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06/16/2016 12:00 AMIf you ever have the privilege to speak with Hannah Bibisi, you’ll find one common thread that keeps coming up in the conversation. That common thread is Hannah’s belief in the importance of hard work and it’s a trait that paved the way for her to have an impactful career with the Westbrook softball team.
Hannah, who recently completed her senior season with the Knights, started watching sports with her father when she was five. She quickly became interested in baseball and softball and then began playing the latter sport two years later. After transferring to Westbrook from Vinal Tech following her freshman year, Hannah began a steady climb as a pitcher, hitter, and fielder with the Knights.
It all culminated this spring, when Hannah earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors. Hannah upped her strikeout total on the mound each season to finish with 335 career Ks and she also dramatically improving her fielding percentage from .588 as a junior to .829 in 2016.
“I’ve always been big on motivating myself and working hard, so when I got to Westbrook, I told myself that I would just keep working hard,” says Hannah. “I definitely struggled as a pitcher at the beginning of my sophomore year, but I’m proud of how I ended my high school career.”
At the dish, Hannah was moved up to the cleanup spot this year and she posted a .275 batting average to go with 14 hits and 10 RBI for a team that won 12 games and earned berths in both postseason tournaments. Much of Hannah’s offensive success stemmed from her being an aggressive, yet fundamentally sound hitter.
“I think I became more of a contact hitter this year. I also learned some mechanics with hitting in the offseason,” Hannah says. “I was asked to hit in the No. 4 slot. I had never hit that high before, but I was ready for the challenge.”
Hannah was also driven to improve defensively following a rough 2015 season with the glove. She began that quest by asking the right questions and then putting that advice into practice during the offseason.
“I went into travel season with a lot of errors for the high school season last year, so I really wanted to improve there,” says Hannah. “I asked for help on how to field ground balls and bunts better.”
Westbrook Head Coach Caitlin Eichler feels that Hannah’s mixture of selflessness, toughness, and determination make her the complete package as a softball player.
“Hannah is a young woman with a huge heart. Her goal on and off the softball field is to do whatever it takes to help her teammates,” says Eichler. “Hannah is very sensitive and truly cares about her teammates and coaches. Hannah has been our pitcher for three years. Every year Hannah has stepped on the field, she has worked on improving herself as a person and her athletic abilities. This year, her bat helped round out a strong start to the batting order.”
“What makes Hannah stand out to me is her toughness as a player,” Eichler continues. “This year, Hannah took a line drive to her hand, injuring her finger, but that wasn’t going to stop Hannah. Hannah was determined to finish the game, so she hung in there and has been pitching ever since. She took another line drive to the thigh during our state game and, again, she walked off the pain and continued pitching. In addition to Hannah’s contributions to the team, Hannah works hard in the classroom, epitomizing the model of a student-athlete. Hannah has a way of making us all smile whenever we’re on the field or in the dugout. Hannah’s endearingly goofy personality will certainly be missed next year.”
Although she got out to a bit of a rocky start at Westbrook, Hannah learned how to zone in and she wound up taking away so much from her experience with the Knights thanks in large part to the team’s dedicated athletes and coaching staff.
“When I came to Westbrook to play, I wasn’t in it mentally right away. As the years progressed, I learned how to focus better on the field,” says Hannah, who thanks her mother Judi, 8th-grade teacher John Geary, Spanish teacher Robert Synott, and therapist Shannon Murphy. “Westbrook is one of the best programs in the area. Coach Eichler knows what she is doing and everyone works hard at the game. I owe all of my accomplishments to Coach Eichler at the end of the day.”