Coming together
BUTLER TWP — Recreational and travel softball aren't always rivals when it comes to pulling in players.
They pulled together over the weekend, in fact, in the second annual Battle of the Bats 12U and 10U fast-pitch tournament held at Butler High School and the Meridian complex.
“We've got 70 players and five teams in our organization,” Seneca Valley North coach Krista Winkle said. “(Tournament director) Kris Paserba told me not to just bring a rec team or a travel team, to bring a mixture of both and just have some fun.
“This is our 12-player all-star team of rec and travel players. Practice for a couple of weeks and go play. They love it.”
There were 11 teams in the 12U division: Armstrong Fusion, Butler Storm, Cranberry Township, Hempfield, McKeesport, Mt. Lebanon, Seneca Valley North, West Shamokin, North Allegheny, West Allegheny and the Apollo-Kiski Wildcats.
Seneca Valley North upended top-seed Armstrong 6-3 in the quarterfinals Sunday, only to fall to the Butler Storm in the semifinal round. The Storm played Apollo-Kiski in a rematch of last year's final.
“Travel ball is over now, so this tournament offers the girls a chance to play with their community friends in a competitive environment,” Paserba said. “This is a travel-ball quality tournament.”
Paserba is president of the Butler Fast-Pitch Association. The organization has approximately 100 players on teams from age 8 to 16.
“Our numbers are good, not great,” Paserba said. “But the future of Butler softball looks bright. We have a lot of quality kids here and (Butler head coach) Cait Baxter is doing a great job with the high school team.“With the influx of younger players already there and with these girls on their way up, there's plenty of reasons to be excited.”The Butler Storm 12U team has four solid pitchers — Dezi Stellfox, Kelsey Ogin, Alison Smith and Tori Gilliland — along with a solid lineup that took the team to the Battle of the Bats title game again.The Storm lost to the Wildcats, 11-1, in the finals, facing one of the best young pitchers in the region in Oivia Zimmerman.“These girls have improved,” said Aaron Vicari, who coaches the 12U team along with Paserba. “They're another year older and another year stronger.“Some of our girls also play for travel organizations. That's OK. They're getting in more swings and more games. Many of them practice through the winter as well.“These are very dedicated young players,” Vicari added.The nine 10U teams in the Battle of the Bats were the Butler Storm, Bauerstown, Cranberry Township, Hampton, Ingomar, Mt. Lebanon, New Castle, North Hills and the BV Rippers.The RV Rippers defeated Hampton, 6-5, in the 10U finals.
