WARREN, Pa. – In a year of great individual performances one stood out above the rest.
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Kendall Young, St. Marys senior pitcher, was dominant in the circle while also being strong at the plate, and that is why she is both the YDL Sports Network’s Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in District 9.
Young is joined in the major award category by Redbank Valley’s Quinn White and Curwensville’s Addison Siple, who are the co-Rookies of the Year, while Cranberry head coach Chrissy Shumaker is Coach of the Year.
A first- and second-team All-District squad was named as well.
2023 YDL SPORTS NETWORK DISTRICT 9 SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND 2023 YDL SPORTS NETWORK DISTRICT 9 PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Kendall Young, Sr., St. Marys
Young was 13-2 in the circle while leading the Lady Dutch to the District 9 Class 4A title. In 83 ⅓ innings pitched she struck out 145 and walked just nine while pitching to an ERA of 0.96.
At the plate, Young hit .490 (24 of 49) with an OPS of 1.209. She had four doubles, a home run, and 11 RBIs while walking seven times and only striking out once.
Young is headed to IUP to pitch next season.
Photo by Kelli Surra
2023 YDL SPORTS NETWORK DISTRICT 9 SOFTBALL CO-ROOKIES OF THE YEAR
Addison Siple, Fr., Curwensville
Siple burst onto the scene for the Lady Tide as a dominant freshman pitcher. She helped Curwensville secure the top seed in the District 9 Class 2A playoffs and a third-place overall finish in D9 2A with both her arm and her bat.
Her 1.55 ERA was the third-lowest in District 9, and she went 13-06 on the year while striking out a District 9-leading 255 compared to 43 walks in a D9-leading 135 ⅓ innings pitched.
At the plate, Siple hit .354 (23 of 65) with a .927 OIPS. She had four doubles, a triple, 17 RIS, and 13 runs scored.
Submitted photo. Photo by Heather Bell
Quinn White, Fr., Redbank Valley
In White’s second-ever varsity game, she went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, four RBIs, and three runs scored and never really slowed down.
On the year, White hit .554 (41 of 74( with an OPS of 1.625, the fifth-best in District 9. She had nine doubles, eight triples, and four home runs while driving in 27 runs and scoring 34 runs.
Photo by Laura Neiswonger
2023 YDL SPORTS NETWORK DISTRICT 9 SOFTBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
Chrissy Shumaker, Cranberry
In her second season as the Lady Berries coach, Shumaker piloted Cranberry to the District 9 Class 2A title with D9 playoff wins over Keystone (17-2 in four innings), Moniteau (11-0 in five innings), and Curwensville (7-6). Cranberry then beat Greensburg Central Catholic, 8-7, in a walk-off fashion in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs before falling to eventual state champion Everett in the second round.
On the season, Cranberry went 14-8. It was a late-season surge for the Berries, who were 5-6 at the end of April before winning 9 of their next 11 games.
Photo courtesy of the Oil City Derrick. Photo by Ryan Kunselman
2023 YDL SPORTS NETWORK ALL-DISTRICT 9 SOFTBALL TEAMS
2023 YDL Sports Network All-District 9 First Team Softball
Co-C – Natalie Bowser, Sr., Keystone: .635 avg, D9-leading 1.904 OPS, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HRs, 27 RBIs, 27 R
Co-C- Katie Sheeler, Sr., Otto-Eldred: .621 avg, .785 on-base percentage, 9 triples, 8 doubles, 1 HR, 39 R, 37 SB
1B – Faith Dietrich, Jr., Forest Area: .544 avg., 1.643 OPS, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 9 HRs, 37 RBIs, 26 R
2B – Olivia Eckels, Sr., St. Marys: .422 avg, 1.033 OPS, 8 doubles, 20 RBIs, 24 R
