Late-season spark carries Knoxville Catholic to Murfreesboro
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s Spring Fling fires up this week. When you look at the bracket for the Division II-AA softball final four, one team stands out from the rest.
“When people look at our record, they’re like, I don’t really know how this is possible,” Knoxville Catholic co-head coach Haden Roberts told Southeastern Softball Wire.
The Fighting Irish punched their ticket to Murfreesboro with an 8-20 record, their first state tournament appearance since 1984. The season tested them early. They lost senior pitcher Caitlin Brooks, who totaled 400 career strikeouts, and weathered a mid-season coaching change. Then one day it all clicked.
“We knew we were good,” Roberts said. “We knew we were super talented. It was just like, with everything going on and the injuries, we couldn’t put a full game together.”
After a 14-game losing streak heading into the playoffs, this team found its spark, and things swung the right way.
“Then all of a sudden it just kind of turned the page when we got into the playoffs, and the girls started playing exactly how we thought they were going to play all year long, exactly how we knew they were capable of playing,” Roberts said.
Catholic’s breakthrough came against Knoxville Central in a close 13-10 win that snapped the 14-game skid and gave the team the confidence it needed.
Junior third baseman Catherine (Catie) Schaad went 3-for-4 with a triple, double and two RBI in the win, a performance that earned her a Guardian Foundation Repair Athlete of the Week selection.
“I always tell the girls, it’s like getting to the free throw line in basketball and just seeing one go in,” Roberts said. “You know that you can win. You saw that you can finish a game and win. I think that’s when we kind of turned the page to, okay, we’re good. We’re good athletes, we’re good softball players.”
With Brooks sidelined from the first inning of the first game, freshman Adelyn (Ady) DeBusk and junior Isabelle Holleman took over the circle and carried the staff the rest of the way, combining for 108 strikeouts.
“Going through the season with two instead of three was different and made it tougher,” Roberts said. “But they kind of just rode the ship, and we got to where we’re at.”
The leadership void left by Brooks didn’t stay open for long. Schaad and junior shortstop Anna DeBusk, both starters since their freshman year, became the voices the team needed in the dugout and on the field.
“They’ve been constant leaders,” Roberts said. “When we had a coaching change in the middle of the season, it made everything a lot easier because they could take the girls under their wings and lead in a way that we can’t really lead as coaches. They’ve been the biggest leaders, the best two hitters all season. They lead by example as well as with their voice.”
The numbers back him up. DeBusk slashed .400/.483/.547 with seven RBI and a team-leading 29 runs scored. Schaad slashed .389/.402/.522 with 23 RBI, 21 runs scored and team-leading totals of 10 doubles and 35 hits.
DeBusk earned her own Guardian Foundation Repair Athlete of the Week selection on March 12 after going 8-for-9 (.889) with two RBI, two stolen bases, a triple and six runs scored in the week leading up to the honor.
In the outfield, Hadley Troutt and Jaylen Drazkowski have stepped into leadership roles of their own on a deep position group where playing time often comes down to matchups. Also, to no surprise, this is a selfless group that does what is best for the team.
“We have a lot of talented outfielders, so we play the matchup game,” Roberts said. “If you’ve played well against this pitcher, if you’re hot right now, you’re going to play. Some of them have had to take a back seat, sit in the dugout for four or five innings, come out cold and get a pinch hit every now and then.”
Catholic opens the state tournament Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. against a familiar foe in Girls Preparatory School out of Chattanooga. The entire Division II-AA final four bracket is loaded with East Tennessee programs.
“The final four is our district, actually,” Roberts said. “It’s us, GPS, Baylor and Chattanooga Christian. Three teams out of Chattanooga and a team out of Knoxville. Four teams that are very, very familiar with one another. It’s interesting how it all played out.”
The Fighting Irish have already seen GPS twice this season. The first meeting ended in a 10-0 loss in Chattanooga. The second was tighter, a 6-4 loss at home with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh.
“They have a fantastic program, coached by some great coaches and good people,” Roberts said. “It’s a good rivalry to have for sure.”
The version of Catholic that GPS will see Tuesday isn’t the same one it beat earlier in the year. Roberts said the team has evolved so much that going back through old film hasn’t been particularly useful.
“We’ve got a completely different team,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s even worth me looking at all this stuff.”
The message heading into state has been simple for Catholic. Don’t change a thing.
“We’re not changing anything up that we’ve been doing,” Roberts said. “The girls are unbelievably excited to be where they’re at. I’m just telling them to keep playing the game like they’ve been playing it. Just keep taking it base by base, game by game, inning by inning.”
For Roberts, who took over as co-head coach mid-season alongside Heather Roberts, the experience of watching this group flip the script has been something different.
“It’s been fantastic to watch, just to be a part of it,” Roberts said. “The adversity that they overcame, watching the girls and being there with them, being able to experience it with them. We’re the coaches there, but you find yourself kind of turning into a fan, like you’re in the stands watching something. We came alive at the right time.”
