“I simply love the game!”

That’s how Salisbury’s Beth Carney views playing softball, which she has done since she was eight years old. In that time, Carney has played all over the diamond and settled in as a pitcher for Salisbury. If she was not a pitcher now, she would prefer to be somewhere on the middle of the infield, primarily at second base.

In addition to her pitching, her bat is strong enough that she would be an everyday player no matter where she was playing.

Monday night against Catasauqua, Carney struck out 11 batters to put her at 202 for her high school career.

She has fallen in love with pitching because she can play a primary role for her team.

“I love to be able to help my team as much as I can,” she said after Monday’s game. “Pitching gives me the chance to do that.”

This season, Carney is surrounded primarily by young players. At times, some defensive miscues behind her have caused her to have a high number of unearned runs charged to her line and have also pushed her pitch counts. Last week against Wilson, Salisbury fielders were charged with 10 errors in the game, pushing her pitch count upward of 200 pitches.

“There were some errors, but the umpire was squeezing the strike zone a little, too,” said Carney. “I have learned to just control what I can in the circle and not worry about what I can’t control. When I was younger, I wore my heart on my sleeve a lot, but I have learned to control that and keep my body language positive. Now, I just support the other players and say things to help lift them up and keep them in the game.”

While Carney does not put one part of her game above the other, she admits that she does love to hit.

“For me, it relieves stress,” she said. “I just take out any stress from the game or anything else while I am hitting and it helps me.”

With a .750 average this season, Carney is probably feeling very relaxed.

“I learned from some college coaches to say ‘yes, yes, yes, no, or yes, yes, yes, yes.’ When I am at the plate,” explained Carney, who says the approach is to go up there thinking you are going to swing, make contact, and get a hit until you see the pitch and decide whether it is a good pitch or not.

For a high school junior, Carney has learned the mental part of the game quickly. She focuses on keeping a positive mind set and making sure that mentally she is prepared to do whatever she can to help her team win. Even if that means throwing 200 pitches in a game.

“I just keep going mentally, even when physically I may be worn out,” she said. “That’s where keeping good body language and a positive approach really helps. This game is 90 percent mental and only about 10 percent physical, so even if you are worn out physically, you can still do well if your mental approach is strong.”

While she has time to make a college choice, Carney is hoping to play in the PSAC at the division two level. She is currently considering Bloomsburg, Kutztown, Shippensburg, and West Chester.

Salisbury is 0-4 in the Colonial League and 1-4 overall with a season-opening win against Dieruff. Last week, the Lady Falcons suffered a 19-5 loss to Wilson and a 10-3 loss to rival Southern Lehigh.

Salisbury has upcoming games against Northern Lehigh (3-2 Colonial, 4-2 overall), Allen (0-5 EPC, 0-5 overall), and Bangor (3-1, 3-2).