KV’s Dobson draws inspiration from above

Updated: May 6, 2011 10:58PM

Morgan Cavinder claims she glances to the sky at times and can see her sister, Taylor, watching over her.

“I’ll like see her face, and then, it will suddenly fade away,’’ the Kankakee Valley freshman outfielder said.

“I know she’s watching us. I can see her. She’ll be clapping, cheering and laughing. When I step on the field, I can feel her arms around me. She’s like right there. Other times I’ll feel something brushing my shoulder in the wind. It’s like Taylor is always there.’’

Just before the 2010 sectional began late last May, Kankakee Valley softball player Taylor Cavinder and classmate Eric Sims were killed in an automobile accident on a foggy country road.

In July, assistant coach Mike Hart, head coach Brian Flynn’s best friend, passed away from cancer and heart problems.

While Cavinder and Hart are gone, they’ll never be forgotten by anyone connected with the KV program, especially the players and Flynn.

“Tragedy is a horrible way to become closer, but it’s definitely made us all a lot closer,’’ senior shortstop Hillary Hoffman, who leads the team with a .509 average.

“We’ve definitely learned not to take anything for granted. We all enjoy practicing together and playing together. We know life is precious and it can be taken away at any moment, so we don’t take anything for granted.’’

The Kougars, however, have found a way to rise above the heartache that defined last season. In fact, the players seem to have drawn inspiration from it, in some sort of magical way.

“I don’t think there’s any question there’s been a carryover,’’ Flynn said. “We talk about Taylor every day. Every day her nickname (T-Cav) comes up in our team huddles — sometimes five and six times. It’s every time we go out on the field. It doesn’t go away.’’

A patch with the words “T-Cav” and “Mike” were embroidered inside a heart on the team’s jerseys this season.

The team hangs Taylor’s game jersey and Hart’s coach’s shirt on the fence outside its dugout for each home game and brings them along on road trips, too.

“They hang in the dugout, sometimes on the sides of the dugout,’’ junior pitcher Ashley Dobson said. “We say their names every day. We go out and win for them. I think our team is a lot closer than before. We’ve really come together. We want to keep winning and remember them at the same time.’’

Said Flynn: “They’ll always be there with us — even if the shirts weren’t there, because they’re always with us in our hearts.’’

Those garments rustling in the wind every game serve as a constant reminder of last year’s incredibly tragic season.

“We’re doing it to remember the moments we had with them when they were here,’’ Flynn said. “We’re just trying to be as supportive as we can with the families and the girls.’’

The players and Flynn talk about T-Cav and coach Mike daily.

“We’re always quoting T-Cav and coach Hart,’’ senior catcher Sam Sullivan said. “We say things they used to say. It pumps all of us up. It gives us a lift and extra incentive to get things done. We still feel like they’re with us in some way.

“Taylor would have loved beating Andrean (4-0 a few days ago). She always wanted to beat Andrean, and we finally did it.’’

Beating a quality program like Andrean’s for the first time ever during the regular season is the biggest accomplishment for these Kougars at this point.

The team is 15-2 overall, including a 9-2 mark in Northwest Crossroads Conference games.

The Kougars, who rank No. 7 in Class 3A, also knocked off Wheeler — the defending Class 2A champions this week. There have also been wins over programs like Lowell and Munster.

The only time KV won a sectional title was in 2006.

Will the Kougars add another crown at the end of this month?

With an ace pitcher like Dobson — who’s 10-2 with eight shutouts, an 0.75 ERA and 76 strikeouts with only 14 walks in 84 innings — there aren’t too many teams overlooking the Kougars.

“Fortunately, it’s not all Ashley,’’ Flynn said. “We have a very good defense behind her. She throws strikes and doesn’t walk a lot of people. She makes players hit her pitches.

“Ashley is a pitcher who moves the ball around well, changes speeds and hits her spots. You can win a lot of games when you do those things.’’

Flynn said KV’s success can be attributed to a combination of things.

“We have a different focus now,’’ he said. “I think a lot of times players get caught up in things like: ‘Am I playing enough? Am I playing where I want to play?’ There’s no agendas and we don’t have drama. When you go through what we went through last year, those things are minuscule.

“We’re happy to hang out together and spend time together. We’re happy to have the opportunity to go out on the field, have fun, and play the game we love. That’s probably the biggest thing right now. The winning, itself, is a bonus. It’s like icing on the cake.’’

And, if the Kougars should somehow win the sectional title later this month?

“Taylor and coach Hart will be with us,’’ Sullivan said.

“I know Taylor’s watching us,’’ Morgan said. “She’d be pretty proud of all of us right now. I know she’s with us, but just in a different way.’’

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