Softball: Conant pays tribute to beloved former player, coach Gadomski
Northern Illinois softball commit Ava Falcone of Conant will never forget her first hitting and pitching coach Sammie Gadomski.
In a special game dedicated to the late Gadomski on Wednesday, Falcone had only one thing on her mind when she homered to lead off the bottom of the first, hit the game-winning RBI with a double in the fourth and saved the game in the seventh with a terrific diving catch with a runner on third base to end Conant's 4-3 victory over visiting Schaumburg.
It was all for Sammie, a former Conant pitcher (2014-2017) and junior varsity coach from 2020 to 2023 who died at the age of 25 earlier this year after a courageous battle with brain cancer.
To honor Sammie's legacy, the spring sports at Conant are uniting and each one is competing in a 'Gray Game' (a gray ribbon is used to recognize brain cancer awareness) to continue Gadomski's fight by donating to the National Brain Tumor Society, an organization that meant so much to Sammie.
While playing for former Cougars hall of fame coach CathyAnn Smith and assistant Kelly Wolff, Gadomski wore No. 5 , the same number all the players on the field had on their jerseys Wednesday.
"We realized that this cause was bigger than the game," Falcone said. "It was like we took ourselves out of the game. I was able to put my heart and mind into somebody else and be able to tribute everything I did to Sammie. She was my very first hitting and pitching coach.
"I really wanted to honor everything she did for all the girls here and for all the coaches. I'm super happy everyone came out to support her today."
Gadomski was 12-1 as a sophomore at Conant with a 3.25 ERA. She went on to play at North Central College where she had 56 hits and 31 RBI before becoming a teacher's assistant and junior varsity coach at Conant.
"I was super proud of the turnout we had," said Cougars coach and former Conant standout shortstop Allie Bauch Jay. "I was actually bringing it to the girls' attention of how cool it was to play for this big cause. And how much bigger it was than the game, playing in front of all these people who are supporting an amazing event on a beautiful day and with a great game. I'm just so happy and humbled and proud to be a part of it."
Sammie's parents, Mark and Chris, took the field for the first pitch.
"We hoped to make Sammie proud (everyone wearing her No. 5 on T-shirts),'' Jay added. "She was watching over it and it was just really cool to see all the people who came out for her. And I know Mark and Chris were honored to be here, too."
Falcone's home run gave the Cougars a quick start and they added another run in the second when Maddie Ryan's bunt scored Jay Kloss from third base for a 2-0 lead.
Schaumburg scored 3 runs to take the lead in the fourth with consecutive one-out RBI from Madyson Meyer (single to center), Victoria Villegas (single to center) and Madison Linneman (sacrifice fly to left).
Conant answered in the bottom of the fourth with the decisive 2 runs as Kloss scored on an error and Falcone doubled down the left-field line to score Maddie Ryan to make it 4-3.
Falcone could not stop thinking about Sammie.
"It was really amazing to have her back in the program as a coach," Falcone added. "It's truly tragic that she passed but it was nice to be here today and honor her."
Freshman Payton Kee, who singled in the second when Holly Bartys led off with a double to right, got the win for Conant (5-4, 2-2), throwing the first five innings while junior Dani Gemmell struck out the side in the sixth and finished with 4 strikeouts.
Arizona State-bound Taylor Dolecki (2-for-4, RBI) singled in the seventh and went to third on an error before Falcone robbed Alexa Evans with her diving catch.
"Ava is our spark," Jay said of the lefty leadoff batter. "She is a big leader for us. I'm excited to see her doing well. She has been awesome for us. I'm super proud of the girls. They fought. It was a close game the whole way and that's what you want."
Villegas also had 2 hits for Schaumburg (4-7, 1-4), going 2-for-3 with an RBI from the No. 9 spot.
"At the end of the day the game could have gone either way," said Saxons coach Ellen Abreu. "But the big picture was that it was a day for Sammie. I still remember her nasty changeup when I coached against her. She was a good kid. Her coaches always talked great things about her. Today was for Sammie."