Belle Vernon freshman sparkles

Parshall pitches, powers Leopards into Class AAA title game vs. Yough

Bailey Parshall is your typical 15-year-old girl.

She enjoys spending time with her friends and listening to Nick Jonas and Iggy Azalea. Yes, pretty normal.

Except when she is on the softball field.

Parshall, a freshman pitcher at Belle Vernon, plays to a different tune when she puts on a jersey and helmet.

Whether it’s a 60-mph pitch humming past an opposing hitter or the deafening clang of her bat, Parshall has a skill set few freshmen possess.

That rare talent has led Belle Vernon — 5-12 a year ago — to the WPIAL Class AAA championship game. The Leopards (19-2) will play Yough (17-3) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at California University.

What also makes Parshall’s Bailey Parshall Anything but ordinary on softball field story so unique is she picked a college before she played a high school game. Parshall committed to Penn State in the fall.

“She’s a freshman pitcher who has been able to step up and handle the pressures of pitching in the playoffs,” South Fayette coach Vic Iagnemma said.

“I think she’s very patient. That’s a rare thing in a girl that age.”

Iagnemma’s team fell to Belle Vernon, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. Parshall fired a two-hitter and struck out 13. In a 3-2 triumph against Southmoreland in the semifinals, Parshall struck out 10 and drove in the winning run in the final inning.

Overall, Parshall is 19-1 with 189 strikeouts. She boasts a 1.33 ERA, and opponents are batting just .187 against her. Parshall is a terrific hitter, too. She’s batting a team-best .449.

“She’s a great kid. She’s been working hard since second grade,” Belle Vernon coach Tom Rodriguez said. “All year-round, she pitches. I can’t say enough about her.”

Rodriguez has coached Parshall since she was 7. He said he fully realized Parshall’s mammoth potential when she was in seventh grade. She has been a standout on travel teams since she was 9, and is currently playing with the PA Outlaws. Parshall led her team to a championship Sunday in a tournament. She pitched a no-hitter in the semifinals.

All eyes will be on Parshall later this week when she — along with a strong senior class that includes six starters — tries to help Belle Vernon win a WPIAL softball title for the second time in school history.

Belle Vernon played its past two games at California University, so the experience of pitching there should help Parshall. But that’s not to say there won’t be butterflies.

“I’ll be pretty nervous. I have a lot of people coming to see me,” she said.

Parshall won’t be the only star pitcher on the field. Yough junior Macy Mularski is 17-2 with a 0.89 ERA and 193 strikeouts. Mularski and Parshall finished second and third in the WPIAL in strikeouts in the regular season.

“This should be a great pitching duel,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey said.

With a typical 15-year old girl playing one of the leading roles.