Suburban Life Athlete of the Week: Caitlyn Kulczyski, Willowbrook, softball, senior

Name: Caitlyn Kulczyski

School: Willowbrook, senior

Sport: Softball

Why she was selected: Kulczyski threw a perfect game with 17 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over York. She was voted the Athlete of the Week in an online vote by readers. Here is her interview with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Welge: What do you remember about that perfect game?

Kulczyski: I remember it going by pretty quickly and remember the last batter, realizing I had a perfect game, thinking one more out, one more batter, don’t let her get on base. I knew during the game I was pitching well and if I continued to pitch well it would be a high-strikeout game.

Welge: Have you thrown a perfect game before?

Kulczyski: Yes, I had another perfect game the first game of this season. I also had a no-hitter against Proviso and another one freshman and junior year.

Welge: What was working for you?

Kulczyski: My curveball was working well and my fastball was working well. It felt great knowing that it’s my senior year that I had one of these big accomplishments. A perfect game is not something that’s easy to do.

Welge: You were injured earlier this season. What happened?

Kulczyski: I sprained my ankle in one of my first games playing in the outfield. After that, coming back it was a mental adjustment to get over my injury. It was more of a mental comeback than physical. I knew I was capable physically but mentally I had to get over the injury.

Welge: Did you miss games?

Kulczyski: I did miss a couple games. I was out for a month, but thankfully we had rainouts and I was out for a month but only missed a couple games. It was a lot of time at physical therapy before school or after practice.

Welge: How are you feeling now?

Kulczyski: Now I feel way more confident. I’m hoping to finish up strong. My goal is to get to 100 strikeouts this season and I think I will accomplish that. I want to enjoy the last moments with my teammates and have fun.

Welge: You’re committed to play at Stetson. How did you get connected with them? It seems like a lot of girls around here are playing there.

Kulczyski: Yes, the girl on Addison Trail, we’re travel teammates, we got recruited together. I got recruited to Stetson through a travel tournament, at a showcase in Florida. The coaches happened to be there and I pitched a great game. A couple phone calls had me down on campus and I ended up really liking it.

Welge: What do you plan to study there?

Kulczyski: Applied statistics and mathematics.