Pa. Strikers team leads return charge
National schedule puts club back on field earlier than others in Pa.
The Pa. Strikers national fastpitch softball team spends the summer traveling to various parts of the country, testing their ability and teamwork at each stop.
But there was a third challenge the Strikers faced in the first two of six tournaments; namely, the coronavirus that has wrought all manner of sickness and suffering throughout the country and world.
While other athletic programs in Pennsylvania were waiting for the state to enter the “green phase” of the COVID-19 pandemic to play abbreviated seasons, the Morgantown-based Strikers were out of state participating in tournaments in states under less restrictions than Pennsylvania. They went to the Pro Swings Power 50 the weekend of June 1114 in Cookville, Tenn., and more recently were at the Ohio Outlaws Summer Showcase in North Ridgeville, Ohio (near Cleveland) June 18-21.
To their credit, the Strikers were a combined 11-3 in the tourneys; the one in Ohio saw them go 8-1. While doing so, they had to contend with social-distancing and safety requirements brought on by the pandemic.
“We won the (Ohio) tournament two years ago,” Camille Hayes, head coach of the Strikers national squad, recalled. “This time, the weather was hot and teams weren’t allowed to bring jugs of water on the field ... only individual bottles.”
The requirement to separate on the sidelines meant only 3-4 players from a team could be in the dugout at any time. “It’s all part of the rules,” Hayes said, adding the integrity of the game was upheld even with the restrictions.
The girls literally weathered
the situation in solid fashion. They scored four shutouts and won seven of their games by margins of five or more runs, scoring as many as 14 twice. A 5-1 loss to the Beverly Bandits in their final tournament game was the Strikers’ lone setback on the trip.
Like other youth sports programs around the country, the Strikers came into 2020 with high hopes and equally-high expectations. And like those same teams, they found those plans gummed up by the COVID-19 pandemic’s shutdown of the spring sports season.
The Strikers competed in Florida in mid-January and Myrtle Beach, S.C., in early February but found themselves with the rest of Pa. athletes in mid-March when the shutdown left them to their own devices in maintaining their conditioning and development.
“The girls checked in daily and sent videos of their workouts,” Hayes recalled. “They were really on their own.”
“It was a hard time for the kids. They want to play. Whatever they need to do to get out there, they’ll do.”
Competitors were required to sign a safety waiver upon returning to play, the organization’s website stating: “the signed waiver serves as acknowledgement and agreement by parents and players that any participation, in any activity associated with our PA Strikers Fastpitch Organization ... is purely optional and done so at their own risk.”
“As always, the safety of our players and our families is extremely important to us and remains our top priority.”
Through it all, Hayes has been impressed with her players’ mindset toward the game and the Strikers.
“There’s an appreciation the kids have, never taking the team for granted,” she said. “Every day comes, they become stronger. Things were not be what they expected, but they’re resilient.”
“They’re playing the game not to be seen. They play because they want to play the best competition. We’re not trophy chasers. I’d rather see them lose to a good team than beat a not-so-good team.”
Five Striker players from the Class of 2021 have already committed to colleges when they graduate from high school.
Locally Spring-Ford’s Brianna Peck — she was an Extra Inning Softball All-America first teamer, 2019 Pa. Gatorade Player of the Year and Mercury All-Area Player of the Year — signed on to Virginia Tech. Daniel Boone’s Dani Hayes, selected to the Extra Inning Softball Extra Elite Top 100, is going to Penn State University; and Twin Valley’s Ashley McMenamin has committed to Cabrini University.
Teammates Taylor Posner (Downingtown West) and Kayla Tauber (Hatboro-Horsham) will be going to Syracuse and St. Joseph’s universities, respectively.
This week, the Strikers will head back to Chattanooga, Tenn. for Triple Crown Fireworks, which runs now through July 5. Then they’re off to Kansas City, Kan., for the Demarini Summer Invitational July 9-12, followed by the PGF Nationals July 24-Aug. 1 in Huntington Beach, Calif., and the Beast of the East Amped Showcase Aug. 13-16 in Newtown.