ALWAYS WORKING: Cranberry Senior First Baseman/Pitcher McKaylah Smith Dedicated to Softball and Helping Berries Win

SENECA, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Like everyone else on the Cranberry softball team, McKaylah Smith celebrated the Berries’ District 9 championship.

It was a long time coming for Smith and Cranberry, which lost in 2022 in the title game, but went on a hot streak late in the season and rode that momentum to a Class 2A crown with a dramatic 7-6 win over Curwensville.

(Pictured above, Cranberry’s McKaylah Smith/submitted photo)

And just like everyone else on the Cranberry softball team, Smith celebrated the Berries’ first-round state playoff victory over Greensburg Central Catholic — an 8-7 walk-off win.

A loss in the next round to Everett left Smith wanting more.

Just like everyone else on the Cranberry softball team.

Cranberry Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.

“It was exciting,” said Smith, who will be a senior pitcher/first baseman for the Berries when the season rolls around in the spring. “I hope we make it farther next year.”

Smith is already hard at work on that.

She’s been hard at work at softball for a long time.

Smith played in her first softball game when she was six and quickly became enamored with the sport.

She dabbled with soccer for a spell, but it didn’t hold nearly the same allure that softball did. So she she left the pitch for good for the diamond.

It was the bonds she made on that field — and off of it — that kept her coming back for more.

“Even when I was six, I was making friends,” Smith said. “They’re more my family than teammates.”

There isn’t a month out of the year when Smith isn’t on a softball diamond, in a batting cage, or taking pitching lessons to better herself and help her teammates — her extended family — succeed.

“Our travel season was over in June,” said Smith, who plays for Pittsburgh Power. “I’ve been mainly going to pitching practice.”

That’s an area Smith is determined to work on more this offseason.

Reyna Watson was Cranberry’s main pitcher this past season, and the senior will return. Smith, though, may be asked to shoulder more of the load.

Smith certainly has a wide array of pitches.

“Let’s see,” Smith said as she paused to organize them all in her head. “Fastball. Changeup. Drop curve. Drop. Screwball. And curve.”

When Smith is in a pinch, she opts for the screwball — not an easy pitch to master.

“It’s hard to learn,” she said of the screwball, “but once you do and get the hang of it, you’re all good.”

Smith hopes to continue her playing career in college.

She also hopes to make a decision soon about where that will be.

“It’s been kind of stressful,” Smith said. “I’m still looking at it. But it’ll be all right.”

THE SMITH FILE

NAME: McKaylah Smith

SCHOOL: Cranberry

YEAR: Senior

SPORTS: Softball

Q: How would you describe yourself as an athlete?

A: Dedicated.

Q: No doubt. You play a lot of softball year round. How do you keep from getting burned out?

A: There are times when I feel like I need a break. But other times, I just want to go and get back into it.

Q: What do you do to decompress from softball.

A: Just hang out with my friends, who are mostly softball players.

Q: So even when you’re not playing softball, you’re with softball players, right?

A: (Chuckling) Yeah, I guess I am.

Q: What career would you like to pursue?

A: I want to go into education. I want to go into early childhood education.

Q: What inspired you to be a teacher?

A: A teacher in our school, Julie Crate. She teaches special education in the high school. It’s just her kindness toward everybody, no matter if they are younger or older, that inspired me.

Q: What do you do to handle a loss?

A: I think about what I can do to be better and practice that.

Q: Is there another athlete who has mentored you and what was the biggest thing he/she taught you?

A: (Cranberry teammate) Reyna Watson and how to overcome bad calls.

Q: Do you get upset over bad calls?

A: (Chuckling) No. Not really. It’s just I’ve known Reyna like a long time. She’s just a sister to me.

Q: Do you feel like all of your teammates are sisters in a way?

A: Oh, yes. I’m very grateful for everybody and the sport that has given me so much.

Cranberry Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.