O’Sullivan
Holba said. “We can rely on her. It’s her fourth year with us, so there’s that comfort. There’s not much she hasn’t seen. She’s got a good poker face.”
O’Sullivan had an auspicious start to her varsity career. She was hit by an errant ball on a finger on her throwing hand, which affected a tendon in her arm and required three surgeries to fix.
It took her almost a year to come back from that injury and return to form, but to tell the truth, there are still reminders.
“Sometimes, in super-cold weather, my finger doesn’t bend all the way,” O’Sullivan said. “It makes
it really hard to pitch. That’s why I loved (Saturday) because it was nice and sunny.”
In a few months, O’Sullivan will be plying her trade in college out east, her preferred location. She’s deciding between Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey and Central Connecticut State.
As a freshman on varsity, Sanfratello appreciates what it takes to compete at that level and enjoys catching a pitcher with O’Sullivan’s experience.
Sanfratello said in travel she’s usually catching freshmen and sophomores, but there’s something special about catching a senior who can top out at 60 mph.
“Kailee hits her spot,” Sanfratello said. “It’s easier for me to do my job.”
With Virginia Unity, O’Sullivan has been accustomed to being held accountable, and that encourages a better attitude when something goes awry.
She applies a similar approach with Sanfratello and her teammates.
“I’m definitely one of those who if I see someone down, I’ll talk to them privately to make sure they don’t get down on themselves,” she said. “I hold people accountable.”
Likewise, as her catcher, Sanfratello does the same for O’Sullivan.
“If Kailee walks a batter or something like that,” Sanfratello said, “I’ll go up to her and be like, ‘Shake it off, relax.’”