Senior Colleen Carty took over for 2006 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year Kelley Engman this year.
Freshman shortstop Jessica Burk hit an RBI triple in Game 2.
By Robert Klemko
Depleted doesn’t begin to describe the way the class of 2007 left coach Tommy Orndorff and the O’Connell softball team upon graduation last June.
The Knights lost ten seniors, including seven that are playing Divison I softball this spring. Among them, All-WCAC infielders Erin Marrone and Katie Nutaitis, play for Notre Dame and the College of Charleston, respectively. O’Connell also graduated 2006 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year Kelley Engman, who is 6-4 in 17 appearances for Boston University as a freshman pitcher.
But all that didn’t prepare the team for the shock and heartbreak of last Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Paul VI, the team’s first defeat in 121 WCAC regular-season appearances dating back to a 1999 loss to Pallotti.
“They took it hard," said Orndorff, who has led the Arlington school to a 506-57 record in his 21 years as head coach. "I think we lost so much from a year ago and those girls told these two or three seniors ‘don’t let anybody break this streak.' I didn’t really publicize the streak very much because it does add another burden that you don’t need in a game.”
Devon Metcalf is one of the three seniors that have been tasked with
reclaiming last season’s WCAC championship. She leads the team with 15
RBI’s and 22 hits. The streak-breaking loss carried an additional sting
for the third baseman, who transferred from Paul VI to O’Connell as a
freshman.
“It was a bummer, but you learn from it and hopefully we’ll get them
later in the season when it counts,” Metcalf said. “It was hard to
take, but when one streak ends another one can begin. It’s going to
take a while to get the team together and start working as a team.”
The loss was also especially hard on senior pitcher Colleen Carty, who stepped into the starting role with Engman’s graduation.
“We were really upset but it’s tough when you have such a young team because I don’t think they really understand how big the streak was,” Carty said. “But I think that now they’re starting to understand how big it was and how big this organization is and they’re starting to step up.
This season, there are just three seniors leading a team that dresses five freshmen and four sophomores.
“I think we have two superstar seniors and I think the problem we have is that everyone keeps looking for those kids to do it all,” Orndorff said. “We need some of those role guys to step up if we are really going to keep the tradition alive that we’ve had through the years.”
The loss to Paul VI emboldened the 6-2 St. Mary’s Ryken Knights, who gave O’Connell its second loss of the season Wednesday, 1-0. Orndorff said that poor hitting with runners in scoring position has been a big factor in both of the losses. Against Paul VI, the Knights stranded ten base runners.
In the second game of Wednesday’s double-header with Ryken, the Knights rebounded from the Game 1 shutout loss with a 5-2 victory, preserving their second-place standing in the conference behind Paul VI. Freshman shortstop Jessica Burk offered a glimpse of future of O’Connell softball, tying the game with an RBI stand-up triple in the fourth inning. Three innings later, Metcalf belted a two-run homer to break the game open.
“As they develop, we will get better,” Orndorff said. “You like to think that the games that you lost in March or April will lead to victories in May.”
Despite O'Connell's loss, St. Mary's Ryken coach Mike Kriner still isn't close to counting out the two-time defending conference champions.
“That was the first time we’ve beaten them in school history but they’re still the team to beat until proven otherwise,” Kriner said.