Katie Kutz spun the ball in her hand before staring down Good Counsel’s final batter and starting her windup.
The Bishop O’Connell ace set her feet and fired, sending the ball whizzing past the swinging opponent’s bat and into the catcher’s glove. The Knights swarmed the field moments later, with Kutz sporting a smile in the middle of the mob.
O’Connell’s victory — a 6-0 win Sunday in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game at George Mason University — was three years in the making. After the Knights fell to St. Mary’s Ryken in the 2019 WCAC title game, the past two tournaments were canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But with Kutz leading the charge Sunday, O’Connell claimed its 21st WCAC title in the past 27 seasons.
“I think it was really important to the school and everybody that we brought it back to O’Connell,” she said.
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Her dominance in the circle was pivotal against scrappy Good Counsel. Kutz allowed just three hits.
“[Kutz] loves these moments, thrives in them,” Coach Suzy Willemssen said. “If we can just get her a couple runs, then we feel our chances are pretty good.”
Kutz made an impact at the plate, too, connecting for a base hit down the third base line to the delight of the O’Connell fans. For Kutz, the victory bodes well as a nearly flawless season continues. The Knights (18-1) open the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament Tuesday, and Kutz probably will be on the mound.
“This gives us a lot of momentum,” she said.
But as Willemssen watched Kutz wind up for her final pitch of the WCAC tournament, the VISAA field wasn’t on her mind. Her focus remained on a game that the Knights had controlled from start to finish, and she was eager to make up for that loss of three years ago.
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“Bring it home, girl,” Willemssen thought to herself.
Kutz’s final strikeout ended the wait. As Willemssen watched her star pitcher pump her fist and embrace her teammates, she recognized the significance of her players’ accomplishment.
“They’ve been really, really working hard,” she said. “This was obviously one of the missions, to bring back the trophy to O’Connell. ... We lost that final [in 2019], so we wanted to bring it back. It’s been great.”
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