Prince Was Simply Brilliant Once Again

Brianne Prince had a dream this spring.It was not unlike the one that every girl on every high school softball team in Section 6 Class C had.

But the difference between Prince and her Frewsburg Central School teammates, and the rest of their softball peers is that the Bears realized that dream.

After coming up a game short of the state tournament in 1995 and 1996, the Bears finally earned a berth in the Final Four in Clifton Park.

And the catalyst in making that happen was undoubtedly Prince, the hard-throwing junior righthander, who is the clear choice as The Post-Journal’s Player of the Year for the second straight year.

To prove that her 1996 selection was no fluke, Prince posted a 20-3 record and recorded 231 strikeouts in 166 innings pitched. She also tossed two no-hitters, including one against Dunkirk and another against Eden in the Section 6 title game.

In addition to her no-hitters, bringing her career total to eight, she spun six two-hitters and a one-hitter this spring.

Her career won-loss record is now an eye-popping 64-22, including 58-11 the last three years, while her strikeout total stands at an even 700 for her four years on the varsity.

Yet, while her career numbers are staggering, it’s her performance in the Bears’ final two games this month that people will likely be talking about for years to come.

In the Class C Western Regional, Prince tossed a two-hit shutout as the Bears snapped

Wellsville’s 58-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory, catapulting them into the state semifinals.

“The defense played great and Brianne pitched a fabulous game,” Frewsburg coach Jon Blanchard said. “That’s the best game I’ve seen her pitch. She called her own game and she did a beautiful job.”

Four days later, Prince was just as brilliant, yielding just two hits and striking out five, but Frewsburg suffered a 1-0 setback to Maple Hill in the state tournament.

Those two efforts may rank as the best individual performances for an area softball player in recent memory.

For the season, Prince compiled an incredible earned run average of 0.97. Batting-wise, she hit .409 with 27 RBIs and had a fielding percentage of .903.

But the beauty for Frewsburg followers, and of course Blanchard, is that Prince has one year of high school softball remaining.

Now that’s a scary thought.