Poll results: Bald Eagle Area softball player named Centre County girls athlete of the season

Bald Eagle Area softball’s pitcher is the Centre County athlete of the spring sports season, as selected by readers of CentreDaily.com.

Sierra Albright led the way for Bald Eagle from the circle this year, earning 20 wins for the Eagles. She pitched 166.2 innings, while giving up only 35 earned runs. She struck out 267 batters and only walked 35 as she reached career totals of 58 wins and 728 Ks.

In a poll that was open for a week and garnered more than 16,700 participants, Albright won with 61% of the vote, or 10,229 votes.

Below is a look at the other nominees, which were submitted by school athletic directors:

Sienna Barnhart, Bellefonte softball: Bellefonte softball’s Sienna Barnhart was excellent in the batter’s box for the Raiders this year. She batted .413 and got on base at a .493 clip, while posting 26 hits, six home runs and 30 RBIs on the season.

Alivia Bizarri, Philipsburg-Osceola softball: Alivia Bizarri helped Philipsburg-Osceola from the circle and at the plate for the Mountaineers this season. She finished with 25 hits and 24 RBIs while having a .391 batting average and .467 on-base percentage. She racked up 150 strikeouts and had an ERA of 2.65 as a pitcher this season.

Taylor Brown, Bellefonte softball: Bellefonte’s Taylor Brown had hits in nearly 50% of her at-bats this season as a major part of the team’s offense. She batted .492 with a .579 on-base percentage, totaling 30 hits, five home runs and 33 RBIs. She also helped the team in the field in a major way, finishing with a .986 fielding percentage.

Brown came in second place in the poll, with 6,002 votes (36%).

Taylor Bumgardner, Penns Valley softball: Few pitchers in the county could reach the level that Taylor Bumgardner did for the Rams this spring. She finished her seasons with 300 strikeouts as a junior and was a first team East All-Conference player in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.

Olivia Miller, State College lacrosse: State High lacrosse earned a District 6 title this spring with plenty of help from Olivia Miller. She forced her 100th career turnover during the year, leading a high-level Lions’ defense and earning first team all-conference.

Ava Stere, Bald Eagle softball: Bald Eagle’s Ava Stere excelled at the dish and was consistently able to put the ball in play for the Eagles. She batted .434 with 33 hits, 19 RBIs, nine doubles, four home runs and only seven strikeouts for Bald Eagle this season in her 76 at-bats. She brought her career totals to 13 home runs and 129 hits this year.

Abby Stitzer, Penns Valley track and field: Penns Valley’s Abby Stitzer racked up three postseason medals in the 800 this season for the school’s track and field team. She was the LHAC and District 6 Champion in the event and took home eighth place at the state meet in Shippensburg.

Voting for this poll ended Tuesday night. As a reminder, the poll is not scientific and just for fun. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. Look for future polls at CentreDaily.com.