Cygan fires away for Fillies

Following in the footsteps of Claire Voris might not seem like one of the easiest situations.

Voris graduated last spring as one of the finest pitchers in Barrington softball history.

Next in line would be Kim Cygan, a varsity third baseman as a sophomore.

More Coverage Links The Northwest all-area team

Talk about pressure.

Cygan loves the subject.

"I thrive on it," said the Barrington junior ace, who came through with flying colors and is the Cook County honorary captain of the Daily Herald's 2008 All-Area softball team.

"Pressure is my favorite part of the game. When I know I have to get something done, I dig down deep and push myself to do it."

Cygan's right arm and bat helped push the Fillies to a record 11th Mid-Suburban League championship this spring and to a fifth consecutive trip to the state finals in East Peoria.

"I remember looking up to pitchers like Samantha Deevy (a former pitching coach of hers) and other older ones at Barrington," said Cygan, who attended St. Anne School in Barrington from kindergarten to eighth grade. "I never thought that would be me one day."

But the honors student, who stopped playing basketball and volleyball after her freshman year to concentrate on softball, has followed the lead of the past standout pitchers perfectly.

Cygan became the fourth pitcher in five years (Abby Reed, Kathleen Duffy and Voris) to lead the Fillies to the Elite Eight.

"Kim learned to handle the pressure real well this season," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. "Her teammates have depended on her and she has come through in a superior way."

Cygan is 29-6 this spring with 12 shutouts, 224 strikeouts and 33 walks in 226 innings. She hit .517 in the month of May, collecting 15 hits in 29 at bats.

Dave Cygan signed up his daughter for T-ball at the age of 6, and he coached her throughout her career.

Kim participated in several other sports, including volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming and tennis.

But she always loved softball the best.

"Kim's passion for this sport is mind-boggling," Peterson said. "She will do whatever it takes constantly to improve her game and perform to the best of her capabilities."

She is the same way in the classroom.

The National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society member recorded a 32 on her ACT and owns a 4.34 GPA while ranking in the top five of her class.

She enjoys the field of science and plans to study law or medicine in college and also play softball.

She passes a lot of credit for her pitching success to senior receiver Devinne Wapotish.

Cygan and Wapotish were called up to the varsity together two years ago.

"Devinne has helped me a lot," Cygan said. "We both wanted this season to be a special one, so we've pushed each other to be the best that we can be."

Her father and Peterson have also helped in those areas.

"My father (played tennis at St. Patrick High School in Chicago) has worked with me my whole life," Kim said. "He knows what to say to me when I'm down and how to encourage me.

"Coach 'P' has been awesome. I've learned so much from him. He's such a great leader and does such a great job motivating us."

Cygan began pitching at the age of 11.

"I just saw the girls in the house league pitching, and I thought it looked like fun," Kim said. "It was something I thought I'd like to try and my dad and our other coach gave me a try. I fell in love with it."

Cygan feels the experience playing third base last spring helped make her a better fielding pitcher this spring.

"There were a lot of balls hit back to the mound that I might have had trouble with had I not played at third all last year," said Cygan, who on Monday made an outstanding grab of line drive hit right back at her by Crystal Lake South cleanup hitter Becky Yaworski.

What she likes most on the mound is getting strikeouts and helping her team win.

"Being a pitcher means you always have to be at your best," Cygan said. "Your teammates can pick you up, but you always have to keep your control and composure. If you lose those things, then everyone else will follow suit."

Cygan has made the Fillies follow the same path as the past five years -- to the state final in East Peoria.