Mckenna Posluszny of Riverside was the only senior among three captains for the Fenwick softball team this season. While junior co-captains Bella Bigham and Jordan Rossi were starters, Posluszny proved to be a leader and motivator mostly as a reserve.
“I worked mainly on energy and keeping heads high,” she said. “Being named co-captain was definitely such a fun and great opportunity as it showed that I was seen as someone who could lead these girls through the season and through wins and losses.”
The Friars certainly finished on a high note as they defeated Dunlap 1-0, June 6, to finish third in Class 3A at the state finals in Peoria. Fenwick (23-12) also finished third in 3A in 2024, but Posluszny was injured that entire season and for flag football as a junior. She returned to play flag football this past fall.
“Knowing (state softball) would be the best way to end my time at Fenwick, I would not have wanted it to end differently. What I will remember most is the connection we built as a team,” she said. “I would summarize this season as one of the most dedicated teams that was able to adjust quickly and work around obstacles together. We all had gotten along together so quickly that we knew it was a special team from the start.”
Usually a left fielder, Posluszny played in 14 games, contributing four runs batted in and two runs scored.
At the Benedictine University Super-Sectional, June 1, the Friars outlasted Lemont 4-3 in 12 innings to return downstate. In the June 8 state semifinals, they lost 9-3 to 2025 state champion Glenwood, which lost to Antioch 7-2 in this year’s state championship.
Posluszny will major in speech and hearing sciences at Iowa. She felt that the Friars’ trip to Tennessee in early April was a key to their bonding and success.
“Tennessee was an unforgettable trip where we learned a lot about each other in softball and just our everyday lives,” Posluszny said.
Fenwick baseball
Senior starting shortstop Johnny Buchman of Riverside took pride in usually being No. 9 in the Fenwick batting order.
“I’ve batted last my whole life,” Buchman said. “I’m just like another leadoff, a second leadoff hitter. I always get on for the top of the order.”
Unfortunately for the Friars, June 9, they were limited to five hits in their 4-0 loss to Crystal Lake South in the 3A Schaumburg Super-Sectional at Wintrust Field.
After a challenging regular-season schedule, Fenwick (14-21) was seeking its first downstate trip after also losing to the Gators in its last super-sectional appearance in 2023. Crystal Lake South was fourth at the June 13 state finals.
“A lot of adversity (this season). We went through a lot of ups and downs. I didn’t even know if we would make it this far but we did,” Buchman said. “We always battled and all of the guys were here for each other. That’s how we made it this far.”
In 31 games, Buchman had a .254 batting average with 14 RBIs, two doubles and one triple. He had a team-high 10 stolen bases and defensively contributed to a team-high nine double plays.
His most memorable hit was a two-out, two-run double in the 13-3 victory over Amundsen in the Fenwick Sectional semifinals June 3.
Among 11 seniors this season, Buchman started at second base in 2025 as the lone starting junior, hitting .208 with 11 RBIs and a homer against Montini.
“We had a lot of leaders on this team that helped the younger guys get to where they are. I feel they’re in a good spot for what we did to teach them, help them and guide them,” Buchman said.
In the super-sectional, Buchman was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt. Defensively, he made a great catch in short center field with his back to the infield in the sixth inning and had three assists, including an inning-ending double play in the third.
Buchman will continue playing at St. Xavier (Chicago), the NAIA program that was 35-19 this spring and reached the championship series of its Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
“I always wanted to play baseball in college. That’s been my goal my whole life and I did it,” he said.