Jun 24, 2022 6 min read

The honors continue to pile up this month for Bailey Parshall, the ace southpaw pitcher on Penn State’s softball team and a 2018 Belle Vernon graduate.

Parshall was named the Penn State University Female Athlete of the Year, the school announced Wednesday.

“I am pretty honored because there are a lot of great female athletes at Penn State,” said Parshall in a humble and appreciative tone. “To be recognized, it means a lot to me.”

This award comes three weeks after Parshall was named an NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) third-team All-American. It was only the fifth time a Penn State softball player earned All-America recognition. She is the first pitcher since Ashley Esparza in 2005 to be named All-America.

When Clarisa Crowell, Penn State’s softball coach, called Parshall to inform her of the All-America nod, it took a while for the honor to register.

“Honestly, I was in disbelief when Coach called and told me the news,” Parshall said with a laugh. “In the moment, I didn’t realize how big a deal it was.

“A few days later, it settled in. Normally, I am hard on myself but something like this, it made me happy, and it means a lot.”

Parshall is the first Penn State pitcher since Esparza in 2005 to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Penn State went 32-22 this season, a 21-win improvement from a year ago, and Parshall played a huge role in the increase.

She had a 22-9 record. The 22 wins tied the school single-season record set by Kelly McCann in 2001. Parshall also had a 1.68 ERA, good for 34th in the country.

Parshall finished seventh in the country in innings pitched (212.1) and shutouts (nine) while limiting opponents to a .199 batting average. The 22 wins were tied for 16th in the country as was her strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.59). Parshall was 25th in walks per seven innings (1.05) and her 211 strikeouts were 30th.

The 211 strikeouts by Parshall tied Jackie Hill (2010) for third most in one season in Nittany Lions history.

The nine shutouts are tied for third in one season and the 212.1 innings rank fourth in one season.

Parshall threw a perfect game, only the second seven-inning perfect game in Division I program history and fifth overall, against Florida International Feb. 18. She struck out 11 batters in that game.

Parshall graduated in May with a degree in Health Policy and Administration with a 3.33 GPA. Her assault on the Nittany Lions’ record book will continue as she will return for her COVID season while pursuing her Master’s degree in Management and Organizational Leadership.

Parshall is tied for eighth all-time in school history with 41 wins, third in strikeouts (607), fifth in shutouts (14), ninth in complete games (44), eighth in innings pitched (559.0), fifth in appearances (125), eighth in starts (79) and third in saves (seven).

Although Parshall will move up in statistical rankings next season, she is focused on the team.

“Things are coming to an end for me and finishing out with a few records would be great to have my name there for at least a year,” Parshall said. “We wanted to change the way people see us and the program.”

Despite all the personal accolades and success, Parshall is happier that the team did well, and considering the Nittany Lions return all but one starter in 2023, she hopes things keep trending in the right direction.

“I think it is great for our program and what we have been trying to do here – to leave Penn State softball in a better place when we leave than when we got here,” she said. “I am very excited about where the program is heading.”

One example of Parshall’s team-first mentality was when she reached 600 career strikeouts May 11 in the same game she tied the program mark with 22 wins. The bigger deal for Parshall was that the team won that game against Indiana in walk-off fashion in eight innings, 2-1, in the Big Ten tournament. It was the program’s first postseason win since 2016.

“It was rewarding to hear that (600 strikeouts), but I have always been a person who never worried about that sort of thing,” Parshall said. “When I hit 600, I didn’t even know about it until after. I was focused on the game.”

Other honors this year from Parshall include being named the Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 21 and she was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team as the only honoree that did not play for one of the four semifinal teams.

Parshall committed to Penn State in October of her freshman year in high school, before she ever threw one pitch or led the Leopards to three WPIAL championships. But how would the 14-year old version of herself react if she knew her career would go like this?

“That Bailey Parshall didn’t even know what an All-American was or that there was a Female Athlete of the Year award at Penn State,” Parshall said. “That Bailey would be proud, had low expectations, but definitely proud.”

Chosen to be a member of the Athletic Director Leadership Institute and the Student Athlete Advisory Board on campus, Parshall spoke about where she has grown the most at the collegiate level.

“I think the biggest thing I have learned the last few years has been the mental growth,” she said. “I’ve known I’m a good pitcher, but it takes more than pitching and working out.”

Parshall was dominant in high school, striking out almost 1,000 batters and she never lost a regular-season game in the circle at Belle Vernon when the Leopards scored at least one run.

She didn’t face many hurdles in high school, but her mental approach at Penn State has helped her become a more well-rounded player.

“The mental game has changed the last few years, and I didn’t learn that as a dominant pitcher in high school,” she said. “My failures have made me the player I am now.”

Parshall and Nick Lee, the Penn State Male Athlete of the Year after winning his second straight NCAA wrestling championship and helping the team win its ninth NCAA team championship in 11 years, will represent Penn State on the ballot for the Big Ten Male and Female Athletes of the Year with the honorees from the other 13 conference institutions.