2006 Leechburg Softball

“We have a great group of seniors this year,” says Leechburg Softball Coach Jim Oberdorf. “Every one of them is great. They are very good leaders. I totally enjoy being around them.” The skipper of the Lady Blue Devils must enjoy it—the 25 years he’s done it is long enough to have recently been inducted into the Alle-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame. “We’ve been playing some very good ball these past few games, typical Leechburg high school softball. I’m very proud of the fact the program here has been very consistent over the past 20 years,” Oberdorf notes.

He has been a big part of that consistency, having taken teams to WPIALs so many times they should name the playoffs after him. But the coach instead is quick to point out the efforts of his volunteer coaching staff and his assistant coach of 12 years, Matt Barczykowski. The result of their work together last year was obvious then and is just as apparent now in the team’s 13-3 regular season record and section co-championship.

Some of the remarkable girls at Leechburg who are carrying on the winning tradition this year are seniors: shortstop Maggie Jones; first baseman Haley Bradbury; Allison Shepler, second baseman; Lindsey Ulizio, right fielder; and Marissa Thiera, center fielder. Jones will be continuing her career in college, as is Shepler. Haley Bradbury is considering her opportunities, and Thiera may possibly play at South Florida. Emily Batiz, the junior human pitching machine, is still grappling with a minor shoulder injury at press time during playoffs, but she continues to hit the zone consistently enough to help march her team through playoff paces. “Our team all works well together, all of them,” Oberdorf says, obviously pleased with his squad.