Wind-resistant Maggie Balint pitches Avon Grove into uncharted territory

Caenarvon >> Pitching Avon Grove into its first-ever PIAA state softball semifinal appearance, star hurler Maggie Balint overcame two challenges Thursday – the pesky West Chester East hitters and the gusty wind.
Although she struck out 10 batters and gave up only four hits Thursday, Balint found the stiff 20 mph winds at Twin Valley High School to be a stiff challenge.
“I needed to spin the ball to get the hitters out, but the wind was slowing me down,” said Balint. “My rise ball was rising a little more than normal, so I had to focus on keeping the ball lower in the zone.”

Balint, selected as the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year for the third year in a row, started fast Thursday, striking out six of the first seven West Chester batters as Avon Grove took a 1-0 lead. The only Viking hitter to reach base in the first two innings was West Chester East right fielder Amelia Lark, who hit an opposite-field double with two outs in the second inning.
“I was throwing curves and rises in the first couple of innings,” said Balint.
The Avon Grove senior hurler found the going tougher in innings 3-5, striking out only one batter in that stretch, while allowing two hits (both to third baseman Kayla MacLaughlin, who had three of the Vikings’ four hits) and two walks. And in both the third and fifth innings, Balint had to pitch out of jams in which West Chester East had runners on second and third.
“They were starting to hit the ball to right field, going with the outside pitch, so I began jamming them with screwballs,” said Balint, who got out of trouble both times by inducing the Vikings to hit infield popups to end the inning.
In the final two innings, Balint seemed to hit her stride once again, allowing only one hit, a wind-blown pop-up in the seventh inning that fell safely in left field.
On the final pitch of the game, Balint’s 99th pitch of the afternoon, she threw a rise ball to Viking shortstop Leah Ritchey, who skied it to right field.
In the seventh inning, Balint got her 1,300th career strikeout, becoming just the second pitcher in PIAA Class AAAA history to reach that milestone, and the first hurler to do it since the pitching rubber was extended from 40 to 43 feet.
“It was very exciting [to reach that milestone],” Balint said. “At the beginning of the season, I was shooting for 1,000 [career] strikeouts, and to get 1,300 is more than I was [expecting].”

Balint gets 10th strikeout of game @DLNSports pic.twitter.com/1i0qvHH36D

— Main Line Sports (@MLineSports) June 9, 2016

This season, Balint has struck out 349 batters in 181 innings, allowing only 52 hits and 34 walks. She has a 23-3 record with a 0.46 ERA, and has held opponents to an .088 batting average.
The University of Oregon-bound senior also has been named to the first team for The American Family Insurance ALL-USA softball team for the 2015-16 season. This is a 40-member squad which includes players from 24 states,