Ashley Michanczyk's '16 softball season couldn't have started any worse.
The ending, though, couldn't have gone any better.
Ashley, whose pitching helped Wilbraham & Monson Academy win its first softball championship in school history, was named the Titans' Most Valuable Player.
"I think, overall, I did well," Ashley reflected. "I had a few ups and downs but overall I performed pretty well, considering in the offseason I didn't really have much of a chance to practice, and coming into the season, with my dad being sick, I literally hadn't touched a softball in three weeks. So, considering that, and with the help of the defense, we were pretty-much unstoppable."
One thing did stop Ashley at the beginning of the season. Her dad, Matt, was diagnosed with cancer, forcing Ashley to miss time from school and the team.
Once she returned, though, with the exception of one game, Ashley was dominant. She went 7-1 in 10 appearances, striking out 68 and allowing just 39 hits in 52.1 innings.
"I had one bad game against Westminster, and that definitely wasn't my best, but other than that I felt confident going into every game and the outcome was always good," Ashley said.
The outcome was great at the end of the season for Ashley and the Titans. She pitched three scoreless innings of relief in a 7-1 win over King School in the Western New England Class B semifinal, and came right back the next day to lead the team to a 5-2 win over top-seeded Ethel Walker School with a brilliant pitching performance in the final.
"Winning the championship was amazing," said Ashley, who allowed one earned run in the championship. "Not many words can describe what I was feeling then. It was an amazing experience with an amazing group of girls. It was surreal. It still hasn't really hit me what we did. To leave a mark on the school and bring home a banner was amazing."
Along with the playoff performances, a highlight for Ashley – and the team - came on April 30. An hour after being discharged from an intensive care unit, Mr. Michanczyk arrived at WMA in time to watch Ashley deliver a 14-strikeout performance against King.
"Ashley has demonstrated remarkable resilience and tremendous determination, given what her family had been through the first part of the season," Coach Erik Kindblom said. "The love and support from her family gave her the drive for an MVP performance. The support from her teammates throughout this season was a big part of Ashley's achievements, too, and she gives all of them equal credit in realizing the championship season. We had a whole team deserving of the MVP, but it was Ashley's performance down the homestretch that gave us the slight edge we needed to become champions."