Maria Hanchuk aims for the fences.
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. – South Windsor High School’s softball “dual threat,” Maria Hanchuk, enjoyed arguably the best day of her young life on May 30. The outstanding left-handed pitcher/superior hitter underwent a pair of joyous experiences that particular Thursday.
In the morning, while on a senior-class field trip, she was notified by her father, Mark, that she had won the 2019 Gatorade Connecticut Softball Player of the Year award, recognizing her outstanding athletic excellence, distinguished high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.
“My dad called me,” Hanchuk said in an interview with the Journal Inquirer. “It came out of nowhere. He Googled it and went, ‘Wait, I think you just got Player of the Year.’ He sent a screen shot. I was joking, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to cry.’ It was such a good feeling.”
Later that afternoon Hanchuk tossed her 13th shutout of the season, lifting her Bobcats past Danbury 4-0, in the Class LL state tournament. (South Windsor would lose to Norwich Free Academy in the quarterfinals a day later.) She finished her senior year with a record of 20-1, striking out 262 batters in 129 innings. As a batter her average was well above .400 with 15 RBI’s.
Hanchuk was vice-president of her school’s student council and volunteered as a yearbook editor and as a member of the school’s freshman-transition team. She maintained a 3.39 GPA in her classes and this fall plans to attend Endicott College in Massachusetts, where she will play softball.
Hanchuk is the first Gatorade Connecticut Softball Player of the Year chosen from South Windsor High School. She is a four-time All-Conference and four-time All-State selection.
“It was just knowing that I could get better and better each year,” she said. “Working hard over the winter is a big part of it for me. I’m always looking to improve and the possibilities are endless at this point.”
In a stretch from April 24 through May 22, she threw 66 consecutive scoreless innings.
South Windsor coach Mandy Roczniak, speaking about her softball star in the Jounal Inquirer interview, noted: “She’s been doing this for the last two years…Maria deserves all this.”