2006 Kiski Area Softball. Photo courtesy Hourglass photo

Only three WPIAL softball teams went undefeated this spring, and Kiski Area (15-0) was one of them. The record bought them a bye into the second round of playoffs. “Regardless of what else happens from here on out, you can never take away from that special season we’ve had,” points out Lady Cavs Coach Diane Haney. “Regardless of what happens, they should be very proud of the year they had.” Haney, Kiski’s own Softball Sage for 14-years, is right. The last time Lady Cav Softball went undefeated in the regular season was somewhere around ’93 and ’94. Some teams never go undefeated, and some players never go undefeated in their entire lifetime career, both playing and coaching. Undefeated is for keeps.

“I think this is a very well-balanced team,” notes Haney. “Defensively we’ve held our own. We’re a very good hitting team this season. We put the ball in play very well.” Putting the well-balanced attack together has been what may seem to be an unbalanced number in the different grade levels: five seniors, six juniors, one sophomore, and two freshmen. But, even with the disproportion in upperclassmen, waiting around the bend to fill in the gaps is a Junior Varsity team coached by Robert White that went 10-1 this spring.

The Lady Cavs had a host of players that, as one might expect, all contributed to the undefeated season. Senior captain Elise Moore, who hit .440 with 12 RBIs, had a .61 ERA with 92 strikeouts and will be continuing her career at Thiel. Kim Mulvany, a senior center fielder and captain batting .359, will play at St. Francis. Kayla Weiser, freshman shortstop, averaged .481 at the plate and set a new team-record 25 RBIs in 15 games—with only 3 errors the entire season! Sara Kanas, a junior catcher who does most of her own signal calling, had a .404 batting avg., 14RBIs, and NO errors—all season! A catcher, who has the ball all the time, with no errors!! Senior third baseman Becky Boyer hit .372 while left-fielder Kristi Marsili hit .408 and also had NO errors. Tasha Reid, a junior right fielder, averaged .326 at bat and also had NO errors. Sophomore first baseman Tiffany Brucker hit .310 and had 5 errors…out of 117 chances to drop the ball! Designated hitter Natalie Smodic, a junior, had a .243 average and senior April Pollock had a .267 at the plate. Senior second baseman Krista Kardos, junior Samantha Stonebreaker, and freshman Lauren Yohe made up the rest of the Lady Cavs varsity squad.