Leechburg grad McKenna Pierce shows position versatility, big bat with Carlow softball

When Morgan Pierce wanted to work on pitching during her days as a junior high and high school player at Leechburg, she had a built-in practice partner: sister McKenna, younger by three years.

Being the little sister, McKenna Pierce usually didn’t have much choice when Morgan asked her to serve as catcher. And big sister didn’t hold back. She often threw as hard as she could, and McKenna took the brunt of some less-than-perfect offerings.

“I would always get all beaten up in the backyard from her pitching,” she said.

McKenna Pierce surmised that all those bumps, bruises and abrasions acquired while working out with her sister were the reason she soured on catching. Throughout her time on Leechburg’s varsity, she played shortstop and left the catching to others.

Pierce is a junior shortstop at Carlow these days. At least that’s how she is listed on the Celtics roster.

In point of fact, she spent the bulk of her first two seasons at Carlow behind the plate. And, fittingly, she had her older sister to thank (?) for it.

Morgan Pierce preceded McKenna to Carlow, and during her fourth season — she played five seasons with the Celtics because of the “bonus” covid season — the team had a rash of injuries at catcher. No problem. Morgan Pierce knew just the person for the job.

Her freshman sister.

“I (last) caught when I was 14,” McKenna said. “My sister was like, ‘McKenna actually can catch, too.’ So they really kind of just threw me into catching, which I’ve really grown to love again.

“I loved catching when I was younger, but I was over it because I found a love for shortstop instead. Now I feel more comfortable catching than I do playing shortstop.”

Still, there she is. In the middle of the Celtics infield. Injuries, again, were the culprit behind her change of positions.

For coach Glenn Zinsmeister, it was difficult for him to take Pierce from behind the plate. The sixth-year coach commended Pierce for how she handled the pitching staff.

“My catchers call the game,” he said. “I put that part of the game in their hands. She is important back there, but her leadership out there at shortstop may prove to be more important.”

There might have been a degree of rust from not playing the position regularly for a couple of years, but Pierce has handled it well. In 134 chances, she has committed seven errors for a respectable .948 fielding percentage.

“I feel like I have been pretty solid in the infield,” Pierce said. “But everybody makes errors. Nobody’s perfect, so I think I have really good teammates to help pick me up whenever I do make errors.”

Offensively, meanwhile, Pierce has taken off. After modest numbers at the plate over her first two seasons — she hit .250 and drove in 32 runs between her freshman and sophomore years — Pierce is hitting a team-leading .385 with five homers, 26 RBIs and a .656 slugging percentage.

Her five home runs rank second in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, her nine doubles are tied for fifth and her slugging percentage is fourth.

On April 24, in back-to-back wins over Penn State Beaver, she went 6 for 10 with two homers, eight RBIs and six runs scored. She has 10 multi-hit games. On April 27, in a doubleheader against Wells, she was 6 for 9 with five RBIs and three runs.

“I think some of it is experience, but I also think she spent some time to refine her hitting,” Zinsmeister said. “Usually, she’s seeing the ball well, and I think she is learning to use the whole field instead of trying to pull the ball all the time.”

Added Pierce: “I think I just got more comfortable playing on a collegiate level. I think my first two years, I was more shaky and more nervous. But now I feel like I am kind of locked in.

“It has changed to a fun thing to do rather than putting so much pressure on myself. I think I was just so, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m playing college softball! I want to make everyone proud!’ And I just put too much pressure on myself.”

Pierce’s play has helped the Celtics remain competitive in a new conference. Carlow is wrapping up its first season in the AMCC, and after Penn State Behrend, which is undefeated, the next six teams in the standings are tightly bunched.

Heading into the final week of the regular season the Celtics were 8-6 in the conference (third place). Pierce said she has been encouraged by how Carlow has played and is looking forward to, perhaps, being a contender for the AMCC title in 2025.

As for herself, Pierce isn’t quite sure what next season holds. Zinsmeister, as much as he would like to see her back behind the plate, said he will wait to see what the composition of his roster dictates.

It is entirely possible that Pierce has seen her last duty at the position she had grown to love.

If that winds up being true, she can take with her the satisfaction of catching Morgan for two seasons at Carlow.

The sisters played together only one year in high school, but because Morgan took the extra year, they were teammates at Carlow for two seasons.

And playing catch just like the old days. With a few less bruises.

“It was nice for my parents, too, to be able to have them watch both of us on the field again,” Pierce said. “I know that’s really special for both my parents.”