and they enjoy playing ball together. Each girl is dedicated to the sport and to the team.

“Every player on this team made a significant contribution to this season at one time or another.”

Evans City’s closest game this year was a 7-5 victory over Saxonburg. Last year’s team finished 9-5.

“To get a no-hitter, even a shutout, in slow-pitch is really tough,” Osselborn said. “It takes tremendous defense. Our shortstop, Kristen Welsh, made a number of great plays in that game. Calista Jessel made outstanding plays in left field. Dalayna Frankenstein was our No. 3 hitter and had a big tournament.”

Other players on the team included Madeline Williams, Carley Weigel, Kaylee Bussard, Emily Russ, Kayla Weigel, Taylor Annarumo, Kaitlyn Welsh, Jennie Steifel, Audrey Lang and Hailee McCann.

This season marked the first time Evans City has ever gone undefeated. The team did win the league title Frank’s junior year at Seneca Valley.

“That felt like a miracle,” she said. “I don’t know how that happened.”

This year, Frank and her teammates were confident great things were going to come.

“We had some new girls come over to the team, some from Cranberry, a couple who played fast-pitch before,” she said. “They helped bring a new energy to the team and we just started winning games.

“After we won our first four games this year, there was a feeling like, ‘we’re going to go undefeated. This is happening.’”

Osselborn said some girls who began softball in slow-pitch, then switched to fast-pitch, have returned to the slow-pitch game.

“Fast-pitch is the big thing because that’s where the high school has a team and parents want their kids to play there,” Osselborn said. “But this fall, the high school has approved slow-pitch softball as a club sport, so the girls will get a chance to represent their school in uniform on the field.

“I like the slow-pitch game from the hitting aspect. Pitchers can’t dominate, so a lot more girls are able to hit the ball effectively, which makes defense and fielding the ball a bigger part of the game, too.”

Frank will miss out on the chance to play slow-pitch softball for Seneca Valley.

But she’s safely secured a special memory.

“I might play a little recreational softball in a church league, but I know my career is pretty much over now,” Frank said. “But I picked a great way to go out and I’ll always appreciate how I developed as a player and all the friendships I made the past seven years. And I’ll never, never forget this season. It was crazy.”