Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Erica Burns
School: Carmichaels
Class: Sophomore
Sport: Softball
Burns’ week: Burns helped the Mikes (5-0, 9-1) to three wins last week, including two over Section 2-A rivals Serra Catholic and Frazier, allowing six runs while striking out 29 and walking three.
She also went six for 12 at the plate and initiated a double play against Serra Catholic with an acrobatic dive.
“She pitched well,” Carmichaels coach Dave Briggs said. “She’s a heck of an athlete. She can pitch, she can hit, and she can field. She was a second baseman for us last year, and she’s an athlete out there. I think she’s going to surprise a lot of people because a lot of people haven’t seen her pitch. If you see her, she’s not a real big girl, but she can throw it.”
Just missed it: The highlight of Burns’ week no doubt came seven days ago, an 11-0 win over Monessen when she finished a bunt single shy of recording a perfect game.
“Very, very frustrating,” said Burns, who racked up 13 strikeouts against the Greyhounds. “Going from a perfect game to a little girl who slaps getting this little hit in, it’s very frustrating. But there are a bunch of games to come.”
Pitch selection: Good thing Carmichaels has an outstanding catcher in Lindsey Osborne, as Burns throws eight pitches, nearly all of them effectively.
“We might not use that many in the game, but she throws a fastball (a rise), curveball, change, drop, knuckle, screwball … she has a repertoire,” Briggs said. “The catcher is going to need two hands to call pitches.
“You know how some pitchers say they have eight pitches, but they really have three … she can throw them all.”
Given that a few of her pitches are variations of the others, Burns said Osborne will often wiggle her hand in such a way that she knows when a variation is warranted.
“It’s not as frustrating as people think it is,” Burns said. “We used to go by numbers. I just have to memorize my pitches. It’s kind of a hard job, but once you do it for awhile, you get used to it.”
Fielding her position: Briggs said Burns is an above-average fielder, which is part of the reason she started at second base for the WPIAL Class A runner-up last spring. Burns doesn’t disagree and says her defense is a source of pride.
“I have really good reactions and quick feet. Those help me a lot,” said Burns, who was four for four with a double, a triple and an RBI during a 5-2 win over Serra Catholic last Tuesday. “Knowing I have a defense behind me doesn’t stop me from playing defense.”
Committed: Burns is a year-round softball player and doesn’t really think about much else, other than Carmichaels and her Cyclone 16-U travel team. Not that it’s a bad thing, considering she was more than ready to take over pitching duties from Cameron Grimes.
“I feel like with travel ball and everything that I’ve been through as a player, I feel like I was ready for it,” Burns said.
– Compiled by Jason Mackey