By CHRISTOPHER TREMBLAY, Staff Sports Writer

Usually, it takes a few years for an athlete to grace the field of their particular high school sport, but that was not the case for Oxford’s Kyra Krasinskas. As an eighth grader she was the Pirates’ number one pitcher for Coach Jamie Hetherman and as a freshman she was named a captain for the team.

Krasinskas got the position as an eighth grader when the squad’s number top pitcher didn’t play that season, but the young pitcher went out and did her job getting Oxford into the post-season.

“She got us into the playoffs as an eighth grader pitching varsity ball that’s all you could ask of her,” the Oxford coach said. “We lost to Blackstone-Millville in the first round, but Krya helped the team get to that point.”

This past season as a freshman captain, the Pirates had their top pitcher back, so Krasinskas only pitched a handful of times for Oxford, while playing the remainder of the games at either short or third base. 

“The girl who didn’t play last year came back to the team for her senior year. She’s a great pitcher so we went with her,” Hetherman said. “I usually like to only go with one pitcher throughout the year, so she got the majority of the starts. Krya got a few starts and one game in relief but will be back to pitching next spring.”

This past season Oxford went 13-7, earning itself a 24 seed in the Division 5 State Tournament where the Pirates made it to the Round of 16 before getting knocked out.

As a young girl her father had her try out for the town softball league along with some other sports to find out in what she was interested. After participating in basketball and dance, she came to the conclusion that they enjoyed softball much more. Krasinskas now also plays field hockey for the high school as well as softball.

“That first year was a little scary,” Krasinskas said. “As an eighth grader I wasn’t expected to make the team never mind become the number one pitcher going up against juniors and seniors.”

Coming into her freshman season with Oxford and being named a captain put even more pressure on the young athlete. 

“To be named a captain as a freshman definitely feels really good, it was not expected,” she said. “Some of the older girls seemed a little upset as that honor is usually given to them, but if Coach Hetherman thought that I deserved it then I’ve got to believe in his decision.”

Having the team’s ace back in the fold this season Krasinskas was fine with playing the infield while only getting a chance to pitch here and there, but in the long run the now sophomore would much rather be in the circle.

“I’d rather be pitching as it puts all the pressure on my shoulders,” she said. “I then have to go out and give it my best, but I always have my team behind me to bail me out if needed.”

During her freshman campaign Krasinskas suffered a left leg injury and found herself on the bench for six or seven games. Although she was at every game to cheer her team on she said she would have much rather been on the field, especially against the good teams to help her team out.

As her healing process got closer to allowing her back onto the field the young athlete was pessimistic about being able to come back and play at a top level.

“I really didn’t think that I’d be the same when I came back, would my mindset be the same? When I did come back I was really rough around the edges, but I knew that I was a captain and still had a job to do to keep this team rolling,” she said “Coaches Hetherman and Gomes were great and helped me progress through things. They were the ones that picked me up and made me feel comfortable on the field when I returned after my injury.”

As she grew up playing softball for the town Krasinskas eventually turned to a travel team and this past October she moved up to the Marucci Patriots, another travel team that would provide higher potential for the young softballer’s career.

As the team’s number five hitter in the lineup Krasinskas believes in her hitting ability.

“Growing up I always seemed to be a little stronger than the other girls when it came to hitting,” she said. “As a five hitter you typically have power and I believe that I hit around .500 this past season.”

In addition to Krasinskas only being a sophomore, the Oxford softball team seems to be on the younger side and will only have two seniors on the roster come next spring, but that leaves the future wide open.

“We had some hard losses this past year, but with a lot of freshman and sophomores getting that experience we should me much better next year,” Krasinskas said. “I’m looking for this team to go further than the Round of 16 over the next three years. We’re a young team with a lot to prove.”

As for herself, Krasinskas wants to improve her game over that time while helping the team grow and improve. She would also very much like to get more people involved in coming to their games to support them.

“Softball is one of the lower sports at Oxford High School,” she said. “I’d like to change that and get people to come and cheer us on as we get better and hopefully go further.”

Although it is still years away, Krasinskas would love to eventually play softball on the collegiate level. In the meantime, she is taking pitching and hitting classes to not only increase her chances of playing after high school, but also to help her Pirate teammates over the next three seasons.