Whiting’s Arianna Vianello saw the bigger picture.
By taking a step back, the senior catcher took steps forward.
“This year, it’s just my mentality,” Vianello said. “I really got my head in order. Previous years, I was always trying to be perfect, and I always wanted to be perfect. This year, it’s my last season, I don’t plan to go further with softball, so I wanted to make the best of what I had left.”
Indeed, in her fourth season as a starter, Vianello has delivered her most productive one yet.
She’s hitting .465 with four doubles, a triple, two homers, 23 RBIs and 20 runs scored, leading the Oilers in four of those categories. She has helped Whiting (6-9, 4-6), which will play either Andrean or Boone Grove in the semifinals of the Class 2A Boone Grove Sectional on May 27, double its total victories from last season and eclipse its wins in the Greater South Shore Conference.
“Ari’s playing with a lot less pressure, and she’s having fun and she’s enjoying herself,” Whiting coach Kelly Morando said. “This team has a very good team dynamic and camaraderie, and she feeds off of that, and all the girls feed off of that.
“She’s been a great captain. Overall, she just doesn’t have that pressure, and she wants to go out having fun, and it’s showing.”
Sophomore shortstop Lily Morando also noted Vianello’s leadership skills for a team that includes Vianello’s cousin Aliyah, a freshman.
“She really brings a voice to the team,” Lily Morando said. “As one of the captains, you expect that. But it’s more than that, and she really shows it on the field. She tells us not to get in our heads. She’ll be the one still cheering in the dugout even if we’re down by 10. She’s just really a voice for us.”
Vianello isn’t anchored behind the plate. She has seen some time in the outfield this season, and she played mostly at third base as a freshman.
“I can count on her wherever we need her,” Kelly Morando said. “She’s going to track down the ball. She’s going to get the ball in. She’s going to be a solid position for us wherever she’s needed.
“Even this year, she’s flopped between catching and outfield here and there. She gives us some speed in the outfield.”
Vianello prepares for any situation.
“I keep my mind super focused,” she said. “When I go up to bat, I always keep my mechanics on the top of my head. When I’m behind the plate, I’m always thinking. I’m always thinking about what’s coming next.”
What’s coming next for Vianello, who spends the first half of her school days studying cosmetology at the Hammond Area Career Center and works at a salon on the weekends as part of the program, is studying medical diagnostic sonography at IU Indianapolis.
She received inquiries from multiple colleges about the possibility of playing, but she said, “I think I’m done with softball.” She also played basketball and cheered throughout high school. She even played volleyball as a freshman.
As the time remaining on this season dwindles, Vianello, who already was named the softball team’s most valuable player as a sophomore and junior, is determined to continue maximizing it.
“It’s definitely been my best year throughout my entire career of softball,” she said. “Not even just our skill and playing-wise, but just our attitudes and our relationships together.
“As long as we keep our attitudes up and keep working as a team together, we can really accomplish anything.”
