Breanna Cahue is in her first varsity season for St. Laurence, and so far, so good.
Cahue, who made the jump from the freshman team, is learning fast about what it takes to win.
And win is what the sophomore pitcher has been doing, according to coach Teagan Walsh.
“After her freshman coach talked highly about her work ethic, Bre got the call after tryouts,” Walsh said. “Getting to see her in the offseason, we decided to call her up. She’s been solid ever since.”
Cahue was rock solid Tuesday afternoon, striking out three for the host Vikings in a 6-5 victory over GCAC Red leader Providence at MacArthur Park in Burbank.
After giving up three runs in a rain-interrupted first inning, Cahue shut the door until the seventh for the Vikings (10-6, 6-3). She escaped with the tying run on first as the Celtics scored twice on three straight hits.
“I was just trying to throw strikes,” Cahue said. “I was just trying to get out of that inning and just produce a win, not only for myself, but for the team.”
Senior center fielder Grace Golembiowski singled and scored twice for Providence (13-4, 7-2). UMass-bound senior second baseman Sophia Thormeyer singled twice and added an RBI double.
Meanwhile, although it’s been a quick road to the big time for Cahue (4-2), she believes it’s further proof there’s no substitute for grinding.
“I just put in the work,” she said. “I practiced as much as I could to make the changes that I have.”
Senior catcher Norah Burke has been there the entire way, and Tuesday was just another example to her of a player on the rise.
“I’m very proud of her,” Burke said of Cahue. “She’s only a sophomore and in her first year on varsity. I think that she’s done a great job so far.
“I think she had a straight face up there the whole time. I try to make her smile, and she does smile, but she gets through it.”
A relative newcomer, Cahue has plenty of people to emulate in Burke and junior third baseman Jordan Ogean, who made a key play in the seventh by cutting down the potential tying run at second base with one out.
Cahue retired the final two hitters on flyouts. She then spent time giving props to those who helped her get where she is now, including her cousin, Sophia Sanchez, who graduated last year.
“I look up to everyone on the team,” Cahue said. “But mostly the upperclassmen because they show they can be leader and they can lead the team even if we’re down.”
In Cahue, Ogean sees a budding star, as evidenced by Tuesday’s performance.
“Her spots were pretty much there,” Ogean said. “Every time she threw a screwball it was basically the same place by the hitters, so it was kind of predictable where she was going to go.”
Walsh thinks so, too.
“Bre is so mentally there, it’s awesome,” she said. “She doesn’t really get fazed. I think it’s a part of her being locked in and in the zone at all times.
“With her being young, a lot of it is being used to the varsity level, but she’s doing that really, really well.”
Still only a sophomore, Cahue has big softball aspirations. She wants to play in college, as long as the program she enters aligns with her planned major, which could be sports medicine or nursing.
“For college, I sort of want to go to an environment that feels nice, where I’m at peace,” she said.
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
