One seemingly inconspicuous area of the Nazareth Academy softball field became home for senior catcher Emme Barnes.
“I always put my [softball] bag right next to the trash can in the corner,” Barnes said. “There’s kind of just this corner that everyone knows is the Emme corner.”
The Brookfield resident has been a mainstay for the Roadrunners over four seasons as a varsity starter, going from third base in 2022 to catcher to logging every inning as catcher this season.
Barnes was among several veterans who had an emotional ending Friday in a 3-2 loss to St. Laurence in the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional finals. The Roadrunners (16-16), the sectional’s No. 3 seed, appeared enroute to a second straight trip to the supersectional. Then the top-seeded Vikings (23-7) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Last season, Nazareth lost to Fenwick 2-1 in the supersectional after edging St. Laurence 1-0 in the sectional final.
“I really thought we were [advancing Friday]. Great teams, both of us. It was a great game, just like last year,” Barnes said.
“We were like, ‘OK guys. We have to keep our energy up. This is still a fight we have to win. Maybe got a little nervous at the end, definitely. I think we called three timeouts in the [seventh] inning. Sometimes that’s just what happens.”
Barnes will play at the University of St. Francis, where older brother Noah plays football. She had a .262 batting average this season with three home runs and 21 runs batted in. Barnes was part of a solid group up the middle with the team’s other three returning starters — senior pitcher Annabella “Bama” Rychetsky (.396, 6 HR, 26 RBIs, 15-12 as pitcher, 2.48 earned-run average, 227 strikeouts in 178 innings), senior center fielder and leadoff hitter Kennedy Joe (.427, 3 HR, 19 RBIs, 32 runs, 25 stolen bases) and senior shortstop Rita Hynes (HR, 5 RBIs). Rychetsky will play at Williams College.
Barnes, Rychetsky and Joe also were the team’s All-East Suburban Catholic Conference selections and Hynes received honorable mention. Otherwise, the Roadrunners started one junior, three sophomores, and a freshman Friday.
“This [season] was special. It’s just something was different, our confidence in each other,” Barnes said. “We’re all best friends, me and Bama, everyone just played for each other. We were a unit. You could even see with just our energy. We’re all losing our voices. The energy was untouchable. We went down but I know the bus ride [back] we’re all going to be happy.”
The Roadrunners had new head coach Chrissy Johnson and new assistants. Johnson was the former junior varsity coach who previously was varsity coach at Niles West for seven seasons.
“[What helped was] our never-quit attitude, putting in the work at practice and just the fight that they had throughout the season. If we lost a game, we learned from it,” Johnson said. “We fought that whole game [Friday]. We had runners on and scored when we were in scoring position. Bama pitched a heck of a game. Our defense fought and fought. They just got some timely hits in the seventh and it didn’t go our way.”
Nazareth went ahead 2-0 in the top of the sixth on a two-out, two-run single by freshman Reagan Drye after Morgan Kwak walked, Rychetsky singled and Alyssa Schwertfeger provided a sacrifice bunt.
St. Laurence scored the winning run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for the second out. The inning began with two singles, the second on a bad hop. As the tying run scored on a late throw home, the batter continued to second base and was called safe on a close play, which would have been the second out.
The Vikings advanced to the state semifinals by defeating Montini Catholic 6-2 in Monday’s supersectional.
“I hope everyone knows how hard I worked for Naz,” Barnes said. “I just hope everyone knows, all of my teammates, how hard I worked for them, my coaches, my past coaches, my past teammates. Everyone has stuck with me. They’re in my heart and I always left it out on the field.”
Fenwick softball
Senior and four-year varsity starter Molly Mullen of Riverside will always have her 2024 Class 3A third-place medal with the Fenwick softball team.
“My favorite memory is going downstate last year,” Mullen said. “It is definitely an experience I will never forget.”
The Friars (13-12) achieved another strong postseason run until losing to Montini Catholic 12-3 in the Class 3A Montini Sectional semifinal Thursday after winning both of their regular-season meetings.
Mullen played first base and usually was No. 7 or 8 in the batting order. She will attend St. Mary’s College (South Bend, Ind.) to study nursing.
Montini (19-17) lost 6-2 to St. Laurence in Monday’s supersectional. One of Mullen’s favorite victories was 9-8 at St. Laurence, May 8, after the Friars trailed 8-6 and lost their April 14 meeting 15-2.
“In the top of the seventh, we score three runs to go ahead, took the field and held on for the victory,” Mullen said. “It was an awesome win for the team as St. Laurence has always been a rival of ours.”