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As the evening of May 25 drew to a close, the Spanish Fork girls softball team faced a long road. A disappointing 3-2 loss to Mountain Crest meant that the Dons would have to win five straight games in two days against the best competition in Class 4A.

The player that would have to shoulder the biggest load was junior pitcher Kailey Christensen. At 6-feet tall, the talented athlete had the size and strength to take on the challenge but it was still a daunting task to pitch inning after inning, game after game.

With her team backing her up every step of the way, Christensen guided her squad to victory after victory until Spanish Fork stood alone as 4A state champions.

As impressive as that run was, Christensen also displayed talent, character and a drive to succeed throughout the season. For this, the Daily Herald is pleased to name her the 2011 Utah Valley Softball Player of the Year.

“I’m so proud,” Christensen said. “It’s an honor that all my hard work paid off. There are days you don’t want to go to practice but you have to work hard anyway and that pays off.”

The junior was quick to point out that she was surrounded by a number of incredible players and that was what set her up to be successful.

“It was all about my team and all the help they provided behind me,” Christensen said. “I couldn’t do what I did without them scoring runs and playing defense.”

Probably the most important relationship for Christensen was the one she developed with senior catcher Lyndsey Healey.

“Lyndsey Healey really helped,” said Don head coach Don Andrews. “She is a very good catcher. You couldn’t ask for a catcher to handle a pitcher any better.”

Healey said that Christensen was always coming to her in the off-season, wanting to go throw in the gym. After some rocky moments early in the year, things started falling into place as the season progressed.

“I think it clicked in the second game against Uintah,” Healey recalled. “When Andrews would call the pitches and something happened, sometimes she would shut down. In that game, Andrews had me start calling the pitches and she was more relaxed from then on. Often we both feel what pitch to call.”

The connection that developed between the pair was important to both players and to the team. The emotion Christensen felt was evident as she talked about her friend and teammate.

“She makes me look really good,” the junior pitcher said. “The iffy balls, she frames them perfectly, and she doesn’t let the ball get past her. If I walk someone, she’s going to throw them out. She always believed in me and she’s leaving big shoes to fill. I can’t imagining having another relationship like I have with her.”

The way Healey and Christensen worked together highlighted the growth of the junior as she continues to improve.

“She’s always had the physical stuff,” Andrews said. “Her biggest growth has been mentally. She learned that it could take her out of the game and when she realized that, she’s grown in leaps and bounds. Those are demons everyone has to conquer.”

Andrews said that Christensen’s drive to improve played a big part in helping her continue to excel.

“She’s got great mastery of her pitches and once she masters the rest of them she will really be a force,” the Spanish Fork coach said. “She’ll do it with her work ethic.”

Christensen said she has been pitching since she was 10 when her uncle Kurt Christensen started working with her. It’s a challenging job and one that she has developed a passion for.

“You get a lot of recognition as a pitcher but it’s also stressful,” she said. “The game could either way depending on how well you do. I’ve never regretted being a pitcher; after the last tourney, how could you have any regrets?”

The 2011 4A state tournament provided the highlight moment for both Christensen and the rest of the Dons.

“It was tiring, inning after inning,” Healey said. “It was like we were playing forever but we just had to push through. We feared it would be like last year, when we lost to Tooele for the title. No matter what, though, we were going to get it done. We said we were just going to go win it and we did.”

Andrews said that he started to be a believer as the games progressed.

“We kept battling and to see Brooke Cramer out there diving, lifting the team,” he recalled. “They all did really well and a pitcher sees that. Christensen used it to find that extra energy. It was really rewarding to sit back and watch the fruits of our labor. I basically stayed out of it so it was nice to go along for the ride.”

Now that the high school softball season is over, Christensen is back to playing for her club squad as well as doing other thing she enjoys like showing steers at stock shows, four-wheeling, doing things with her family and playing volleyball.

With another year at Spanish Fork in front of her, however, Christensen is looking forward to one more season with the Dons.

“There will be some different teams but it’s exciting to know I’ll have another chance,” she said. “We’re going to have to work hard all year to get it. Just because we are going down to Class 3A doesn’t mean it’s going to be easier.”

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