A change of plans works for Nikoletich
Callie Nikoletich wasn’t going to play softball this season. She was burned out on the sport, there was too much drama on the team, her back ached and her grades suffered.
For seven months, she didn’t play. Then came February. After a month-long full-court press by teammates, coaches and boosters to try to coax her back, Nikoletich relented.
She returned to Long Beach Wilson’s softball program and has been the center of its revival 14 years after the Bruins last won a Moore League title.
“I didn’t want to pursue my life and regret that I never finished my high school years without playing,” said Nikoletich, who will attend community college in the fall. “I was trying to see if I could find that love of softball again.”
She has, and it has helped the Bruins live one of the feel-good stories of the season. Now ranked No. 9 in the Southland by The Times, they were entered as an afterthought into a major national tournament, during which they defeated Garden Grove Pacifica and Lake Forest El Toro.
Last week, Wilson scored 1-0 victories over La Palma Kennedy and No. 11 Anaheim Canyon in the Michelle Carew Classic. Nikoletich pitched a two-hitter and struck out 12 against Canyon in the third-place game. A year ago in that tournament, Wilson lost to Kennedy, 2-1, and to Canyon, 7-0.
Nikoletich’s return kept intact a group of six seniors who arrived on campus together, in particular her, Marti Reed and Emily Buika, who have been on the varsity for four seasons.
Marti Reed’s mother, Marcia, was the most influential person in Nikoletich’s return.
“I said, ‘When you become a parent one day, you’re going to be looking through your scrapbook . . . and your child will ask why you didn’t play your senior year,’ ” Marcia Reed recalled. “I said, ‘Callie, you do not want any regrets.’ ”
Wilson had not won more than 15 games in any of the last three years but was 13-5 going into Tuesday’s game against Compton, with nine left before the playoffs. On Friday, the Bruins play host to an intersectional doubleheader against No. 6 San Pedro at 2 p.m.
Part of the success is because of Reed, who has batted .466 with 22 runs and 13 runs batted in, and juniors Jessica O’Donnell (.460, 16 runs, 15 RBIs) and Megan Guzman (.429, 13 runs, seven RBIs).
But softball is a pitcher’s game, so Nikoletich (10-2) has been at the hub of the comeback. Though her earned-run average is high at 2.35, she is 5-2 against seven opponents ranked in StudentSports.com’s preseason Fab 50 national ranking.
“The defining moment for her came on Friday,” said Coach Tim Rother, who, as an assistant last season, had a falling out with then-coach Frank Donahue, creating some of the friction that added to Nikoletich’s frustration.
“Last year, they lost to Kennedy, 2-1, and that’s always been Wilson’s problem, it could never score enough runs. She has always pitched really well.”
The one run that wasn’t enough a year earlier was enough to win this time. Intently focused, she pitched a four-hitter, walked four and struck out seven.
Before its Carew Classic success, Wilson was upset by Long Beach Poly, 2-0, in a Moore League game. Regardless of how the league race turns out, the Bruins are eyeing the program’s first Southern Section championship.
Nikoletich missed last year’s playoffs because she was ruled academically ineligible toward the end of the season.
“I got a little lazy in the classroom,” she said. “When they needed me most, I wasn’t there for them.
“I’m glad I came back. I’m still a little out of shape, but I’m getting there. I’ll be there by the time playoffs roll around.”
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