OP_020620

38 | February 6, 2020 | the orland Park Prairie sports
OPPrairiedaily.com
Gardner still stands tall as she heads to Loyola’s Hall
2
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
Brittany Gardner remembers
her first foray
into the world of softball
pitching.
“I started playing softball
in second grade and
started pitching in fourth
grade in the OYA,” Gardner
said of her start in the
Orland Youth Association.
“I wasn’t very good at it.
“But my dad [Paul
Gardner] said, ‘No, you’re
tall; you can be a good
pitcher.’ So I started working
with Skip Ball, and he
turned me into the pitcher
that I became in college.”
The pitcher she became
in college had a Hall of
Fame career.
An All-State standout
pitcher at Sandburg,
Gardner graduated in
2010, went on to have an
amazing college career at
Loyola University. She
will be one of three individuals
inducted into the
Loyola University Chicago
Athletics Hall of Fame
on Feb. 15 and recognized
at halftime of the Ramblers’
men’s basketball
game versus University of
Northern Iowa at 7 p.m.
that evening.
“I’m very lucky, and it’s
this week in
SANDBURG VARSITY
ATHLETICS
BOYS BASKETBALL
■Feb. ■ 7 – hosts Lincoln-
Way East, 6 p.m.
WRESTLING
■Feb. ■ 8 – IHSA individual
regionals, TBA
GIRLS BASKETBALL
■Feb. ■ 6 – hosts
Bolingbrook, 6 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 11 – hosts Lincoln-
quite an honor,” Gardner
said. “I didn’t think I’d be
recognized this soon. I’m
grateful for my family and
my teammates. I wouldn’t
be here without them.”
The other two inductees
are Frank Busch (1969-
1973) in swimming/water
polo and Armando Favela
(2005-2009) in men’s
golf.
Gardner’s Hall of Fame
bio reads, “Arguably the
greatest pitcher ever to
wear the maroon and gold,
Gardner was a two-time
league Pitcher of the Year
honoree and was a twotime
National Fastpitch
Coaches Association All-
Region selection.
“The left-hander burst
onto the scene in 2011,
earning Horizon League
Newcomer of the Year
accolades to become the
first Rambler to capture
that honor since Ellen
Antonacci in 1995. A
three-time First Team All-
Horizon League pick and
a 2014 First Team All-
Missouri Valley Conference
selection, Gardner
was named MVC Pitcher
of the Year as a senior.
Off the field, she was an
accomplished student and
was a member of Loyola’s
Way East, 6 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 13 – hosts Thornton
Fractional South, 6 p.m.
GIRLS BOWLING
■Feb. ■ 8 - IHSA Regionals,
TBA
CHEERLEADING
■Feb. ■ 7-8 – IHSA State
meet, TBA
GIRLS GYMNASTICS (Co-op
team based at Andrew)
■Feb. ■ 10-13 - IHSA
sectionals, TBA
prestigious Maroon &
Gold Society in 2013-14.”
Some saw her potential
right away.
“When I got to Loyola,
I met with my coach,”
Gardner said of then-head
coach Missy Beseres.
“She told me I was going
to break all the school records.”
Gardner broke quite a
few and still holds a trio
of them: 67 victories, 753
strikeouts and 751 2/3 innings
pitched.
As the primary pitcher
at Sandburg from 2008-
2010, Gardner split time
as a senior but pitched
all the state tournament
games including a 2-1 win
over Fremd in the final, as
the Eagles captured their
only Class 4A softball
state championship. Sandburg
went 40-2 that year,
becoming one of just seven
teams in state history
that have won 40 games in
a season.
“Brittany Gardner had
[20] of our wins in 2010,
Lora Olson [18] and Jori
Born [2] had the other 20,”
Sandburg coach Jim Fabianski
said. “Brit pitched
in many of the games that
Lora pitched in, and vice
versa. For the beginning
part of the season, most
of our games were split by
the two of them. Moving
the pitching rubber back
to 43 feet, which happened
during Brit’s tenure
at Sandburg, actually enhanced
the movement on
her pitches, and she benefited
from the distance
change quite a bit.
“It was clear that when
preseason workouts began
for the 2010 season, Brit
had one goal in mind: to
leave her legacy as a state
champion. I am in awe of
her resilience and humility.
Brittany never made
the game about her. Her
postgame comments were
always about the great
performances of her teammates.
A couple of years
ago, she volunteered her
time to come in and work
with our pitchers.
“We were so grateful
and honored to have had
her teach our pitchers.
I am a better person for
having known her and her
parents, who were and are
so supportive of both their
daughter and our program.”
Gardner was quick to
point out her top influence.
“Coach Fabianski is my
favorite coach I ever had,”
Gardner said. “He made it
all about the team culture.
Every single person there
had a job and helped us
win.”
Gardner works at
UCAN Academy, a private
therapeutic day
school on the South Side
of Chicago for students
with emotional and behavioral
disorders.
“I love it,” Gardner
said of her job. “I told my
parents in fifth grade that
I wanted to be a social
worker. There is never a
dull moment and never
a dull day working with
those kids.”
She was the pitching
coach at Loyola University
in the 2017 and 2018
seasons. Now, she gives
pitching lessons at S2
Breakthrough in Orland
Park on Wednesdays.
“It’s a good balance,”
Gardner said. “I love social
work, but I really love
pitching. That’s why once
a week I still give pitching
lessons.”
After all, that is what
made her a Hall of Famer.
Former Sandburg pitching star Brittany Gardner is
heading to the Loyola Hall of Fame.
STEVE WOLTMANN/LOYOLA ATHLETICS