TMP's Fieler plays through the pain
By CONOR NICHOLL
Senior Chelsea Fieler generally has to sit on the sidelines when the Thomas More Prep-Marian softball team practices outside. At the end of workouts, the Monarchs will usually run around the field or sprint the basepaths a couple times for conditioning.
Fieler doesn't participate. Instead, she does pushups or situps near the dugout.
"I know it bothers the coach as well as the team because I am a senior," she said.
During school hours, Fieler sometimes has concentration lapses because of nagging pain. When she sits down, Fieler constantly moves her left leg. In games, she isn't supposed to slide.
The root of Fieler's problems is her bothersome left knee, an injury that forces her to limit practice time, ice nearly everyday and wear a heating pad when she sleeps.
"Mainly my kneecap is out of place," she said.
The knee has been a constant problem for Fieler in the basketball and softball seasons.
"Every position hurts," she said. "If you just keep moving it, it kind of eases the pain a little bit."
However, it hasn't kept Fieler from a terrific senior season for the 18-1 Monarchs. Even with the limited practice time and pain, Fieler, the No. 2 hitter and starting second baseman, has enjoyed the best season of her career.
Fieler is batting .456, second-best on the Monarchs and 104 points higher than she hit last spring. She also leads TMP-Marian in singles (22), sacrifice bunts (5), is second in runs scored (26) and fourth in on-base percentage (.702).
"I am surprisingly hitting a lot better than I thought," Fieler said. "Practicing on and off every once in awhile, kind of like 'Oh God, how am I going to do in games?"
Fieler, who has to wear a big black knee brace whenever she plays, also has been on of the team's leaders and displayed a steady glove at second base for TMP-Marian. She has made several nice plays, including one that preserved a no-hitter by sophomore Kaylee Hoffman against Pratt earlier this season.
"I think the last couple of doubleheaders, she has played tremendous defense over there for us at second base," head coach Alan Billinger said. "She made some stops that for her, with that leg the way it is, I was really impressed with her getting to the ball."
Fieler hopes to continue her -- and the Monarchs' -- strong year for two more weeks. TMP-Marian, the defending Class 4A state champions, enter the Class 3A Larned regional tied with Osage City for the third-best record in 3A.
They are the No. 1 and play Monday, facing the winner of Holcomb and Hoisington, both 5-13, in a 4:45 p.m. start. TMP-Marian has made the state tournament every year since 2003 and has finished no worse than fourth. The Monarchs have had inconsistent performances against weaker teams in the last few weeks, but is expected to reach state. Their toughest competition is conference foe and host Larned, a young team that lost 8-1 and 19-2 (five innings).
"While we handily took care of Larned, I still think they are a team to be reckoned with," Billinger said. "They have some decent pitching, got a couple people that hit the ball off of us."
Pitching-wise, the Monarchs are led by junior Maddie Holub (9-0, 0.62 ERA) and sophomore Kaylee Hoffman (8-1, 0.58). Six hitters are batting over .400, led by freshman catcher MaKenzie Altman at .476.
Fieler, is right behind Altman for the team lead. A four-year starter and a two-time first team all-MSAA player, Fieler entered the season batting .338 for her career. This season, Fieler has fought through the pain and yielded impressive results.
"My heart is in softball and I know this is my last year to really ever play," she said.
"Softball means the world to her," Fieler's longtime teammate and senior Maddy Mall added.
The finish, though, could have ended in January. She had experienced the pain in basketball and softball in past years, but the knee hurting at the beginning of last basketball season. In an early January game against Pratt, Fieler sat on the bench on crutches and missed a game in the Hillsboro tournament. There was even talk that she tore her ACL and Billinger didn't know when she would return.
"It was just this pain that was worse than last year," Fieler said, "I just had to deal with it. So softball, (I thought) oh God, what if I can't play? My mom was like, you just have to stick with it. You can't quit."
Fieler missed just two games before she finished out the basketball season. An all-conference player, she saw significant time in every game down the stretch, but Billinger said she wasn't at her "full potential" because of the injury.
Fieler described the knee pain as "really irritable" and a "sharp pain really once in awhile." She takes inflammatories and she usually has to ice it after games at home or in the team bus on the way back from road trips. Fieler did physical therapy several times a week during basketball season but stopped when it didn't help. She is stretched out twice a week by a trainer at practice.
At school, she'll wear the brace when it's hurting more than usual.
"Just sitting in class, it is really annoying," she said. "Sometimes you are losing your focus because your knee is hurting. For the most part, I can do everyday activities.
And she can play softball.
After a slow start that yielded a .273 average after six games, Fieler has steadily raised her average and reached a high water mark of .482 before the team's last doubleheader against Colby.
"I am very happy with Chelsea, but that is Chelsea," Billinger said. "She gives you 100 percent whether she is injured or not. ... I am glad that it is really starting to pay off for her."
Fieler, who will attend Fort Hays State University in the fall and will major in elementary education, has talked about surgery with her parents, but doctors said rest would heal the injury.
Right now, she just wants to finish the best softball season of her high school career with another state title, a reward that senior catcher Katie Gottschalk had last spring.
"She could walk out a winner," Fieler said.
"That has got to be a great feeling."
