After starting off the season extremely strong, the softball team lost two tough games against Trinity and Thomas Jefferson that knocked them out of first place in the section. Junior Ava Bonacci helped get the team going again, senior captain Reese Temme said.

“I think that we just need to rebuild by getting hits, working together, finding ways to work through those tough games and keeping our energy up,” Temme said. “Ava is really just a key player on our team.”

As the Highlanders head into their first-round playoff game today against Kiski Area, Bonacci will look to make important contributions to the team.

Over her three years of playing for the high school team, Bonacci has been improving her batting average. This season, she hit 528.

“My batting has come around, as I came in 12th out of WPIALs and the city leagues,” Bonacci said.

Bonacci plays second base for the high school and shortstop for her travel team. Her contribution to the Highlanders is key to their success.

“Ava’s contribution to our team is huge. She hits lead off, setting the tone for the game. Her energy is always up and hype. She really spreads so much positive energy to everyone, keeping everyone engaged in the game,” freshman Avery Lieu said.

Temme agreed.

“She makes other teams make errors. She’s quick on the bases and she keeps morale up. She’s very motivational, very happy, very cheerful all the time,” Temme said. “So it’s very good for the rest of the team and the energy that we all bring to a game, which will get us through those tough games.”

Bonacci was double-rostered her first two years of high school, and she mainly ran for varsity. Now, she starts for varsity.

“This year I’m now starting on varsity, and it’s just so much more fun. It’s a whole different experience, and I just love it,” she said.

Learning to gain confidence on and off the field has been an asset Bonacci has learned from playing, along with many other benefits. She has been able to apply these lessons to her daily life.

“I’ve learned to just kind of slow down and take my time. Everything doesn’t need to be perfect all the time. Mistakes are going to happen, and it reflects on life,” Bonacci said. “I just tell myself it’s a game of failure. Everybody is going to make mistakes, so it’s just part of the game, and to just keep my head up and keep going.”

Temme has noticed Bonacci’s growth as a player, from when they began playing together at a young age to their high school seasons.

“As a player, she’s just grown into her confidence as a player. She was always a smaller girl, but she’s always been so fast and that really has helped her advance on the softball field. Now she really brings in a lot of runs for us and does a lot of fielding for us,” Temme said.

From her youth playing days to high school, Bonacci has had some consistent teammates. One of these teammates is Lieu.

Bonacci and Lieu met at a very young age, with Bonacci’s father as their coach. Now that they play on the high school team together, the girls have become even closer. Lieu recognizes Bonacci as a valuable player to the team.

“She is one of the hardest-working players on the team, showing 110% every game and practice,” Lieu said. “Ava has one of the biggest hearts, is very outgoing, and her energy is always just so positive. She is one of those people that you need in your life, and if you already have her, keep her.”

Temme has seen Bonacci grow into a strong player and person.

“She’s an amazing person. She’s grown into who she is. She’s very comfortable with who she is. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” Temme said.

Bonacci enjoys the traditions that the team has, from game superstitions to after game celebrations.

“Mostly everybody does the same hairstyles every day for every game. If it works, it works, and then once it stops working, we change it up,” she said. “Getting frozen yogurt a lot after games is definitely my favorite because we love getting our sweet treats.”

Temme believes Bonacci will be a strong leader next year as a senior, as she has already started this season.

“Next year as a senior she will use her leadership skills and really use her kindness to motivate the younger girls,” Temme said. “She’s very motivational, and she’ll work her way with that. She’ll just lead by example very much, by just making plays, making good hits, it will bring up team energy.”

Besides high school softball, Bonacci also plays travel softball. She feels that despite it being the same sport, travel and high school softball are different experiences from one another.

“In high school, you’re basically together every day — practicing games, experiencing all that stuff together, team bonding,” she said. “But then travel, you don’t see those people as much, so I feel like I don’t have as much of a connection with those people as I do with the girls on the softball high school team.”

Travel is definitely more spaced out and easier to manage, as the tournaments are only on the weekends, Bonacci said.

However, with both travel and high school softball, Bonacci has been able to travel to various places, such as Columbus a few times and Tennessee during this high school season.

“Tennessee was so much fun. We didn’t feel like there was the pressure of needing to be focused on winning. We were just focused on playing for each other because these games are just to get us ready for the season. I feel like it brought us all closer together,” she said.

Bonacci started playing softball at 5 years old. Her father began coaching when she started playing, up until she was 14.

“My dad started coaching me back in my tee-ball days up until my second year of 14U. With him being my coach and him watching me grow and improve, it has been something we have gotten to bond over,” she said. “I could never ask for a better coach than him.”

Through many years of playing, Bonacci has relied on her family’s encouragement when she goes through difficult times.

“My family has definitely been my biggest supporters. They tell me to keep going, even when I don’t want to,” she said.

Besides softball, Bonacci is involved in several other activities, such as National Honors Society, Highlander Choir, and junior class executive board.

Bonacci plans to attend at least a D2 school to continue playing softball and earn a nursing degree.