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06/29/2017 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook softball team finished with a record of 2-17 in 2016, but Head Coach Katelyn Flanagan was determined to see the Rams fare much better than that in her first season at the helm this spring. Despite a tough 1-8 start, Old Saybrook won seven of its last 11 regular season games with its back against the wall to make a triumphant return to the Shoreline Conference and Class S State tournaments. Although the Rams lost in the opening round of both brackets, their final record of 8-14 marked a six-win improvement from last year.
Coach Flanagan was pleased with the sum total of what her team achieved in 2017, especially considering how far Old Saybrook came from the previous campaign. Flanagan attributes the Rams’ resurgence to the fact that her athletes decided that they wanted to do their best.
“When we’re looking at the beginning of the season at [1-8] in the first eight games, I was like, ‘Hey girls, we have to make a decision. We can go in the same direction as last season or we can change our direction,’” said Flanagan, whose team sealed its postseason berths with a 13-1 win versus Plainville in the regular season finale. “We got down to the point that it was on the girls, and they made the decision to compete at the level they were capable of.”
Coach Flanagan pinpointed the game where the team turned its fortunes around. It actually came in a 7-5 defeat against Shoreline Conference stalwart Hale-Ray.
“We competed like a team I hadn’t seen before. We scored first, we put the ball in play, and we were confident. You could see the energy in the dugout. It was a fight down until the seventh inning,” said Flanagan, whose team gave Hale-Ray another great battle in a 4-3 loss later in the season. “I remember going out the outfield after the game and talking to the girls with a huge smile on my face, saying, ‘We just competed with the best team in the Shoreline for seven innings.’ You could just see the girls coming to the plate with a plan of attack. They were manufacturing runs and capitalizing on Hale-Ray’s mistakes. We still had some tough games after that, but it was huge change in the direction of the team.”
Flanagan added that another key ingredient to her team’s turnaround was the fact that Old Saybrook’s practices paid off, particularly with how they mentally prepared her athletes to compete at a high level.
“We do a lot of physical skills and mechanics and basics of softball, but I really try to also work on the mental aspects,” she said. “You can really do anything you want as long as you work for your teammates. It’s more than just the physical skills of the game. It’s a lot of mindset.”
One athlete who typified that approach was junior third baseman Chloe Root, who finished the season with .453 batting average and an .808 slugging percentage on her way to being named the Rams’ Most Valuable Player and earning a spot on the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team. Root worked diligently on improving her approach at the plate, and lot of it came down being confident and attacking the ball.
“She works very hard. She’s come a long way from the time I had her as a 8th-grade student in my [physical education] classes,” said Flanagan of Root. “A lot of that is in her attitude. What I loved was her mindset in the game and at the plate. A huge thing for her was to be positive, and she made that her job. She would execute. A lot of that was the confidence that she brought to the plate with her. It’s been great to see her grow, and I’m excited to have her as a senior next year. I think a lot of teams are scared to see her next season.”
Another player who displayed the mental toughness that Coach Flanagan wanted was senior right fielder Tiffany Kiako, who was presented with Old Saybrook’s Coaches’ Award.
“She was just one of those kids you want in the dugout. The girls wanted to be around that,” said Flanagan. “She wasn’t a captain for me this yearn but she still took a leadership role. The thing that stuck out to me was a freshman player stepped into her spot a couple of games, and I could tell it bothered her. It made her work harder, and she wanted to get her spot back. It was impressive to see her take charge.”
Middle infielder Anna Joseph (.310, 11 RBI, 12 runs), Kirsten King (18 runs), and catcher Megan Schulmeister (18 runs) were Old Saybrook’s captains this season. Coach Flanagan thanked her captains for setting a great example with their work ethic, and she’s going to miss their presence as each one of them was there for her in her first year as head coach.
“I’m sad to see them go. I coached them for four years as an assistant,” Flanagan said. “Honestly, the last game of the season, it was very bittersweet. Nobody wanted the season to be over, but we also knew we accomplished so many of our goals. There were a lot of tears in center field that day. It’s a memory I’ll keep close to my heart for my coaching career.”
Flanagan’s last game with this year’s seniors was tough, but the Rams’ future still looks bright. There are plenty of talented athletes climbing up the ranks in Old Saybrook, one of which is pitcher Carly Michaud, who will return as a senior after batting .328 with 16 RBI and 17 runs scored this season.
“I’m excited for the future, and there’s some potential coming down the pipeline. The bar is raised for the juniors and seniors next season,” said Flanagan. “A great thing was some sophomores came up to me after the last game saying that they can’t wait for next year. Now we can take it one step further.”
From the Sidelines
The Old Saybrook softball team’s varsity roster consisted of senior captains Anna Joseph, Kirsten King and Megan Schulmeister; fellow seniors Hannah LeMire and Tiffany Kiako; juniors Lina Farias, Emma Pascale, Carly Michaud, Sarah Lombardi, and Chloe Root; sophomores Sarah Howley and Maeve Foley; and freshmen Rachel Baldi, Taylor Cote, Lexie Root, and Wendy Bowden.
This was Katelyn Flanagan’s first year as head coach of the Rams’ softball squad after serving as an assistant for the previous three seasons. Flanagan was assisted by Lauren MacDonald.
Old Saybrook’s eight wins during the regular season came against Portland (23-2 and 8-4), Westbrook (12-9 and 8-7), Old Lyme (8-1 and 5-3), St. Bernard (20-6), and Plainville (13-1).