Having an ace pitcher in high school softball is usually a necessary ingredient for great team success. One of the best hurlers to come through Westmoreland County over the past decade resided in Mount Pleasant, as Carolyn Alincic enjoyed plenty of success during her time with the Vikings. Alincic, who pitched at two schools in Kentucky in her college career, is under the microscope in this edition of the Westmoreland Where Are They Now?

Alincic’s varsity career at Mount Pleasant Area began with a season to remember, as she was a freshman on the 2016 team. However, the Vikings had an incumbent pitcher with Meadow Uncapher, so Alincic saw only limited action in the circle as a ninth grader.

“That was probably the first time that I was behind another pitcher, so it was really good for me to learn to split games with Meadow,” Alincic detailed. “I was able to learn a lot from her at that time and really develop my freshman year.”

After posting a section mark of 8-4, the Vikings qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs, and subsequently defeated Indiana Area, Southmoreland, and Thomas Jefferson to reach the WPIAL Championship game. With the title on the line, the Vikings left no doubt, scoring a 10-0 mercy-rule win against West Allegheny to secure the first softball title in program history.

Although Alincic did not play in the title game, she still has fond memories of the excitement and celebration.

“I remember a lot of girls screaming. The energy is the part that you really remember,” she noted.

The stellar run ended in the PIAA tournament, however, as the Vikings fell to Bellefonte in the first round to finish the campaign at 13-6. As a sophomore, Alincic began to emerge as a key piece of the Vikings, as she saw considerable time in the circle. While that created a bit of competition between Alincic and Uncapher, it was a situation that brought out the best in both hurlers.

“I think most of the time when you have pitchers on a staff, the goal is to have them complement each other,” Alincic explained. “She definitely pushed me to be better, learn new pitches.”

That season proved to be another special one for the Vikings. Mount Pleasant Area went 8-2 in the section, and defeated Elizabeth Forward in the WPIAL 4A playoffs, but dropped a 1-0 decision to Belle Vernon Area in the semifinals, denying the Vikes the chance to repeat. It also stands out in Alincic’s memory because of who was in the circle for the Leopards.

“I very distinctly remember the loss to Belle Vernon, because Bailey Parshall was their pitcher, and a week or two later, I had a pitching lesson, and she was my partner,” she detailed. “If I had to lose to a pitcher, I’m more than happy to lose to Bailey Parshall.”

The Vikings rebounded, though, defeating Ambridge in the consolation game to qualify for the state playoffs, and then knocked off Harbor Creek in a hard-fought matchup. In the next round, the Vikings redeemed their loss to Belle Vernon Area and Parshall.

“The Belle Vernon game was kind of our revenge tour,” Alincic said.

Subsequently, Mount Pleasant bested another rival school, Yough, to reach the PIAA Class 4A Championship.

Playing on the biggest stage of her career to that point at Penn State University, Alincic earned the starting nod in the circle against Tunkhannock. That decision by her head coach, Lauren Armanious, came as a total surprise.

“Lauren had come over and told me that I was starting, and I didn’t really know what to say so I just said, ‘Are you serious,”’ she recalled. “I got us into a couple of tough spots. However, I was able to pull everything out.”

Thus, the Vikings scored a 5-3 win to claim the state gold for the first time, concluding the season with a mark of 17-3.

Alincic’s fondest memory from that day didn’t occur between the lines, though. Rather, it was an interaction she had with her best friend, Madison.

“She had never watched a softball game. But she came to that game and sat in the stands with my mom, and when we won it, she was the first one on the field and she was bawling her eyes out,” Alincic reflected.

When the team returned to Westmoreland County later that night, they received a homecoming fitting of champions.

“When we got back to Mount Pleasant, we went through downtown and they had a nice, big parade with all of the fire trucks and everything going on,” she detailed.

In Alincic’s junior campaign in 2018, the Vikings went unblemished at 10-0 in section play and were perfect throughout the entire regular season. From there, the Vikings defeated Knoch in the WPIAL 4A postseason, but again fell to Belle Vernon Area and Parshall 1-0 in the semis. Once again, Mount Pleasant Area won a consolation game, this time against Yough, to reach the state playoffs. From there, the Vikings prevailed against Slippery Rock and again squared off against BVA, with Mount Pleasant exacting revenge in the state bracket for the second year in a row.

