(Butler, PA) While his Butler County Community College softball program has not played since a rain-shortened 2019 season, coach Dan Beebe is encouraged by the experience on the Pioneers’ 2022 roster.
The Pioneers finished 5-1 in 2019. BC3 did not play in 2020 and 2021 as a result of a National Junior College Athletic Association decision to postpone athletics with regard to COVID-19.
“I was very concerned of where the program would be after being out for two years,” Beebe said, “and what everything would look like. I felt like we might be starting over from scratch. But coming out of that, we have really been blessed. There is a lot of good high school experience that we have on this team. I think the experience and the maturity will be key for us.”
BC3’s 2022 roster includes three sophomores and seven freshmen.
The Pioneers are seeking their sixth Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference title since 1989 and first National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 crown since 2017. BC3 has posted a 41-12 record since 2016.
Freshman pitcher “key piece to our team”
Among the freshmen, right-handed pitcher Kristen Woolstrum, a graduate of Cochranton Junior-Senior High School in Crawford County who was recruited by five NCAA Division III programs and one NCAA Division II program.
Woolstrum, Beebe said, has a wide variety of pitches.
“I have a fastball,” Woolstrum said. “I have two different changeups. I have drop-curves. Off-speed drop-curves. A screwball. An off-speed screwball. And a curve-rise.”
Woolstrum “is a real key piece to our team,” said Beebe, the WPCC coach of the year in 2018 and in 2019. “For us to be able to have her on this team could be the part that really brings us together.”
“She can definitely place the ball and has a variety of pitches,” said Lauren Hesidenz, a Butler High graduate and BC3 freshman who is expected to start at catcher. “And she can hit pretty much all of her spots pretty well. (Her pitches) curve in real sharp and then curve out instantly. Her rise ball is pretty good, and she has a lot of speed and velocity.”
“I have a fastball. I have two different changeups. I have drop-curves. Off-speed drop-curves. A screwball. An off-speed screwball. And a curve-rise.”
Freshman shortstop Olivia Vissari, one of three Knoch graduates on BC3’s roster, is the lone left-handed batter and will will lead off for the Pioneers, Beebe said.
Vissari hit five home runs for Knoch in 2021, including three in a game against Freeport.
“She is going to be spectacular this season,” Beebe said. “She is a dual threat at the top of the order. She can use her speed or hit with power. A lot of times when a left-hander comes up at the top of the order, (the defense is) thinking, ‘Slap.’ They’re thinking, ‘She’s fast. Everybody move up.’
“But she hit three home runs in a game last year, so you know she is going to read the defense and she’s going to play to her strength. If you play her close because you don’t know her, she is going to swing away and hit for power. She is going to burn you with her feet and her power.”
Said Vissari: “I like to mix it up a lot. I think coach is really good about reading situations and making calls based on that. If he wants me to hit away, or bunt, or slap or whatever, I am good with that. That is a big part of the strategy of the game.”
"A lot of times when a left-hander comes up at the top of the order, (the defense is) thinking, ‘Slap.’ They’re thinking, ‘She’s fast. Everybody move up.’"
Bailey Rickenbrode, a freshman from Knoch, is expected to start at first base; Marissa Melius, also a freshman from Knoch, will start at second base; and Rebecca Sears, a freshman from Grove City, at third base.
The Pioneers outfielders will be Jamie Roberts, a sophomore and Taylor Allderdice graduate; Britney Friters, a sophomore and Karns City graduate; Amanda Dailey, a sophomore and Moniteau graduate; and Taylor Schultz, a freshman and Moniteau graduate.
Jim Jones is the Pioneers’ assistant softball coach.
BC3 is scheduled to open its season March 19 with a doubleheader at Westmoreland County Community College. The first game begins at 1 p.m.
