The biggest tragedy sometimes yields the biggest joy. For Colonials catcher Savannah Couch making the varsity softball team and playing on the Civic Field brings full circle to one of the saddest days in Colonial Heights High School athletics history.
Nearly three years ago, June 14, 2008, Savannah’s older sister, Kassidy Hahn, a catching prodigy at Colonial Heights, passed away in a car crash, along with her cousin Diana Hahn. Now Savannah assumes her role as catcher, but the getting there is something in the telling and it revolves around two Savannahs, or as they call themselves Savannah squared.
At the time Kassidy would have been a junior, she had a good friend moving up from the middle school who would turn out to be one of the top pitchers in the Central District. Savannah Phillingane had already opened eyes for Colonials softball coaches Toni and Chris Martin. They knew they had a stellar catcher, and now they would have the kind of pitcher who can make a difference in tight games.
Kassidy and Savannah P. had dreamed of this chance to play together, pitcher and catcher, a battery. It was something they talked about whenever they were together. They had set up a game plan to work together.
The first year, they would work out their pitching and catching routine. In Kassidy’s senior year, they would really get things going to give Kassidy a shot to play in college.
“Kassidy and I would always talk about it. About how she was going to catch for me in my freshman year, and how she was going to go out with a bang in her senior year, and then it just ended. I had nobody else to catch for me in softball,” Phillingane said.
It took some of the joy away from the game for her, she said. But then things changed. She heard about the other Savannah, Kassidy’s sister, and how she was playing softball, and that she was pretty good especially at catching.
Knowing that the two would have one season of overlap in their softball careers has been part of the driving force for the pitcher. Along the way, she has excelled and already stands as the all-time strikeout leader for Colonial Heights, notching 592 Ks over her first three seasons. She has done so, by and large, without a true catcher. Over the years, they had had people who filled the position, but none of them were as capable as Kassidy or her sister Savannah. Even coach T. Martin admits catching a Phillingane fast ball isn’t easy, and doing it well requires special talent.
But now, with Couch behind the plate, the coaches and team are expecting a lot of good things to happen. Martin said a lot of good things have already happened. There have been times in practice when Phillingane would do something, and Couch would respond perfectly, and Phillingane marked the moment with her wry smile and say, “‘Oh yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to be.’”
But all of that almost never happened.
Savannah C. had tried softball with the Colonial Heights Recreation Department summer league and hated it. Catching wasn’t a problem, but throwing was. Being on the field wore on her, and she told her mother, Kim Ann McLaughlin, that she just didn’t want to play softball anymore. And that was OK with her mother.
But then the accident happened, and lots of Kassidy’s friends came around to support the family. One of the key friends, J.D. McCarty, was the varsity baseball catcher. All of Kassidy’s friends started to work with Savannah C. They helped her develop a throwing style that has now become the kind of cannon one expects from a top-notch catcher. They worked with her on fielding, and on hitting. It soon became apparent that Savannah would be bigger than Kassidy and might be able to help out more on the offensive side of the ball, as well.
“The first time Savannah hit a ball over the fence we all just went nuts. To see her come through this with the grades she has, the friends she has, and no behavior issues is amazing,” McLaughlin said.
But her mother didn’t want her to play softball just because her sister played softball. Still, at first, Savannah said, playing softball and wearing Kassidy’s catcher’s gear was a way in which she could feel a little closer to her sister.
In the beginning, she said, it felt like her sister was there on the field with her from time to time. But as time passed, she grew to love the game and it wasn’t just her playing Kassidy’s game anymore, it was Savannah’s game, too. From time to time, people who knew Kassidy see Savannah and it’s hard for them to make the adjustment, she said.
“I did start catching for her, and I felt like I needed to use her gear. It was very sentimental to me,” Savannah said. “At first I needed to have that connection with Kassidy; but now I just have a connection with the game. I feel like I’ve taken the game as my own.”
And now back to this season. For Phillingane it is the classic role reversal. Instead of her being the freshman with Kassidy to sort of bring her along, now she is the person who is bringing Savannah C. along. In some ways, her dreams as a middle school player have finally come to fruition in her senior year.
“Fast forward to my senior year and it’s kind of like I am in Kassidy’s spot with Savannah. It just kind of reverses things. I’m glad to have the chance to play softball with Savannah. I didn’t get my chance with the one (Kassidy), so I get my chance with the other,” Phillingane said.
Dealing with the whole thing has been a little more difficult for McLaughlin. She knew Savannah was not that interested in softball from her experience in rec ball. But as Savannah became drawn to the sport more and more, McLaughlin tried to make sure she was playing because she wanted to and not because she thought it was expected.
In her first season playing tournament ball, she didn’t get much playing time because of her weak throwing. But the coaches were impressed with her speed and her ability to catch anything they sent her way. Eventually, the throwing got worked out, and she became a huge asset to the teams she played on, her mother said.
But McLaughlin still harbored doubts. She still wondered if Savannah was playing for love of the game, or just to emulate Kassidy. It was a struggle for her just to go to the fields. The fields that Kassidy loved, and especially the Civic Field where the varsity team plays. But one day, Savannah made a comment that changed all of that for McLaughlin.
“At first, I did everything I could to try to keep her out of it. But then she started saying things like, ‘I feel safe when I am on the ball field; it reminds me of her in a good way.’ That’s when I realized she was playing the game for herself,” McLaughlin said.
Still, it has been a long road with a lot of pitfalls. The help from Kassidy’s friends and former teammates has been important, she said. And Savannah has handled the whole situation regarding her sister with grace.
“There was a time when I hated being at a ball field, I couldn’t look at Savannah and see her, I looked at her and saw her sister. She hated ball originally, because she felt it took her sister away from her. Now, I think playing softball has been therapeutic for her. Now, I am extremely happy about it. It still hurts sometimes, but just to see her come through this and be so well-rounded and it’s not just softball. She has adjusted. Now, it’s ‘this is who I am, this is where I come from, but I am not her (Kassidy),’” McLaughlin said.
Only one game into the season, there is still a long way to go. Savannah squared still has some unfinished history to write. Can the two combine for the kind of year the Colonials have longed for? Will Phillingane reach 800 strikeouts for her career? Having someone behind the plate who can handle the array of pitches that Phillingane can throw, and especially the fast ball, can make a huge difference on the scoring line. All that remains to be seen.
“I’m really sad that it’s Savannah’s last year. If you think about it, she’s going to leave and then I’m going to be in her position and hoping that a pitcher is going to come up that can throw to me,” Savannah C. said.
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