“Mount Pleasant and Yough and Mount Pleasant and Southmoreland are the ones that we call the rivalry. My personal rivalry was always with Bailey Parshall because I saw her once a week at pitching lessons, and I knew what she was throwing and she knew what I was throwing,” said Alincic.

However, Mount Pleasant lost to Punxsutawney during a hail storm in the state semis, finishing the campaign at 19-2.

After the season, Armanious stepped away from the program, and Chris Brunson took the reins. Alincic already had a strong connection with Brunson, a family friend who had also served as her travel softball coach.

“Chris pretty much whipped my butt into shape and told me everything I needed to do prior to the season,” she recounted.

The results proved stellar, as Alincic became one of the best pitchers in the WPIAL. In 19 games in the circle, she went 15-1 with one save and an ERA of 1.16 in 121 innings, issuing 25 walks while racking up 209 strikeouts.

While she was thriving on the diamond, Alincic faced a unique situation in the dugout, as she was the lone senior on the roster.

“You wait your entire career to be the senior on the team, and it’s just odd kind of being out there by yourself,” she intimated.

The Vikings produced another strong showing, including a mark 10-0 in the section. A personal highlight for Alincic came in a nonsection game, though, as she racked up 20 strikeouts in an extra-innings victory against a formidable opponent, Connellsville Area.

“A 20-strikeout game is probably the best I’ve ever thrown in my career, college or high school,” she revealed.

As a result of going undefeated through the regular season, the Vikes were the top seed in the WPIAL Class 4A bracket. After a first-round bye, Mount Pleasant cruised past Ringgold and then edged Thomas Jefferson to reach the title game.

With gold on the line, however, the Vikings were upset by Elizabeth Forward and star pitcher Kailey Larcinese at Greater Latrobe High School. Much like with Parshall, Alincic had a relationship with Larcinese, along with several others on EF.

“We all played together in the summer. We all knew each other. And one of us had to lose the game,” she explained. “It was a heartbreaker, for sure.”

In the state bracket, the Vikings returned to their winning ways with triumphs against Bellefonte and James Buchanan, but they fell once again to Elizabeth Forward, this time in extra innings in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals, ending the campaign at 19-2.

In addition to helping the Viking to both WPIAL and PIAA gold during her tenure, Alincic finished with a record of 36-5, compiling 396 strikeouts.

“I always look back on my high school career – I did everything that I possibly could,” she said. “My name is in plenty of articles. I was more than happy with that being the way to end my career.”

While Alincic was excelling on the field, though, she struggled with her college future. Initially, she committed to Dominican College, but Brunson saw her ability to play at the highest level of college softball, and urged her to reconsider.

“He basically was not satisfied that I was playing Division II, and that’s when he started reaching out to some Division I schools,” she said of Brunson. “That quickly turned into me committing to play at Morehead (State University).

“The recruiting process is nothing I wish on anybody,” Alincic revealed. “It’s long. You gotta talk to coaches constantly. Constantly making phone calls. Constantly looking to see who’s watching you at your tournaments.”

Alincic’s first college season with the Eagles was drastically cut short by COVID, but she wasn’t anticipating a significant role regardless. In the summer prior to freshman year, she suffered a broken finger on her pitching hand that hindered her development.

“Coming into Morehead, it was a little bit of a rebuild year for me, so I got lucky on that front,” she said.

That season, she appeared in eight games, including four starts, going 1-2 with an ERA of 8.53 in 25.1 innings, issuing 18 walks while notching 26 strikeouts. Collectively, the Eagles went 6-10 overall before the season was halted just prior to the start of Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play.

The following season was turbulent for Alincic, as she struggled on the field, and her career with Morehead State came to an abrupt end. In 11 appearances, including 10 starts, she went 2-5 with an ERA of 10.36 in 33 innings, including 39 walks and 26 strikeouts.

“Halfway through my sophomore year, there were some issues that resulted in me not finishing the season,” she explained. “At that point, when I entered the transfer portal, I decided that softball was not really interesting to me anymore. I was not having fun. I didn’t feel like I was getting better. And I just kind of felt stuck.

