Brianna Pellicone has been an instrumental part of the success of the Newtown High softball program over the last four seasons.
A four-year varsity player who is now a senior for the Nighthawks, Pellicone has played multiple positions (shortstop, third base, catcher) over her career and has overcome injury to help Newtown become one of the top programs in the SWC.
While she plays her travel ball for the CT Impact 18U Premier team, Pellicone’s talents are taking her to Barry University in Florida next fall.
Plus, as a player who wants to give back to her sport, Pellicone has also helped coach in her hometown, helping the CT Thunder 12U program finish as the FCFSL runners-up this past summer.
This week, Pellicone took timeout from the NHS season and went “Extra Innings” with the Connecticut Softball Blog to talk about a variety of subjects, on the softball field and off it.
FIRST INNING: How did you become a softball player?
BRIANNA PELLICONE: I started off playing baseball because there wasn’t a youth softball league. From there, my parents put me into softball at age 7, and I’ve continued playing till this day. I’ve bounced back and forth between several sports such as volleyball, basketball, tennis, and track. It came to a point where I had to choose which sport I wanted to pursue and that was softball.
SECOND INNING: You’ve played a few different positions in your career. What is your favorite and why?
BP: I love playing everywhere on the field. If I had to choose, I’d probably say shortstop. I like being able to make a lot of plays and be involved. I love to catch as well, but it’s good when I have a break on my knees.
THIRD INNING: Who is the toughest pitcher you’ve ever faced and what made her so tough?
BP: Throughout my career I’ve faced many elite pitchers. I’d have to say on my travel team, facing Power-5 commits such as Oklahoma, USC, and Indiana to name a few. Their spin alone was insane and adding speed was definitely a challenge.Throughout high school, Kat Gallant was definitely a tough pitcher, unfortunately I was only able to hit off her one season because I was out with an injury the following year.
FOURTH INNING: What’s the toughest thing about being a catcher?
BP: I feel like a catcher, just staying connected in the game while having long innings is definitely tough. As much as the pitchers are tired and working hard, so are we behind the plate. I also feel satisfied with your umpire. You sometimes have to alter your catching style based on the umpire’s liking which can sometimes be frustrating.
FIFTH INNING: What is your go-to pregame hype music, and why?
BP: For me I listen to a lot of old school type of music. I need to relax and calm down before games, so I listen to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Queen and even sometimes just instrumental.
SIXTH INNING: We’re going to get away from the softball questions. If you could be as successful in something else that is not sports related as you are in softball, what would it be and why?
PB: If there is one thing I could be successful in I would like to pursue is probably art. I draw and I am pretty decent at it, but I’ve always wanted to be really good at portraits and still life. It’s very relaxing and I feel like that is something I’d want to pursue as a career if I was really good at it.
SEVENTH INNING: What scares you?
BP: My biggest fear is bees or anything that buzzes. But other than that, something that scares me is knowing when my last game will be whether that’s high school, travel or college ball.
EIGHTH INNING: If you could ask one question of anybody in the world, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask?
BP: I would probably ask Britney Spears to release an unreleased album or song when she was younger.
NINTH INNING: What is your perfect breakfast?
BP: I’d like to go to Dunkin’ and get a Refresher with an Everything Bagel.
TENTH INNING: What one word best describes Brianna Pellicone?
PB: Persistent.
Leave a Reply