Laid back C-M continues to rely on youth

There has been no other option for Michele Moeller other than to trust youth.
The Canon-McMillan High School softball coach has no seniors. Two of the Big Macs’ juniors missed some time in the second half of the season with concussions.
Mired in a three-game losing streak in the middle of April and fighting for its playoff lives prior to the Class 6A Section 1 schedule flipping over to the second half, the Big Macs were in badly need of change.
The writing was on the wall. Moeller saw it, knew it and decided to do something about it.
“You just started to feel the exhaustion,” Moeller said. “So, we took a conscious effort to dial it back. We took days off here and there. We lightened things up at practice and during games. You have to get that read after three losses. It’s hard to get into that mentality because you want to work hard.”
What Moeller also did was to continue trusting youth, handing the ball to freshman starting pitcher Brooke Perri.
The Big Macs haven’t looked back.
Since starting the easy going freshman, Canon-McMillan has rattled off seven straight wins en route to a share of the section title, something that seemed so far off after the three losses back in April to Bethel Park, Baldwin and Peters Township.
“Brooke has been on a roll,” Moeller said. “I have several quality pitchers that can compete and who I still feel confident with going forward, but we were down in almost every game. Brooke smiles a lot. She doesn’t get rattled.”
Perri is 6-0 with a 3.88 ERA in 39.2 innings.
The hard-hitting Big Macs have continued to swing hot bats, averaging more than 11 runs per game in their winning streak to catapult them to the second seed in Class 6A. Canon-McMillan (12-4) will open the playoffs with a quarterfinal game against seventh-seeded Seneca Valley (14-5) Thursday at North Allegheny (6 p.m.).
“There is so much parity and any team can win on any given day,” Moeller said. “That goes for us, too. We have continued to hit the ball and have used a lot of kids to do so. To know we have that depth and players know their roles has been an advantage.”
That even goes for the pitchers who have seen Perri take over the main starting role.
“They’ve been great with her, which speaks to their character,” Moeller said. “They have been so supportive. I don’t know where this road leads but Brooke is our starter going into the playoffs.”