FOXBURG — Had the 2020 high school softball season been played, Mackenzie Parks would have been A-C Valley's starting shortstop as a freshman.

“We got a couple of scrimmages in before everything was shut down (by COVID-19),” Falcons coach Mike Parks, Mackenzie's father, said. “Yeah, she would have been our starter for sure.”

No worries.

She more than made up for lost time.

Parks hit .552 her sophomore season, shuttling between shortstop and the pitcher's circle. She led the Falcons with 32 hits, 32 RBI and 20 runs scored as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup.

And she became the only player in the Butler County area to be named to the Pennsylvania Softball Coaches Association's all-state team. Parks was named second team shortstop on the Class 1A team Tuesday.

“Not something I was expecting,” she said. “Certainly not this soon.”

But Parks has developed into one of the top small-school softball players in the state. She made the all-state team despite A-C Valley finishing the season with a 6-8 record.

“For her to get on that team while our team finished below .500 and out of the playoffs is impressive,” Coach Parks said. “I'm surprised her name was on there.

“But she deserves it, to be sure.”

The coach said his daughter turned the corner as a hitter through her experiences with the Pittsburgh Power summer softball team. She's been with the Power since 2016.

Rob Omer, the Power's hitting coach, discovered a flaw in her swing.

“Mackenzie had been getting under the ball a little too much,” said her father, also an assistant coach with the Power. “Rob got her to swing more through the zone, to extend the swing.

“Once she got that down, she took off, hitting-wise.”

At 5-foot-7, 120 pounds, Parks is a tall, lanky player.

Playing for the Power and coach Don Watson, Parks hits anywhere from leadoff to fourth or fifth in the lineup.

“Playing down there has definitely helped my game,” she said. “It's highly competitive softball and I've learned a lot there.

“When I come back up here ... It's just different. I'm more prepared to handle different situations.”

Looking ahead to his daughter's next two seasons, Coach Parks says her defense could improve at shortstop — though that may be an unfair criticism.

“She gets to so many more balls than most high school shortstops,” he said. “When she gets to a ground ball in the hole and doesn't make the play, is that an error?

“Mackenzie makes the routine plays and takes hits away at times. She may be pitching more for us next year, we'll see.”

“My pitching needs to get better,” Mackenzie Parks said. “Besides that, I don't really set any goals.

“Every at-bat. I just try to do my best. If I do bad, I do bad. If I do good, I do good. Just go with the flow. That's how I play.”

She does have one extended goal. Play college softball at Ohio State.

“I've gone to some camps there. I got to meet the team and I like those girls a lot,” Parks said. “I would just enjoy playing there.

“That's my No. 1 choice.

Her coach knows it.

“We're going to try to land her there,” he said. “Mackenzie will be playing in some of those showcases soon, so we'll see where that gets her.

“If Ohio State doesn't work out, we'll go from there. She definitely wants to play college ball.”

Parks plays basketball and volleyball at A-C Valley as well.

But softball is No. 1.

“I love the team aspect of it,” she said. “Do something good and it picks up the whole team. That's a good feeling.”