Ryan hoping to deliver three-peat at Hempfield

with 188 strikeouts.

Having to battle older players from the get-go helped Ryan stay motivated moving forward in her high school career.

“I didn’t come in cocky, but you come in with a lot of confidence in yourself thinking you’re a really great player,” Ryan said. “It’s kind of a little bit humbling to get there and be like ‘Hey, there’s a lot of good kids back there. I still need to work hard.’”

With 11 home runs in her Hempfield career, Ryan sits one away from the record. She has 52 career wins and would need 10 more to break the record of 61.

The individual records are nice, but not something she keeps a running tally on. Last year, she hit six home runs, tying the record for most home runs in one season, and didn’t even realize it until after the state championship.

Part of what makes her such a force on the mound is her calm demeanor, according to her catcher, senior Madi Stoner.

“She doesn’t let anything phase her,” Stoner said. “She really just dominates mentally and physically. She can walk a batter or let in a run and the next inning, come in and strike the next three batters out.”

With a long season ahead, Ryan said the team doesn’t want to get too far ahead of itself when talking about WPIALs and PIAAs. Just qualifying for the WPIAL playoffs isn’t a given, as that 2013-14 season proves.

But her senior season offers the Spartans another shot to prove her prediction correct.