Nov 8, 2014 5 min read

Nikki Gasti had a great career as a softball pitcher for Carmichaels High School and the University of Pittsburgh. And one of her best teachers wasn’t a coach. It was her father, Chuck.

“He was very tough. Dad played football, baseball and some basketball. He made it clear to me that if you’re going to do something, then you might as well do it right,” Gasti recalled.

The younger Gasti took that advice to heart and became one of the best pitchers ever in the WPIAL.

“My dad and I spent a lot of time – hours and hours – working on my game.”

The practice paid off as Gasti pitched Carmichaels to the PIAA Class AA championship in 1998. That was when softball in Pennsylvania had only two classifications, unlike the four classes of today. It remains the only state championship won by a team from Greene County.

While her father tutored Gasti in the finer points of softball, it was California University coach Rick Bertagnolli that pointed out some flaws in her pitching motion and put her on a path to success in the circle.

“I attended his camp at California. He was amazing,” Gasti recalled. “He videotaped me and had a list of things that I was doing wrong. My delivery was out of sync. I was a mess, throwing the ball all over the place. After a few months of practice, with the help of my dad, I was throwing a lot better,”

Gasti made the most of her improved mechanics.

“I was nine years old and playing with 14-year-olds. The playing time was limited. I played on a travel team because there was a lot of skill there.”

Her skill showed in high school. With Gasti as its pitcher, Carmichaels won four section titles and WPIAL championships in 1997 and 1998. In 1998, the Mikes had a 26-0 record, defeated Sto-Rox in the WPIAL final and beat South Williamsport to capture the state title.

Gasti had a 24-0 record that season. She gave up only three earned runs and her ERA was an amazing 0.14. In the state title game, she allowed one hit and struck out eight.

“Our run that year was awesome,” Gasti recalled. “We had great players and a tremendous coach in Rob Cole.”

How popular was the softball team in Greene County?

“People would get off work early to come see us play. We had more fans than the football team,” Gasti said. “After we won the state championship, when we got back to Carmichaels, we were put on the back of a fire truck and paraded around town. That was certainly a highlight.”

Her statistics over four seasons at Carmichaels were amazing: a 68-7 record, eight perfect games and 13 no-hitters. Her control was pinpoint as she struck out 850 batters and issued only 27 walks.

Gasti was recruited by Division I schools such as East Carolina but chose Pitt.

“I liked East Carolina. I felt like I was in my hometown,” Gasti admitted. “Pitt, on the other hand, it’s a city school. I’m a kid from Carmichaels and I first thought ‘No way.’

“But I did a lot of walking on Pitt’s campus, and there’s a lot of grass. I got to see the Cathedral of Learning. I was able to go to Three Rivers Stadium and see the football team play. I was in awe. Remember, I’m a small-town girl.”

So Gasti decided to stay close to home and attend Pitt.

“I was offered a full scholarship and told to think about it. I looked at my dad. My mind was made up. Pitt is it, I told him,” Gasti said.

Conditions for softball at Pitt were far from ideal.

“The field was an issue. We played our home games on four different fields,” Gasti explained.

While playing for Pitt, the Panthers never had a winning season. Gasti pitched well, but she never got used to losing more games in a month than she did in four years at Carmichaels.

“It was tough to lose,” she admitted.

Despite those losing seasons, Gasti won 42 games and ranks third on the Panthers’ all-time pitching wins list. She tossed two no-hitters and was named the Big East Pitcher of the Week three times. One of her no-hitters was an eight-inning 1-0 shutout against a powerhouse Nebraska team.

A communications major at Pitt, Gasti interned at Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Her first paying job was with the Pirates in guest relations.

“That was fun. I got to meet a lot of people,” she said.

Broadcasting, however, was not in her future. Gasti got her master’s degree from Pitt and currently is a kindergarten teacher in the Central Greene School District.

“Teaching was an original thought in my mind and plans,” she said. “I love my age group of kids.”

How tough is her job?

“Of the top-5 most-feared jobs in America, No. 4 is kindergarten teacher,” she said.

It’s almost as scary as stepping into the batter’s box and trying to get a hit against that hard-throwing Gasti girl from Carmichaels was to batters more than a decade ago.

Bill DiFabio writes a bi-weekly column about local sports history for the Observer-Reporter.