Daily Local Softball Notebook
By Bill Rudick
Balint, Abadie reach career milestones
One is the most feared pitcher in the league, the other the most dangerous hitter. Both reached career milestones over the past week.
Rustin’s Caela Abadie has been waiting nearly a year to finally get to check this one off the list. In the Golden Knights final game of the season last year, Abadie did something she’s done a lot of over the years—put a ball over the fence for a home run. That home run was number 31 of her career, tying her with Mariah Kondravy, who reached the mark while playing for Liberty High School in 2014.
Last Friday, as Rustin took on American Division rival Unionville, Abadie came up in the bottom of the seventh with her team trailing by a run, stroked a ball to left for her first home run of 2016 and became Pennsylvania’s all-time leader in home runs.
“It’s kind of a relief, but it means a lot to get there,” said Abadie, who will continue her softball career at St. Joseph’s next year. “The ball was middle in and I knew it right away that this was going to be it. It means a lot to get the record just because it’s the result of a lot of hard work paying off.”
While Abadie has made her mark clearing the fence and making pitchers miserable, Maggie Balint, a teammate on Abadie’s travel team, Chaos, has forged a career making hitters miserable.
“I’m so happy for Maggie,” said Abadie. “I’ve gotten to play with her for the last four years, and after seeing the way she works and all she does, she deserves anything that comes her way.”
Balint came in to Tuesday night’s game against Coatesville needing eleven strikeouts to reach 1000 for her career, something only five other girls in the state of Pennsylvania have done. Balint got that whiff in the bottom of the fifth, and tacked on another five, to put her at 1005, with a whole lot of season to go.
It would take one heckuva a season, but the state record is not entirely out of reach. Chambersburg’s Stephanie Van Brakle established the mark back in 2002, finishing with 1,357. Rounding out the top five are Kristen Erb with 1,278 for Exeter in 2005; Trish Melvin with 1,214 for Vincentian Academy in 2007; Holly Lansberry with 1,183 for Curwensville in 2009; and Alexa Bryson with 1,180 for Latrobe in 2008.
“This is one of those things that years from now you’ll look back and think, ‘wow, I had a thousand strikeouts in high school.,’” said Balint, a University of Oregon recruit. “I don’t know how far I can get, but I’ll just keep throwing hard and doing what I can to help the team win.”
When the season began, there were some questions as to how Balint would adjust to a new catcher. For years, Balint has thrown mainly to just two catchers—Alyssa Herion at Avon Grove, and former Rustin star Anna Steinmetz with Chaos. But with Steinmetz now at the University of Delaware and Herion plying shortstop for West Chester University, the duty has fallen to freshman Olivia Kuninsky.
“Liv K is awesome,” said Balint. “We are already on the same page, and she’s so easy to work with. We’ve gotten along exceptionally well so far.”
Rankings
- Avon Grove 3-1
- Villa Maria 3-1
- Coatesville 4-1
- Henderson 3-1
- Great Valley 3-1
- Downingtown West 3-1
- Conestoga 2-1
