Alayna Mintz, Francesca Beighley help build foundation for young Carlow softball team
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With a roster that features only four seniors, the Carlow softball team was going to have plenty of space for younger players to step into prominent roles. Two A-K Valley graduates — Alayna Mintz (Kiski Area) and Francesca Beighley (Plum) — have done just that.
The pair played against each other often in high school and travel ball, but it was more of a situation of “knowing of” each other rather than actually “knowing” each other. They quickly have found out what good teammates they are.
Though youth has led to some struggles for the Celtics (2-14 in the River States Conference entering the week), Mintz and Beighley have been solid.
Mintz is hitting .333 with three homers and 20 RBIs while splitting time between catcher and first base. Beighley, who is entrenched at second base, is hitting .316 with eight RBIs.
“I would say it’s going better than I expected,” Beighley said. “I came in hoping I would play second base, which I am doing. I had a goal of also being in the starting lineup, so that has, obviously, worked.”
Added Mintz: “Overall, I think my hitting is my strong suit, so that’s going very well.”
Mintz came into Carlow’s program with challenges beyond what freshmen typically face at the college level. She had to overcome two surgeries to her right (throwing) arm: for a torn labrum and rotator cuff two years ago and a torn UCL in her elbow last year.
She said she still is working on getting her arm strength back but is progressing.
She also has been at Carlow for only four months. Though Carlow was where she wanted to be all along, she said, there were no roster spots for catchers, so she enrolled at IUP. Then, she said, an injury opened a roster spot, so she contacted coach Glenn Zinsmeister about joining the team.
Mintz transferred in at the beginning of the spring semester, and it has been seamless.
“I had no idea I was going to play or anything,” she said. “I was just happy to be here playing again. I was actually really shocked that I’m hitting in every game. … I like snuck in, I guess. I’m glad to be here.”
Said Beighley: “I think she’s done a great job. It’s hard to come onto a team and get close to everyone and feel comfortable. … I was proud of her. She’s been performing really well.”
Beighley, meanwhile, was confident in her ability to play defense. Her adjustment has been at the plate, where she had to get accustomed to not only college pitching but how umpires call games.
“The strike zone was a huge adjustment,” she said. “Umpires are less likely to call strikes off the plate. They have a stricter strike zone. I almost had to retrain my brain not to swing at the pitches that weren’t close when I was up in the count.”
After some early wobbles on defense — she committed two errors in her first four games — Beighley has committed only two errors since and had not made an error in her last 34 chances.
“I love Fran. I think she’s great,” Mintz said. “I love her at second. She’s always putting in hard work, and she’s always stopping everything over there.”
While each of the women is focused on improving her individual game, in the grand scheme, they want to make the Celtics a contender in the Rivers States Conference.
The growing pains are evident at the moment, but with so many younger players gaining experience, both believe better days are ahead for Carlow softball.
“I feel like we’re jelling together more,” Mintz said. “We’re really young, so I hope next year we’ll all be comfortable with each other and just flow with each other.”
Added Beighley: “We’re all newer to playing at this level, so we’re all just getting used to playing at the college level. I think we just need to put everything together.”