The 2023 Times Softball Player of the Year: Ottawa’s McKenzie Oslanzi

Coming off a spectacular junior softball season, Ottawa’s McKenzie Oslanzi put together an even better all-around senior campaign in 2023.

Oslanzi improved in nearly all of her statistical numbers in the circle and at the plate for the Pirates, helping her team finish with a 26-6 record. She also was a key fixture in helping Ottawa to a 13-1 mark in Interstate 8 Conference play, good for the program’s first conference championship, a Class 3A regional title and a third trip in four seasons to a sectional final.

The fireballing and hard-hitting Oslanzi was voted to the Illinois Softball Association Class 3A All-State first team, the I-8 first team, and was named the league’s player of the year.

Her most recent accolade came when she was voted The Times Softball Player of the Year for the second straight season.

“We had a great season and reached so many of the goals that we set for ourselves as individuals and as a team. It was such a fun team and season to be a part of.”

—  McKenzie Oslanzi, Ottawa senior and The 2023 Times Softball Player of the Year

“Personal accolades are very special, but for me, the fact that as a team we won a lot of games against some really, really good teams, won the conference championship, won a regional and made it to a sectional championship game is a spot above any of the individual honors,” said Oslanzi, who will attend Eastern Illinois University in the fall and be a member of the Panthers’ softball team.

“I’m grateful for the Times award – it’s pretty special to me to receive it again this year – but a lot of the credit also goes to all of my teammates and coaches that I’ve had ever since I was little and just starting to play softball. I’ve had so much help along the way to become the player I am, and I’m excited to begin another part of the journey at Eastern.”

Oslanzi’s final numbers from the 2023 season are amazing. She posted a 18-5 record with a 1.31 ERA and in 154 2/3 innings allowed only 99 hits and 21 walks while striking out 265 batters with a .168 batting average against.

“I focused on my pitching a lot in the offseason and learned a new pitch for me, the curveball, at the beginning of the preseason,” Oslanzi said. “It ended up being my strikeout pitch a majority of the time this season. I was always interested in learning how to throw it and really the only pitch I hadn’t used until this year. It was easily the pitch that came to me naturally when I started throwing it. ... I was really surprised.”

At the plate, she batted a school-record .583, with 56 total hits, 13 doubles, two triples, seven homers and 23 RBIs.

For her three-year Pirates career, Oslanzi pitched in 65 games (53 starts), going 40-10 with three saves. In 350 innings she gave up 226 hits, 51 walks, with 555 strikeouts and a 1.02 ERA. She also finished with a .496 career batting average with 30 doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 69 RBIs.

All told, she ranks in the top three in nine categories in the program’s history, including striking out a record 20 batters in a game against Morris at the end of April.

“I don’t think we accomplish as a team what we did without McKenzie,” Ottawa coach Adam Lewis said. “She was the anchor to the pitching staff and the lineup. I felt like there were days where she had the capability to go out and single-handedly put us in a position to win a game with minimal hits allowed, or high-teen strikeouts, or two or three extra-base hits. She’s worked hard to become the pitcher and hitter she is, and all that hard work really showed throughout this past season.

“She had a remarkable season and a remarkable career. She’s easily one of the best softball players to ever put on an Ottawa uniform, and that’s saying something with some of the players that have went through the program in the past.”

Oslanzi said that even though the Pirates started the season a little cold with the bats, she felt many of her younger teammates started to use their past experiences to improve with every passing game, thus making the Ottawa lineup a tough one to beat. She said that in turn helped her relax and not put as much pressure on herself.

“I felt like we started a little slow at the start of the season, but it wasn’t too long before we had a really good all-around hitting team,” Oslanzi said. “I guess I personally felt less pressure to have to do any more than I could do when my turn to bat came around, maybe more than [my junior year]. We had so many girls that could hit for average or power or both, that I think we all were more relaxed knowing that if we made an out someone else would pick us up.”

She admitted she wasn’t sure how the season would go before it started but couldn’t be happier with how her final season in red and white turned out.

“We had a great season and reached so many of the goals that we set for ourselves as individuals and as a team,” Oslanzi said. “It was such a fun team and season to be a part of.”