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06/22/2017 12:00 AMIn a sport that features a multitude of variables in a wide range of scenarios, Old Saybrook’s Chloe Root likes to simplify things on the softball field—and she’s seeing resounding results.
Chloe, who recently completed her junior season as the Rams’ third baseman, saw a little varsity time as a freshman before earning a starting spot last spring. This year, Chloe had her breakout season to the tune of a .453 batting average with 33 hits, including five triples, to go with an .808 slugging percentage. Chloe ultimately earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors, while helping Old Saybrook qualify for states after going 2-18 a year ago.
“I like softball, because it’s so competitive. You can go from being down by 10 runs to winning just like that. Things can change in an instant,” says Chloe, who also plays field hockey and basketball at Old Saybrook. “I was really in my head last year and got out of it this year and played my own game. I let it flow and didn’t worry about the next thing. I was very confident hitting this year. Last year, I was saying to myself, ‘I hope I can hit it.’ This year it was, ‘I know I can hit it.’”
Chloe initially patrolled the outfield for Old Saybrook and then moved to first base, after which she found her home at the hot corner. Along the way, she started grinding out hits, feeling confident at the dish, and displaying her competitive gamesmanship.
“I would sometimes go in the outfield freshman year and also pinch hit, but I didn’t have much playing time. Last year, I became a starter and had to find out who I was as a hitter, and I also went from first base to third base. I started to hit well last year. I kept hitting more and more, so I found I could hit the ball,” Chloe says. “I’m really competitive and like to win. You need to do your best in order to win, and I like to be on the winning side of the equation.”
Old Saybrook’s first-year Head Coach Katelyn Flanagan promptly saw that Chloe is all about getting the best out of both herself and her teammates. Flanagan feels that Chloe will be a consummate leader for her team next season.
“Chloe sets the bar extremely high for herself and for her teammates. She believes that every player should show up to the field to give 110-percent effort, whether it’s a game or practice. Not only is Chloe the player that I want in the big-game situations, but I know she is the player that wants to be there,” says Flanagan. “Chloe’s work ethic, combined with her love and passion for the game, makes her a very special student-athlete to coach, and one I look forward to having back as a senior leader next spring.”
The Rams got out to a 1-8 start this year and, although things looked bleak at the campaign’s midway point, the Rams found their cohesiveness and rattled off the seven wins they needed to power their way to the postseason.
“We came into this year off of a 2-18 season, but we were determined to improve. We meshed better as a group this year and found what made us click together,” says Chloe. “We made things happen when we needed to. Coach Flanagan believed in us and wanted us to do our best.”
Old Saybrook is parting ways with some key players from this year’s team, but Chloe is already looking forward to her senior season next spring. After the Rams put together a sizzling second half this year, Chloe feels that nothing can stop them from having an even stronger showing in 2018.
“We are losing some seniors, so we will have to work twice as hard to get back to states,” says Chloe, who thanks her family and the Rams’ coaching staff. “We are going into next year now knowing we can do it, and there’s no doubt in our minds that we can.”