ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Old Forge's Karen Sickle

The Lady Devils senior softball player compiled 38 strikeouts, including the 800th of her career, while allowing just one run, five hits and five walks in 18 innings as she led her team to three wins. She also added two hits, including a double, two RBIs and two runs in a 10-0 victory over Holy Cross.

Family: Mother, Michele; father, Chris; brother, Christopher.

Favorite food: Pizza. Angelo’s up in Wilkes-Barre.

Pregame meal: Hoagie.

Favorite subject: U.S. history.

What are your college plans? I’m going to Wilmington University, which is in Delaware. I’m majoring in criminal justice.

Do you plan on playing softball in college there? Yes. I am playing there.

Athletes you admire: Megan Faraimo from UCLA. She’s a pitcher and is super intense. She’s real into it. You can just tell her love for the game.

Superstitions: I wear my hair the same for every game. That’s probably my biggest one. I don’t do it any differently or else I feel like I won’t play the same.

What is the hairstyle? I do a bubble braid thing. I have a lot of hair.

If you could have three guests over for dinner — living or dead, famous or not — who would those guests be? My nana is the first one. If I’m gonna go famous, probably Renee Rapp. And probably Lana Del Rey.

How did you decide on Wilmington for college? It was very, very stressful, but once I visited Wilmington, it felt so right there. It was a no-doubter where I wanted to go. When I visited all the players and the coaches, it felt like home.

Your week was already off to a hot start, reaching the 800th strikeout of your career Monday. What did it feel like to achieve that milestone? That’s crazy. My freshman-, sophomore-year self would never imagine being this far, so it’s nice to look back and have done so many good things throughout my career.

Did you know 800 strikeouts was approaching when it happened? I knew it was coming, but I didn’t think in that game.

Did you do anything special to celebrate the mark? In the outfield, Coach Pat (Revello) put a big 700, previously, on little signs. He had people go up and change it in the middle of the game. I looked back and I saw it, so that’s when I figured it out. Everyone cheered really loudly after.

What was your reaction when you saw it change mid-game? Everyone was like ‘Coach Pat’s minions went and changed the sign.’ I was like ‘what?!’

That’s an awesome milestone. Is 900 strikeouts coming next? I hope. By the end of the season.

What do you think it is about your pitching game that has been so successful recently? I think a lot of my movement stuff has been working really well, knowing what I do best. It’s not all about speed, it’s more about movement.

In addition to all of the pitching stats that you racked up this week, you also had success at the plate. Did both of those elements come naturally to you, or did one of those take longer to develop? I haven’t always hit. This is my first year in high school that I’m actually hitting. This is one I’ve had to work a little harder on, because pitching I’ve done really my whole life.

Do you think you have a unique perspective on hitting because you’re a pitcher? Being able to read a pitch out of a pitcher’s hand. It’s kind of different when you know what to look for. If I’m having an at-bat where I can see a certain pitch, I’ll definitely come back to (my teammates) and give them a heads up on what she’s doing.

Old Forge had three wins this week. What can you guys do to keep this momentum up? For us, a lot of it is trying to stay up the whole game. We typically try to win every inning. That keeps us moving through the entire game, not just one big inning.

What is your hope for this team as you enter the last stretch of your final high school season? I’m hoping we can get pretty far, at least past the quarterfinal game because that’s where we seem to get stuck every year. I’m hoping we can make it all the way.

How does your senior season feel different from your other high school years? I’ve definitely been having a lot more fun this year. I’ve obviously had fun every season, but I’m just soaking up all the time that I have left with the team and Coach Pat.