Co-SS – Lucy Klawuhn, Jr., Elk County Catholic: .535 avg, 1.696 OPS, 6 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 28 RBIs, 41 R (Tied for D9 lead)
Co-SS – Quinn White, Fr., Redbank Valley: .554 avg, 1.625 OPS, 9 2B, 8 3B, 4 HR, 27 RBIs, 34 R
3B – Cassie Scarbrough, So., Cranberry: .437 avg., 1.121 OPS, 5 2B, 2 HR, 25 RBIs, 24 R
OF – Morgan Pasternak, Jr., DuBois: .442 avg, 1.377 OPS, 2 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 24 RBIs, 24 R
OF – Haley Reed, So, DuBois: .481 avg, 1.163 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBIs, 26 R
OF – Kayley Risser, Jr., DuBois Central Catholic: .507 avg, 1.181 OPS, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBIs, 38 R
UTL – Natalie Dunworth, So., Johnsonburg: .440 avg, 1.301 OPS, 3 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 23 RBIs, 30 R
UTL – Emma Covert, Sr., Moniteau: .524 avg, 1.609 OPS, 8 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR (2nd in D9), 38 RBIs, 25 R; 8-1 in the circle with a 4.24 ERA; 102 ⅓ IP, 63 K, 43 BB
Hitting Pitcher/DP – Ciara Toven, Jr., Punxsutawney: .530 avg, 1.766 OPS (2nd in D9), 8 2B, 12 HR (Led D9), 33 RBIs, 22 R; 5-9 in the circle with a 3.46 ERA; 85 IP, 86 K, 23 BB
Hitting Pitcher/DP – Emily Mourer, Jr., Elk County Catholic: .569 avg, 1.753 OPS (3rd in D9), 11 2B (led D9), 4 3B, 8 HR, 40 RBIs (Tied for lead in D9), 9 R; 16-5 in the circle with a 3.07 ERA; 114 IP, 117 K, 50 BB
P – Bri Heller, Sr., Otto-Eldred: 11-1, 0.84 ERA; 67 IP, 124 K, 24 hits allowed; Also hit .600 with 28 RBIs
P – Kendall Young, Sr., St. Marys: 13-2, 0.96 ERA, 83 ⅓ IP, 145 K (3rd in D9), 9 BB; Also hit .490 with a 1.209 OPS, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBIs, 4 R
2023 YDL Sports Network All-District 9 Second Team Softball
C – Jess Dunn, Sr., Karns City: .554 avg. 1.572 OPS. 10 2B. 1 3B, 3 HR, 27 RBIs, 34 R
1B – Jenna Kasmierski, Jr., Johnsonburg: .484 avg, 1.179 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 23 RBIs, 10 R
2B – Sierra Myers, Jr., Coudersport: .518 avg, 1.328 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBIs, 22 R
SS – Kali Franklin, So., DuBois Central Catholic: .500 avg, 1.368 OPS, 7 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBIs, 41 R (Tied for D9 lead)
3B – Bella Orr, Fr.,, Redbank Valley: .397 avg, 1.075 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 23 RBIs, 22 R
OF – Averil Hayward, Fr., Clearfield: .438 avg, 1.098 OPS, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 19 RBIs, 17 R
OF – Gabby Weisner, Sr., Elk County Catholic: .459 avg, 1.163 OPS, 7 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBIs, 28 R
OF – Jada Polczynski, Jr., Karns City: .474 avg, 1.131 OPS, 6 2B, 20 RBIS, 24 R
UTL – Ruby Singleton, Jr., Clearfield: .474 avg, 1.296 OPS, 10 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 19 RBIs, 21 R
UTL – Karli Young, Sr., Punxsutawney: .412 avg, 1.048 OPS, 2 2B, 4 HR, 24 RIS, 13 R
Hitting Pitcher/DP – Mackenzie Parks, Sr., A-C Valley/Union: .544 avg, 1.567 OPS, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBIs, 28 R; 7-3 in the circle with 2 saves with a 4.22 ERA; 73 ⅓ IP, 55 K, 26 BB
Hitting Pitcher/DP – Melia Mitskavich, Jr., DuBois Central Catholic: .463 avg, 1.287 OPS, 9 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 40 RBIS (Tied for D9 lead), 22 R; 7-2 in the circle with a 3.94 ERA; 42 ⅔ IP, 55 K, 6 BB
P – Addison Siple, Fr., Curwensville: 13-6, 1.55 ERA, 135 ⅓ IP, 255 K (Led D9), 43 BB; Also hit .354 with a .927 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 17 RBIs, 13 R
P – Julia Jones, Sr., Johnsonburg: 11-8, 2.53 ERA, 124 ⅓ IP, 164 K, 34 BB; Also hit .338 with .951 OPS, 8 2B, 1 HR, 15 RBIs, 24 R
