H-S Athlete of the Week: Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels
Nikki Onderko
NAME: Bailey Barnyak
SCHOOL: Carmichaels
CLASS: Senior
SPORT: Softball
BARNYAK’S WEEK: Barnyak tossed the 13th no-hitter of her career in a key 3-1 Section 2-A softball win over West Greene last Friday. She followed that up with a five-inning one-hitter in a 10-0 victory over Charleroi on Tuesday and a six-inning one-hitter in a 14-0 win over Beth-Center on Wednesday. In an eight-day span, Barnyak went 4-0 and allowed a combined one unearned run on three hits over 23 innings with 43 strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander is 10-3 with an 0.47 ERA and 134 strikeouts this season while hitting .486 with a .563 on-base percentage and a .676 slugging percentage. Her career strikeout total now stands at an astounding 784.
DON’T TELL HER: Barnyak is like many pitchers in that she doesn’t want anyone to mention when she has a no-hitter going. “That’s a huge mental or psyche thing for me,” she said. “You cannot talk about a no-hitter or perfect game or anything like that to me during the game.” Still, most pitchers are usually aware what’s going on, but on Friday Barnyak was not. “I honestly didn’t realize it until my mom (Nikki Gasti Onderko) came up to me after the game was over and said, ‘Hey, that was a no-hitter by the way.’ It was a big game we needed to win so I was just focusing on that.” In addition to her 13 career no-hitters of varying lengths, the 18-year-old Barnyak has tossed five perfect games and 17 one-hitters.
SEASON OF CHANGE: The Lady Mikes are 10-3 overall and 7-1 in section play. They can clinch at least a share of first place with one more win in their final two section games against Jefferson-Morgan today and Avella on Monday, although the Lady Rockets defeated Carmichaels in their first meeting this season, 2-1 in eight innings. The Lady Mikes lost a big chunk of their team to graduation. “We’re a younger team. I think we lost five senior starters last year, including the whole infield besides me and Carys McConnell at shortstop,” Barnyak pointed out. “That was rough and this year I was a little bit nervous coming in with kind of a brand-new team because I didn’t know how some of the freshmen would play. It’s been great so far though. I’m so proud of all of the girls. It’s amazing how they’ve done.” Barnyak’s battery mate had been Kaitlyn Waggett the last three years but she’s had to adjust to a new one for her senior season with Waggett now gone. “Katy and I worked together so well,” Barnyak said. “But Kenlee Machesky has done a good job stepping in. She’s a freshman who is a good all-around player. I’ve adjusted to her 100 percent.”
LAST HURRAH: Carmichaels has been to two WPIAL championship games in Barnyak’s first three years, losing both in close battles. The Lady Mikes didn’t reach the district final in Barnyak’s sophomore year but wound up making a run all the way to the PIAA championship game where they lost to DuBois Central Catholic, 2-0. She’s pumped up to make one last playoff run. “Me personally, I want to go out with a bang and I know Carys does too,” Barnyak said. “We’ve made it there but it just hasn’t fallen our way that day. I definitely want to make it back to the WPIAL final again this year. States are always up in the air. With this team I think one of the main things is keeping ourselves and especially the younger girls relaxed. It’s a big deal for them. This will be the first time in the playoffs for the freshmen and it can be kind of scary. We want to try to keep them calm and composed. I think we can do it.”
PITCHING ARSENAL: Since Barnyak , who is the daughter of Nikki and Nick Onderko, first toed the rubber as a freshman, the Lady Mikes have a combined 64-11 record, including 40-2 in section play with three section championships, all under coach Dave Briggs, who Barnyak is a big fan of. Briggs allows Barnyak’s mother, who is an assistant coach, to call the pitches from a core base Barnyak has used to help carry her team to great success. “I’ve thrown the same five pitches for a while and I just focus on those and perfecting those,” Barnyak said. “That’s the fastball, changeup, drop, curve and a rise.” Her favorite? “The rise is my go-to pitch,” she sadi. “I love throwing that pitch.”
GYM RAT: Nikki Gasti Onderko was one of the greatest softball pitchers to come out of the area. Like Barnyak, she played for Carmichaels, leading it to a pair of WPIAL championships and a PIAA title during an undefeated season, and went on to be the first starting pitcher for Pitt’s inaugural softball program. Despite that, her daughter didn’t take to softball right away. “When I was a toddler she started me out in T-ball, but I was always on my hands, upside down, flipping around, whatever, so I got really into gymnastics for a big part of my childhood,” Barnyak said. “Around sixth grade I quit gymnastics and decided I wanted to play middle school softball. I’m going to be honest, it was tough at first. I was not that good at all. But my mom and her dad helped me a lot and I improved. One summer I really concentrated on softball. It was constant, I worked at it a lot but it ended up being worth it. I would’ve done it all over again. My mom taught me everything I know about pitching. It’s hard sometimes having your mother as a coach because you bicker every once in a while, of course. But I’m very grateful she’s been by my side for all this.”
LOVE FOR VOLLEYBALL: Softball and gymnastics aren’t only sports Barnyak excelled at. She is a four-year letterman in volleyball who once led the WPIAL in kills. “With the gymnastics, it was like a second job, six days a week. So when I ended up quitting that and starting softball I still had more free time,” Barnyak explained. “I didn’t want to be a year-around softball player, I thought I needed something else to play and volleyball became like my second sport. I started playing in eighth grade and every year since then. It’s always been super fun for me. I’m a very competitive person and loved competing in volleyball. I like to play everywhere but I prefer the front row and outside hitting. Coach Emma (Lewis) and Julianne Speeney taught me a lot. Coach Emma was my middle school volleyball coach and was an assistant coach in high school. Cameron Coffey was our coach last season. I really enjoyed playing that sport.”
IUP RECRUIT: Barnyak will continue her softball career at Indiana University of Pa., a place she was impressed with upon visiting. “I just love the environment that IUP had,” she said. “I love Coach Shawna (Bellaud). She was very welcoming and super nice. I thought their campus was beautiful. Also it’s a bit far from home but not that far where anytime I want to come back I can.” Barnyak is pegged for being in the circle but is hoping not to be confined to that spot. “I’m definitely being recruited as a pitcher but hopefully I can play another position,” Barnyak said. “I like playing shortstop, too. I like to be involved so she can throw me anywhere.”
ODDS AND ENDS: Barnyak’s pitching is renowned but she also worked on her hitting in the offseason. “I wanted to improve my hitting ecause I wanted to help our team plus I really want to hit in college,” she said. “I feel I’ve been more confident batting this year. I’ve really tried to step up that part of my game. My hitting has never been terrible but I felt like I could do better.” … Barnyak has a favorite getaway spot. “I love the beach,” she said. “I’m definitely a beach bum. My grandma and I go to Myrtle Beach every year to relax. We’ll lay on the beach the whole time.”
— Compiled by Rob Burchianti