“It was a really good experience (at Morehead State),” she continued. “It was really cool to see the Division I side of things. The unfortunate part about it was it was just not the right fit for me.”

Ready to turn the page in her career, Alincic had two requirements for her next destination.

“I decided that No. 1, I want to stay in Kentucky. And No. 2, I’m not going back to any D1 schools,” she detailed. “This is a really good opportunity to go and learn how to love softball again.”

She found a fit at the University of Pikeville, an NAIA school in Kentucky. She joined the Bears for the 2022 season, but pitched in just seven contests, including five starts. In those outings, she went 1-3 with an ERA of 12.00 in 15 innings, issuing 14 walks while striking out 11. Collectively, UPike went 14-36, and just 3-27 in the Mid-South Conference (MSC). In the conference tournament, the Bears lost twice against Campbellsville University to conclude the season.

As a redshirt junior, though, Alincic became much more of a focal point for the Bears’ pitching staff. She appeared in 20 games, compiling a record of 6-12 and an ERA of 5.05 in 117.2 innings, including 33 walks and 121 strikeouts. The team sputtered to a mark of 15-24, including 4-19 in the MSC, falling in the first game of the conference tournament.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Alincic returned for the 2024 campaign. That decision paid off, as she enjoyed her most successful college season, both individually and collectively. The right-hander pitched in 15 games, all starts, going 5-7 with an ERA of 2.68 over 96.2 innings of work, issuing 25 walks while notching 110 strikeouts.

Her hard work paid dividends with the Bears, as she developed into a hurler who overwhelmed the opposition.

“When I was doing bullpens, we were really working on my speed,” Alincic explained. “At some point, I was hitting 65 (miles per hour) relatively regularly.

UPike made significant strides that season, as well, as the Bears ascended to 17-20 overall, including 13-15 in a new conference, the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC).

Thus, Alincic ended her softball career on a high note, both on and off the field, with UPike.

“Pikeville was one of the most memorable for being able to be friends with everybody on the team that didn’t feel kind of forced. It was just everybody kind of meshed together,” she stated.

“I’ll definitely remember the people I met in college. I still have a lot of friends from Morehead,” she added.

Perhaps the most notable person she met in college is her boyfriend, Chris, who played football with the Bears.

Alincic achieved her undergrad degree in 2023, majoring in criminal justice and sociology, with a minor in psychology. The next year, she earned her master’s degree in business administration.

After her time ended at UPike, she decided to remain in the area, moving to Lexington, Kentucky, where Chris resided.

“It is much slower down here - a little bit of a Southern charm, but not too much Southern,” she said of Kentucky. “The weather is great. Lots of lakes. I love to be outside.

“Lexington is a relatively small city, but there’s still a lot going on,” Alincic noted.

“Typically, I just go home for Christmas and spend about a week. And my parents come down (to Kentucky) a lot.”

She works in law enforcement, which has proven a fulfilling career.

“It was always a goal,” she detailed. “The job I do now is the perfect place to be for me, at least in this point in my career.”

She and Chris give plenty of their attention to their dog, Doc, who is a Fox Red Lab. They also enjoy fishing in their free time.

Alincic still enjoys watching softball, including the College World Series, but she has no desire to maintain an active role in the sport.

“I can recognize everything that it gave me, (but it’s) just not something that I want to continue forward with,” she revealed. “There’s a time to step away, and after 2024, that was my time to step away.”

She still follows the Vikings from a distance, though, and maintains connections with many of her former teammates and coaches. Her appreciation of Armanious, in particular, grew considerably after Alincic gained more perspective in the sport.

“I talked to her - my freshman year of college I came home and saw her – and the first thing I told her was ‘I am so sorry that I thought you were so hard on us. I was wrong, and you only set us up for success,”’ Alincic detailed.

With her place entrenched in Mount Pleasant softball history, Alincic will always fondly remember her time with the Vikings and cherish the program’s tremendous success.

“If anybody calls us anything but a softball school, they’re lying to themselves,” she said. “The athletes who come out of Mount Pleasant for softball – they’re just different.”