Piatt's OT: Sabalaskey pitches with heavy heart after losing grandma

WESTVILLE — I’ve gotten into the habit lately of making people cry during interviews. I promise it’s never my intention, but in my experience, the end of the spring sports season tends to bring out more emotion.

Mahomet-Seymour baseball coach Nic DiFilippo shed a few tears talking about the struggle of balancing coaching and being a dad after the Bulldogs’ super-sectional loss on June 3.

Former St. Joseph-Ogden softball star Bailey Dowling got choked up while reflecting on her college career at Alabama on June 18.

And later that same afternoon, I made the whole Sabalaskey family cry during our All-Area Softball Player of the Year interview for Abby Sabalaskey. When Abby started crying, it almost got to me, too. Because what she said afterward hit close to home.

First, here’s her story:

A look back

Angels on our shoulders

Abby’s grandpa, John Sabalaskey, has been an angel on her shoulder since he died in 2017. He was a pitcher who made it to the Class AAA level professionally in the minor leagues, and Abby often called on him for some encouragement while she was in the pitching circle for the Westville Tigers.

But during the regional championship on May 17, which ended in a 1-0 loss to Marshall and was Abby’s final high school game, she talked to her grandma, Regina Sabalaskey.

“I talked to her a lot,” Abby said. “I asked her for help a few times.”

That was Abby’s first game since Regina died a few days prior. Not only was she pitching with the pressure of a regional title and her 1,000th career strikeout on the line, but a heavy heart, as well.

Regina was Abby’s biggest fan. In years past, with her eyesight fading, her home base during games was in Joe Sabalaskey’s (Regina’s son and Abby’s dad) truck just off to the side of the field. She’d watch the livestream on her iPad but still felt all the excitement of the game atmosphere right outside.

Westville’s 14-0 opening-day win over Rantoul this past season was the last game Regina attended in person.

For most of Abby’s senior year, her grandma was in the hospital, but she still tuned in to every game.

“That was one of the main reasons I kept showing up every day,” Abby said. “There was a time where I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t deal with all this.’ I knew she was struggling, and the biggest thing that brought her joy was turning on my games and watching me play.”

Now, they’re closer than ever. Regina may not be there with a big smile and a hug waiting for Abby after games anymore, but she gives her the boost she needs on the field. And Abby will have her grandma right there with her over her next four years pitching at Northern Kentucky University.

“She’s still there with me,” Abby said, later pointing out that she wears Regina’s earrings every day. “Her being able to see my 900th strikeout meant a lot to me. I put that ball in her casket, so she’ll have that with her forever. I know she saw my 1,000th, and she’ll see all my other successes I hope to have.”

Now, here’s my story:

I lost my great-grandma not quite four years ago. I wrote a column about it for The Ball State Daily News during my senior year of college, so I won’t go into all the details.

She couldn’t make it to many of my baseball games, living an hour away in Bronson, Mich., but she was still one of my biggest supporters and made a point to tell me how proud she was every time she saw me. Those days were only a couple times a year, but they were always cherished.

Just about every time we got together, whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas or our summer family reunion, I made sure to bring a pack of cards so I could play War with great-grandma. After she died, I bought a double pack and put one in her casket. The other has stayed in my backpack, with me at almost all times just in case a game breaks out.

So, thank you, Abby, for sharing your story about your relationship with your grandma because it brought back some good memories of mine.

A look ahead

Final All-Area push

We are officially five All-Area spring sports packages down and one to go. Our boys’ track and field teams ran on Thursday, so congratulations to Tuscola’s Josiah Hortin for earning Athlete of the Year and Ryan Hornaday for his Coach of the Year honor. Check out their stories and the rest of the team at news-gazette.com.

The last All-Area team remaining is baseball. We’ve already talked to our Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and all of our First-Team selections. You’ll have to wait until Saturday to see how it all looks together.

Shoutouts

Blake Kimball, Indiana University Kokomo baseball

The News-Gazette’s 2021-22 Male Athlete of the Year from Unity, Kimball won an NAIA Gold Glove Award as a pitcher for Indiana University Kokomo on June 19. Only four players at each position from across the nation receive a Gold Glove for their defensive prowess.

Jillian Schlittler, Illini Elite volleyball

Fresh off a Class 2A state long jump title, Schlittler, a rising junior at Unity, won an AAU junior national championship in Orlando, Fla., with her club volleyball team, Illini Elite 16 White.

Sydney Moss, Tuscola girls’ basketball

Moss, who recently graduated and was the Warriors’ top player last winter, has committed to continue her basketball career at the University of Illinois-Springfield. She will have a signing ceremony at Tuscola High School at 1 p.m. on Monday.