Krista Waldusky learned years ago that she wasn’t born to pitch.
But the Neuqua Valley senior can look back at that discovery and smile.
“I started off, and I just wasn’t that good at pitching,” Waldusky said. “I walked three girls, and I was like, ‘Oh god, I cannot do this. I’m done. I quit.’ I just didn’t have the mentality for it.”
For Waldusky, catching is a much different story. She said she moved behind the plate as an 8-year-old, and she enrolled in catching lessons a year later.
“My dad had played baseball, and he was a catcher,” Waldusky said. “He was like, ‘I know it seems boring, but trust me, you’re gonna love it,’ and then it just kind of took off from there.
“It’s not like the most flashy position, but you’re involved in every play. You’re the captain of the field. You have a different viewpoint that nobody else has, and I think that’s something that’s really valuable.”
Waldusky has proved to be invaluable for Neuqua Valley (3-5, 1-0), which won its DuPage Valley Conference opener against Naperville Central on Thursday. Offensively, she was hitting .391 with seven RBIs through eight games after batting .308 with 23 RBIs last season. But she showed signs of being a leader early in her three-year varsity career.
“We all knew right away,” Neuqua Valley coach Danielle Asquini said. “Krista isn’t the quietest one out of the bunch. She’s very enthusiastic and energetic.
“The position that she plays requires her to be vocal and, for lack of a better word, bossing around her defense. But she does that with such ease. No one feels it as an order. It’s more of a helpful and supportive way for her to lead our team.”
Waldusky will use a soft touch if that’s needed.
“She’s been my rock through it all,” Neuqua Valley senior pitcher Ava Drehs said. “If I pitch a mispitch, she’ll be like, ‘Hey, it’s OK, you got it.’ And if I pitch a great pitch, she’ll be like, ‘Great pitch, Ava.’
“She’s very vocal and reassuring, which is helpful to know someone is going through it with me.”
Outside the chalk, Waldusky can walk the tightrope too. She’s a standout student, and her playful side shines through at events like the team’s Meet the Wildcats night, when Waldusky commanded the spotlight by doing the worm — executed beautifully, according to her.
Waldusky, the youngest of four children, comes from an athletic family and said she has received unending support from her parents, Tim and Michelle. Her older sister is a former cheerleader, and her two older brothers swam and played ice hockey, respectively, at Neuqua Valley and in college. Their success actually steered Waldusky away from those sports.
“I played every sport imaginable,” she said. “I tried swimming, dance, hockey, volleyball, soccer, everything. But I wanted something that was different from my siblings. So I didn’t want to swim, I didn’t want to play hockey and I didn’t want to be a cheerleader. Those were the three things off my list immediately.”
Waldusky did learn some things from her brothers, though.
“Watching both of my brothers sacrifice so much to achieve their dreams put in that expectation for me,” she said. “If I wanted to play college softball, then I had to sacrifice a lot. They were skipping out on parties, football games and stuff like that. But it all wound up working out.
“So I know that when I’m sacrificing those things, it will eventually pay off.”
Playing in college will fulfill a longtime dream for Waldusky.
“I knew I wanted to play softball and take it very seriously,” she said. “For the past four years, it’s been that constant grind of wake up, go to school, go to practice, come home, work out, sleep. All of that is paying off.”
Sam Brief is a freelance reporter.
