O’Connell senior pitcher Kelley Engman remembers the mood in her team’s dugout during a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament game three years ago.
She was just a freshman at the time, but in a tight game Engman could see the strain on the faces of her senior teammates, who had missed out on the championship the year before and were desperate to avoid a repeat.
“But I was never really worried,” Engman said. “I knew we had it the whole time.”
That team, with help fromprecocious freshmen starters Engman, Erin Marrone and Katie Nutaitis, won the WCAC title and set the stage for three more league championships, including one last Saturday after a 5-0 win over St. Mary’s Ryken. Even for a program that has won 13 WCAC titles in 14 years it’s been an impressive run.
“It’s almost surreal that it’s the end of our time here,” said Engman, the Knights’ ace pitcher the last three seasons. “I don’t mean this to sound bad at all, but I’m not surprised at the things we’ve accomplished. This is exactly what we set out to do.”
Top-ranked O’Connell (27-2) has a chance for another quadruple this week when it plays in the Virginia Independent Schools state semifinals in Richmond. The Knights face Nansemond-Suffolk Academy in the semifinals and could again see league rival Paul VI in the championship game. Two wins would secure a fourth straight VIS state championship as well.
“We won’t quite reach all of our goals because we wanted to go undefeated and get a higher national ranking than last year, too,” said Nutaitis, who is back at catcher after a year at first base. “But we didn’t let those early losses hurt us. We’ve still had an awesome season.”
The Knights were beaten by Loudoun Valley on March 31, 5-3 in extra innings, and by No. 7 Westfield, 3-0, on April 2. But they later avenged the Loudoun Valley defeat, a 5-3 win on May 5.
Engman (Boston University) is 21-2 on the mound with a 0.66 ERA. She also bats .525 with a team-high 36 RBI. Marrone (Notre Dame) bats a team-best .540 with six home runs and 24 RBI. Nutaitis (College of Charleston) is at .406 with 28 RBI and three home runs. Those seniors have set the stage for a team returning six starters, including juniors Colleen Carty (.388, 30 RBI) and Devon Metcalf (.400, 33 RBI).
Knight Time
» O’Connell freshman Sarah Eidt batted 4-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday as the Knightsbeat St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, 11-1, in a VIS state quarterfinal.
» The Knights have a 102-11 record since 2004.
» O’Connell has won 120 consecutive WCAC regular-season games and posted 15 straight seasons with at least 20 wins.
