By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
Haley Fabian didn’t know she would pitch in the 2016 GNAC title game.
The Wolves softball team had earned a spot in the tournament coming off a red-hot end to the season. Twelve wins in the final 15 games saw Western Oregon finish second in the conference, behind Central Washington. The top four teams entered the title tournament in the last week of April.
The first-year pitcher had steadily proven herself on the mound. As a relief pitcher she picked up two saves over the course of April. Against Simon Fraser she struck out four batters in two innings. She pitched a complete game against Montana State Billings, giving up only three runs.
Her win-loss record was a clean 4-0.
Western Oregon’s first round sweep of Concordia meant that Central Washington would have to beat the Wolves twice to win the title.
Central Washington won the first game 2-11.
“We had to change it up,” Fabian said. “When my coach decided to choose me I was honored, but I was kind of nervous.”
She had only pitched in 11 collegiate games, nearly all of which were in the month of April. She had worked hard to get here and the hard work had paid off.
And so she walked to the mound to pitch the biggest game she’d ever pitched.
Her high school in Washington was often overshadowed by their cross-river rivals. Wenatchee High School serviced a city over double the size of East Wenatchee. When it comes to athletics, Wenatchee was used to winning against Eastmont High.
This made the games against Wenatchee Haley Fabian’s favorite matches.
Eastmont High softball coach Cliff Johnson recalled a first base performance from Fabian, where she had “a game-saving play against Wenatchee on a hot one-hopper down the line. Kept them from scoring and was one of the most clutch defensive plays I have seen.”
Fabian spent all four years of her high school career on varsity and was named league MVP as a sophomore. When not pitching, she played first base. Over her high school career she made the All-League first team for both pitching and first base.
“When she entered our program she brought great leadership and a competitive spirit with her,” Johnson said. “We faced Eisenhower High School in a postseason game. Haley had been injured and was unable to pitch for several weeks. On gameday she told me she was good to go.”
She pitched a complete game in her return, recording 11 strikeouts.
It all began when she was a little girl. At eight-years-old, Haley Fabian started playing softball to follow in her older sister’s footsteps.
“She was a pitcher so I wanted to be just like her. But I was the one who was better at it, so I stuck with that and she went with basketball,” said Fabian.
When she decided she wanted to play college softball she poured all of her energy into the game.
“Haley set the tone in our program when it came to hard work and focus,” Johnson said.
Fabian’s leadership has been shown on and off the field.
2015 was the worst year for wildfires in Washington state history, and when the Sleepy Hollow Fire raged into Wenatchee Valley she went to help the Red Cross at Eastmont High School.
“Across the river you could see everything,” said Fabian. “It came into the valley. There were homes that were burned down.”
She left at the end of the uncommonly hot summer to face the demands of college ball.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be getting a lot of innings. I’m glad I was able to execute and have a good outcome.”
And in late April, when it came time to change the gameplan against Central Washington, the Wolves coaching staff called on the first year spin pitcher.
Her day wouldn’t last two full innings. Central Washington scored seven before she was pulled as the Wolves were dragged to a 3-9 loss.
“I think honestly it’s just that Central was a great team,” said Fabian. “Just a good hitting team.”
The setback was the lowpoint of an otherwise good season. Fabian has been at work ever since, and enters 2017 as one of the team’s starting pitchers.
“It was definitely a good starting point. I’m ready to improve on those stats. I’ll have more innings, so that’s going to be a challenge, but …” she took a pause, “I’m ready for it.”
With multiple returners, the Wolves don’t plan on backsliding at all from 2016 – and Haley Fabian certainly doesn’t.
“We gotta get a GNAC title. Gotta get Central.”
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
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