St. Charles North's Howlett enjoys monster senior season
When asked what she likes most about the sport she's so good at, St. Charles North senior Abby Howlett paused and then said that while many think of softball as an individual sport, it's a team game.
Howlett called her North Stars teammates her sisters, and she's proven what a team sport it is with her actions this spring.
A 3-year starter at first base who broke into the lineup as a middle-of-the-order hitter as a freshman and put together back-to-back All-Area seasons after that, Howlett could be found this year out in right field.
How does that happen to a future Division I player?
"I knew we didn't have many outfielders this year so I went to my coach and said, 'If you need me to play outfield I'm your girl,'" Howlett said. "You can stick me out there and I will do what I can."
One of Howlett's best friends, Kaitlyn Waslawski, also a senior who started in the infield her first three years, moved to the outfield this year as well. Joined by Jordyn Wolfe, the North Stars suddenly had three Division I players in their outfield, part of the reason behind a 29-6 season that included regional and sectional championships.
Howlett, this year's Captain of the Tri-Cities All-Area Softball Team, led the way with an area-best .526 batting average and 57 RBI, putting up monster numbers that included 60 hits, 15 doubles, 7 home runs, 42 runs, an .867 slugging percentage, .585 on-base percentage and 1.452 OPS.
"Abby has had an incredible season," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "She has been as consistent as it gets with her approach to each day as a senior captain and leader within the program. On the field, the numbers tell the story - she has performed at a very high level at the plate and in the outfield defensively. We have had some very productive players over the years and Abby is up there with the most productive."
In fact, Howlett set single season records for hits, batting average and RBI. The records were previously held by Taylor Russell with 57 hits, a .519 average and 49 RBI in 2011.
Howlett leaves St. Charles North with 152 career RBI, 43 doubles, 14 home runs and a .411 batting average. She hit .482 over her final three seasons.
Poulin certainly appreciated Howlett's gesture to move off first base, and he wasn't surprised by it.
"She really showed her athletic ability and versatility by playing right field for us after playing first base her first three years," Poulin said. "She has played the outfield for her travel team, but filled a need for us at first and then was able to move out to right this season. She is the type of player who has the ability to play almost anywhere because of her athleticism as well as her understanding of the game."
Howlett, who has lived in St. Charles since moving from Naperville when she was 3, is the middle child to Mike and Jenny. Her parents both went to Schaumburg High School, Mike playing football, basketball and baseball and a year of football at Western Illinois, and Jenny playing volleyball and soccer.
Abby's older sister Emily is a junior at Elmhurst College and her younger brother Nick will be in seventh grader at Haines, a sports junkie like Abby.
It's a tight-nit family and one of the main reasons Abby selected Northern Illinois University to play college softball over the likes of Drake and Butler.
"The coaches are amazing there," said Howlett, who wants to major in history and teach it in high school while also studying special education.
"Coach (Christina) Sutcliffe is super nice. There are other girls in the Wasco program who have gone there and really enjoyed their experience there. Being close to home because I'm really tight with my family, I didn't want to be too far away from them. My dad and aunt both went to Northern as well. It is kind of in the blood."
Sports also have been in Howlett's blood - she said she's been playing them "since I can remember."
"T-ball, little kids soccer, I had a foot in the door in everything," Howlett said. "During 10U season of travel softball I also played travel soccer and my parents were like you kind of have to pick which one I liked better and I chose softball and I've been focusing on softball ever since."
Howlett said her travel season with the Wasco Diamonds involves playing "hundreds" of games. They play spring, summer, fall and some winter tournaments. It has taken her all over the country - Colorado is her favorite spot so far - with trips coming up this summer to Oklahoma City, Kansas City and South Carolina.
It's an intense schedule but Howlett wouldn't have it any other way.
"There really is no off-season, we are constantly playing and practicing," Howlett said. "I never get tired of it. If you don't love it there's really no point playing especially after all the time you have spent putting into it, practicing plus working out plus extra hitting lessons."
What exactly is it that Howlett loves about the sport?
"I love that it may seem like an individual sport, it really is a big team sport and I love being able to separate the defense from the offense in that if you are having a rough game in one of those you can make it up in the field or at the plate," Howlett said. "The way it teaches you to be mentally tough because that's one thing I have really learned along the way to be tough in my head and not let the game get to me and not let mistakes affect me."
Howlett needed that mental toughness right off the bat, a freshman hitting fifth for a program that graduated basically every player except Sabrina Rabin off the 2011 Class 4A state runner-up squad.
She said one of her favorite memories came that season when the North Stars beat their rival St. Charles East in 14 innings.
"It (transitioning to high school softball) went pretty well for me because I knew quite a few of the girls as a freshman," Howlett said. "Kaitlyn (Waslawski), I have been playing with her forever. Knowing those girls ahead of time made the transition easy. And also playing for Wasco and playing at such a high level, the competition wasn't overwhelming for me because I am used to playing at that level."
Howlett broke out during her sophomore year, hitting .510 with 2 home runs and 39 RBI. As a junior she batted .407 with 11 doubles, 4 home runs and drove in 41 runs.
"Throughout my 4 years I feel I have become a more versatile player," Howlett said. "In the batter's box just being confident and calm. I learned I can't let the pitcher get into my head. When they get into my head that's when my hitting becomes a little off. I've learned to relax and the only one who can beat me in the box is myself."
Howlett enjoyed her best season yet as a senior, not just with her numbers at the plate but the team's success on the field. After beating Bartlett to win the regional championship, the North Stars knocked off Rolling Meadows and No. 1 seed Schaumburg - her parents' alma mater - to win a sectional crown before losing to Oak Park-River Forest in the supersectional.
"There's been a lot of great memories," Howlett said. "I'm really proud of my team for making it to the supersectional. That's the farthest we've got. The whole team deserves it and has been playing great."
When she's not playing softball, Howlett said she enjoys reading - the Harry Potter series and John Green among her favorites.
"I like to read a lot, I'm a big book nerd," Howlett said. "I really like the Harry Potter series, I read those in a month."
She's as good of a student as a softball player, finishing in the top 5 percent of her senior class.
She's certainly going to be missed.
"We have been so fortunate to have had Abby for the 4 years she has been with the varsity," Poulin said. "She has grown so much as a leader and is really the epitome of a captain. She remains positive and conducts herself as well as anybody we've had here. She excels on the field and in the classroom. Much like all of our seniors, you can't ask for a better role model within the program than Abby. Her impact will be felt for years to come as our future captains will have learned a lot from her these last few seasons."