20
THE PRESS
APRIL 24, 2017
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Oak Harbor softball coach Chris Rawski with the three All-Ohio girls he coached.
From left to right, two current Oak Harbor players, catcher Maddie Rathburn and
pitcher Ashley Riley, Rawski, and 2004 All-Ohio pitcher Shana Szypka from when
Rawski was an assistant at Genoa. Szypka who is now one of Rawski's assistants at
Oak Harbor. (Press photo by Harold Hamilton/HEHphotos.smugmug.com)
Chris Rawski credits players,
coaches for his 100th victory
By Yaneek Smith
Press Contributing Writer
[email protected]
Milestones are symbolic of the achievements attained throughout a journey, and
Chris Rawski’s 101 victories at Oak Harbor
are a telling sign of just how far the program
has come during his six years at the helm.
He was rewarded with a surprise celebration just days after notching his 100th
win following a 15-3 mercy-ruled five
inning victory over Margaretta, which,
oddly enough, was the first team the
Rockets beat during their coach’s inaugural
season in 2012.
That win helped Oak Harbor improve
to 10-1 and 4-0 in the Sandusky Bay
Conference Bay Division as top players
Ashley Riley, Emma Bergman, Maddy
Rathbun, Kaytlynn Sandwisch, Emily
Lenke and Seree Petersen contributed. The
Rockets went 4-1 during a spring break trip
to Florida and has non-league victories over
Genoa and Lake in addition to its SBC wins.
Rawski (101-54, .651 winning percentage), still recalls the first team he coached
and what those players did to build the
foundation for a resurgence.
“Our kids from the first team laid the
foundation and went through the lumps so
these players could have this opportunity,”
said Rawski. “Our current players appreciate that and our former players appreciate
how they’re playing.”
When Rawski took over, it was a program that had fallen on hard times. He
immediately brought a new mindset that’s
helped the program reach one of its highest
points.
His first two years saw the Rockets go
9-19 and 19-9 while winning one game in
the tournament each time. That was followed by an 18-win season that saw Oak
Harbor advance to the district semifinals
and the next year featured another 18 wins
and a spot in the district finals.
Arguably, the best season in the program’s history came last year when the
Rockets went 27-3 and missed out on winning the SBC title by just one game and a
district championship by a single run. Oak
Harbor lost, 1-0, in the district finals last
year to Maumee.
Sam Durivage, who was Rawski’s first
pitcher and one of the team’s best players
during his first two seasons, hit a two-run
homer and held Margaretta to three runs
in a 4-3 win over the Polar Bears five years
ago that gave her coach his first victory
after the Rockets had started 0-7. She’ll
never forget what it was like playing for
Rawski and how things changed.
“It was a little intimidating going from
having a little more fun and laid-back practices to one where we were going to work
(to) get the job done,” said Durivage, who
is now an assistant with the junior varsity
team. “Every game, we wanted to go out
there and win. We always gave it our all.
“It’s awesome to see where the program is. It’s great to see the kids we trained
at softball camps playing so well. It’s a
great feeling to know the hard work we put
in has helped through the years.”
Durivage, who was a leader on those
teams, admits she wasn’t the only one
who played a key role. Theresa Stokes,
Justine Webb, Rebecca Florio, Sydney
Street, Maggie Tyburski and Allison Dunn
all worked to lift the Rockets to 28 wins in
Rawski’s first two years.
In the following years, players like
Bergman, Rathbun, Riley, Petersen, Olivia
Rollins, Brandy Lochotzki, Taylor Weborg,
Emma Vidal, Tessa Tyburski and Chrislyn
Stevenson helped the program continue to
climb the ladder.
Marquee wins
Of course, there were the marquee
wins, like the 1-0 victory over perennial
power Edison in 2013, arguably the program’s first major win during Rawski’s tenure; the victory one year later over a 25-win
New Riegel club; the win over Edison last
season that handed the Chargers their only
conference loss; and the two dramatic tournament wins in 2015 that saw Oak Harbor
rally to defeat Willard, 2-1, in 12 innings
to win a sectional title before upsetting top
seed Upper Sandusky, 3-1, in the district
semifinals.
There were also the near misses — the
three close tournament losses the Rockets
have suffered, a sign of just how close
they’ve come to advancing even farther in
the postseason on a number of occasions.
Tom Kontak, who previously coached
Genoa softball and basketball teams with
Rawski as his assistant, took the Comets
to the state final four in 2006 behind the
pitching of Shana Scharer (Szypka), who is
Rawski’s pitching coach. Another key player from that team, Kelly Decker (Traver), is
also an assistant with the club, as are Andy
Szypka, Steve Decker and George Bergman.
Kontak knew then about Rawski’s coaching
attributes.
“Chris is a tireless worker. He understands the importance of building a true
player-coach relationship of trust,” Kontak
said. “He’s tough and demanding, yet very
fair. That’s why his players love him so
much — he believes in them and they trust
him to lead them.
“The passion that goes with representing your school, winning consistently at a
high level and the experiences to teach life
lessons, Chris gets that. He is a wonderful
role model, father, husband, teacher and
coach.”
Rawski has also developed a connection with the Oak Harbor community during his time six years building the program.
“We have tremendous community
support. The volunteer hours the youth
coaches have put in has been so important,” Rawski said. “When I came to Oak
Harbor, I knew their wrestling program
was so successful. I wanted to do this as
close to the wrestling program. I’ve got a
model with me in the dugout with George
Bergman. Tom Kontak did that for me as
well. I’m always seeking advice from him
and have learned so much from him.”
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