WICCOPEE — There was a bemused expression, followed by a shrug, then a smile.
That was Kayleigh Petrillo's reaction when asked if she was nervous at any point during his varsity softball debut.
What about when her control faltered in the second inning and she faced a bases-loaded jam? Even her dad, Chris, admitted to feeling a little jittery as a spectator.
"Not really," said Kayleigh, a seventh-grader who seemed unfazed. "My team is really supportive and believes in me, so that made me confident."
There's a reciprocal effect, because it's her unwavering confidence that has made Roy C. Ketcham teammates believers.
Petrillo shrugged off the pressure of the circumstances and the setting, weaving a shutout to lead the Storm in a 3-0 road win over John Jay-East Fishkill in the teams' season opener Monday.
She approached facing their intra-district rival and pitching to talented high school athletes with the same insouciance as someone opening a textbook to begin algebra homework... And Petrillo might not even be old enough to take algebra.
"She's built differently," coach Scott Satterlee said of the right-hander. "She's mentally tough, loves to compete, and she shows great composure at a young age."
So impressed was he by the talent and guile she demonstrated on the travel softball circuit, Petrillo bypassed the junior varsity level. Having observed her progress there, catcher Paige Hotle said, there was a belief the middle-schooler could immediately succeed here.
Good call. Petrillo kept the Patriots ...
