Chelsea Born of Sycamore – Shaw Local

Birth of Chelsea

Sycamore

Softball | Senior

Why Born was selected

The slugger had a huge weekend for the Spartans, going 6-for-11 with one home run, three doubles and five RBIs in three games against Dixon, GK and Rosary – all wins. In an online poll, she beat out Indian Creek outfield athlete Brooke Probst, DeKalb outfield athlete Toriano Tate, and Kaneland outfield athlete Eli Pflipsen.

On what worked:

“Honestly, it was just to put the ball in play. I’ve been in crisis for the past few weeks, but I know I have the team and the coaches behind me. Failure is part of the game and becomes a better hitter. I just focused on getting the ball in play and then mentally he hit me. That was a big confidence booster.

Trailing 6-0 and untouched by Dixon, Born homered and started a Sycamore comeback:

“It really started a fire and got us going. It was like, OK let’s go ladies. It started the train and gave us more confidence for the rest of the game.

On how the team feels heading into the playoffs, even with slugger Paige Collie injured and her playoff status unknown:

“I think we’re all feeling pretty good, especially with our winning streak [five games]. There is a very good team atmosphere and we all understand each other on a personal level, not just on the pitch. We’re a little bummed to not have Paige back since she got injured, but hopefully she can get back on her feet as soon as she can. If we stay as we are now, everything will be fine.