She stands only 5 feet 5, but Maddie Brown is the last pitcher you would ever want to charge the mound against in the event of a bench-clearing brawl.
Not that Brown would ever do something to incite such a squabble, but don’t be fooled by her cheerful, bubbly demeanor, either — this ace pitcher is a fierce competitor who commands respect and knows how to knock out the competition on and off the field.
A black belt in taekwondo who is also the valedictorian of her senior class, Brown is best known as a senior pitcher for the Southmoreland Scotties, one of the leading WPIAL title contenders in Class 3A. A four-year starter who has enjoyed an exceptional career at Southmoreland, Brown has truly been better than ever as a senior, both at the plate and in the circle — and the Scotties are reaping the rewards.
Just stay out of her way when Brown is in the circle if you know what’s good for you.
“She got hit a few games ago. I think it was Derry. Somebody hit a line drive right up the middle and hit her right in her thigh,” said Southmoreland coach Todd Bunner. “The trainer and I kind of jogged out there to make sure she was all right. She was just angry. She had that fire. She was mad that she got hit, but she didn’t want us out there. … A couple days later, she showed us the big bruise she had on her thigh.
“She said in a nice, mean way — ‘Get out of here. I don’t want you on my mound.’ … She wants to pitch and she wants to dominate.”
The Scotties (10-2, 5-2) began the season with a nine-game winning streak as Brown shut out the first five opponents she faced and seven of the first nine, including a 10-0 rout against Penn-Trafford in the season opener on April 21 and a 1-0 nail-biter against Latrobe in a rainstorm on April 26. Those are two of the top teams in Class 5A, but they were lucky to even get any runners on base against Brown.
“That was the most horrible game I’ve ever been to, because it rained from inning one to inning seven,” Bunner said about Brown’s four-hit shutout against Latrobe. “It was one of the best games I’ve seen her pitch, for sure. Those conditions — she had to have a huge towel hanging off her back, because every pitch, you had to wipe the ball off and wipe your hand off.
“She kept those hitters off balance. Sometimes you bend but don’t break. I think they only got one girl to second base.”
Just when it seemed like Southmoreland might go undefeated through the entire season, the Scotties had their perfect start derailed by back-to-back one-run losses against Ligonier Valley (2-1 on Thursday and 1-0 on Friday). Neither of those defeats were Brown’s fault, of course. She still has yet to allow more than three runs in a game this season and has only allowed four earned runs total in her first 12 starts.
Southmoreland got back on the winning track with a 6-1 triumph against archrival Mount Pleasant on Monday, dropping the Vikings into fifth place in the loaded Class 3A Section 3. The Scotties are keeping pace with Ligonier Valley and Yough for the top spot, but any of the top three teams have a legitimate chance to go all the way to the championship game.
After a 4-3 win against Yough in their first matchup, Brown knows the Cougars will be hungry for revenge in the rematch, which got postponed this week to a yet-to-be determined date.
“That’s a huge, huge game,” Brown said. “That’s a super talented roster. Knowing that’s a huge win for us that we need to get, we know Yough is not going to take it easy. … I think the teams in our section are some of the best in [Class] 3A overall. Everyone we play is so talented. There’s great pitching, great hitting, great defense.
“Every game is really a battle, and I think it’s really preparing us for what we’re going to see in the WPIAL, and hopefully state playoffs.”
Through the first 12 games in 2024, Brown is 10-2 with an 0.43 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 65 strikeouts to eight walks in 65 innings pitched. She also has become a more-than-capable contributor with her bat from the No. 7 spot in the lineup, batting .440 with a home run, two doubles, six RBIs and seven walks on the year.
“I worked hard in the offseason,” Brown said. “I worked a lot with my physical strength, because I think that might have been something I was missing in the past. … The past two years have really demonstrated that I am a good hitter, I can play both ways, and I appreciate that I got the chance to hit, and I hope I’m helping my team succeed that way.”
As impressive as all of Brown’s on-field accomplishments are, they pale in comparison to her sparkling off-the-field resume. A member of the National Honor Society, Brown somehow finds the time to volunteer in several different avenues, on top of training for softball and managing her studies. She most recently helped organize and oversee a blood drive at school last week, and in the past, she has organized food drives, painted murals and more. Brown also works part time as an office assistant at Penn Line Enterprises.
And all along, Brown has been keeping those black-belt taekwondo skills sharp — just in case anybody ever tries to mess with her.
“The self-defense portion, I think, is the most important part. Just learning how to defend yourself and staying physically active and fit,” Brown said. “My parents and I talk about this all the time, how we think that taekwondo benefited me greatly in softball, both physically and mentally. … I work hard on pitching, so if my black belt skills match up with my pitching skills, I would be happy with myself.”
Although she has yet to decide whether she wants to play softball at the next level, Brown will be going to Denison University in Ohio on a full academic scholarship. With her pristine GPA and all of those extracurricular activities, Brown could have gone to college just about anywhere in the country, but there was something special about Denison that made it the perfect match for everything she envisioned in her dream school.
“I really just love the environment there. It’s very welcoming,” Brown said. “I think the opportunities I have, once I’m done with Denison, the opportunities are unlimited. It really will just set me up for success in my future, and I think that’s a huge, key aspect of why I picked it. It just felt like home. It’s beautiful out there.
“It’s close enough that I can come back, but also give me my space. It’s just beautiful.”
Before she can begin her next chapter, though, Brown and her teammates still have to close the book on what has been a tremendous four-year journey at Southmoreland.
After falling to two-time defending champion Avonworth, 5-1, in last year’s WPIAL title game, many have been forecasting a rematch between the Scotties and Antelopes this spring with both teams bringing back virtually their entire core of key players in 2024. It’s still too early to pencil them into the WPIAL finals just yet, but both teams are looking even more formidable now than they were a year ago.
And considering the fact that Brown helped guest-star on a travel team featuring Avonworth stars Alivia Lantzy, Rylee Gray and several others during the offseason, this is a friendly rivalry that could carry plenty of storylines into a potential championship rematch just a few weeks down the road.
“I’m hoping that we both make it back there,” Brown said. “I know some of those girls on that team personally. I got to guest with a couple of them over the winter, and they’re great kids and great people. And it would be fun to be back on that stage with them.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
