The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: Laurence Manning aims for another run to state behind star pitchers Kosinski, Parmenter-Avins

As the spring season kicks off at Laurence Manning, the Lady Swampcats are working to continue a dominant run in SCISA softball.

In each of the last three seasons, the Lady 'Cats have played for a state championship, claiming the SCISA 4A title over Hammond last fall. Throughout every step of that journey, there have been two constants: Laini Kosinski and Kayleigh Parmenter-Avins.

Laini and Kayleigh - or as they're known in the LMA dugout, Ski and KayBay - have been the two rocks for the Lady 'Cats since jumping onto the varsity level as freshmen. The pair have dominated batters in the circle since Day 1, while showing the ability to help themselves at the plate when the moment calls for it. Now as seniors, they're looking to make one more splash before graduation comes this spring.

"I think it's good we get to go out together after everything we went through the last four years," Kayleigh said.

"One last ride," Laini chimed in.

UNIQUE SKILLS

In many ways, Laini and Kayleigh are the perfect complements on the mound.

Laini slings it from the right side, using her rise ball alongside a deep arsenal of pitches to keep hitters guessing. Kayleigh is a southpaw with an untouchable changeup. One loves to get batters out in the top of the zone, the other in the bottom. In games where they both pitch, batters will see a little bit of everything.

"Coming from a righty and going to a left, it's really hard to adjust," Laini said. "It's probably our biggest weapon. It's just coming from different point of views for a batter."

The man calling pitches for the duo at Laurence Manning is Laini's father, George. He was Laini's first catcher when she first got the taste for pitching back at 8 years old and finally got to work with Kayleigh when both were freshmen at LMA. Having two unique pitchers has been a blessing during the past three-plus years.

"They're so different. One's a righty; one's a lefty. One likes to throw up; one of them likes to throw down. Their personalities are so different, so you have to be able to talk to each one of them differently on the mound," George said, noting Kayleigh's quieter side compared to Laini's more outgoing personality. "From a pitch-calling standpoint, I know their strengths; if they have any weaknesses, I know what they are. They complement each other on the field and off the field."

When the going gets tough, Laurence Manning head coach Buddy Truett isn't afraid of letting one of his star pitchers get the start, while the other closes the door on a victory.

"You couldn't ask for a better one-two punch," he said.

When Laini and Kayleigh were coming up as freshmen, the Lady Swampcats actually ran with a trio of pitchers. Malorie Spiegel was also in the mix until she broke her foot before finishing the SCISA 3A state tournament. As LMA fought to play for a state title, two freshmen were shouldering the load in the circle.

"It's a little bit of pressure, but when you have another person there with you, it takes a little bit off your shoulders," Laini said.

While both pitchers always want to have the ball in their hands, they've never seen each other as competition. Some of that stems from their differences in the circle and knowing that they each have a role to play. But at the end of the day, it's the love and trust they have in each other that makes it easy to hand the ball to their fellow ace.

"We've always kind of been a duo," Laini said. "We've never been jealous of each other, never got super competitive with each other. Of course, we want playing time, but it's split so evenly because it's the two of us, so there's never really anything to complain about, I don't think."

Kayleigh added, "We've always had a split, always had even everything, and we've always got along. If I'm doing badly, I know Laini has my back."

That mindset can be rare in high school sports, where every inning is a chance to prove yourself. George is thankful to have two pitchers who get it, especially because he raised one of them.

"You have to have it. If Kay's having a down time, Laini goes out there and picks her up. If Laini is having a down time, Kay goes out and picks her up," George said. "I think they complement each other, and they both pick each other up. They're not in competition together. They're both unique in the way they pitch, and I think they learned that early on."

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

The importance of Laurence Manning's duo in the circle was never more evident than the spring of 2023. LMA was in the middle of another spectacular season and faced Trinity Collegiate with their season on the line on the final day of the SCISA 4A state tournament. Kayleigh was spinning a gem for the Lady 'Cats before taking a liner to the jaw. Laini came in and finished the job, allowing Laurence Manning to play for a state title, but they would do so without their lefty.

The Lady Swampcats faced their rivals from Wilson Hall for the second-straight year the following week, and Laini had the world on her shoulders as she dueled with the Lady Barons' star senior, Amberly Way.

"Having all that pressure on me, and I was so young, it was hard," Laini admitted. "She was still in the dugout; she was there cheering me on the whole time. Having to pitch against Amberly was huge because Amberly is a great softball player, so pitching against her that whole series was very difficult, but I feel like it made me a better player."

Kayleigh could only watch from the dugout as Laini and the rest of the 'Cats battled it out. She put all of her faith in her fellow ace.

"It was hard, and I felt bad for leaving Laini like that because she had everything on her. I wish I could take some of it off her, but I didn't really have a choice," Kayleigh said. "It didn't go how we planned, but Laini had it."

The series was electric from the beginning. Wilson Hall took Game 1 at home on a walk-off home run from Talan Griffin. The Lady Swampcats forced a third game when they used a five-run inning to take home a 7-4 win. Laini pitched her heart out in the decisive third game but found herself on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss.

"I definitely switched my mindset to, 'I'm the only one who can do this right now, and I have to be here for my team,'" Laini said of the experience. "I had a great team behind me that was backing me up the whole time. We hit great. Just having that took a little bit of the pressure off."

LEARNING FROM LOSSES

In their first two seasons on varsity, Laini and Kayleigh ended the year with losses to Wilson Hall in the state championship series. That first year, they were the surprise team after losing a slew of players to injury. As sophomores, they expected to be there. Both seasons left them with a fire in their stomachs as they fought to finally claim their crown.

"We don't like to lose," Laini joked of what they learned pitching for a state title. "Being in that atmosphere, it was super fun to play in, but there's a lot of pressure on your shoulders. Having another person there is always better, to take some of that relief off.

"(After the loss) I feel like we took it up the next notch and had a great offseason. We practiced hard the whole offseason; we conditioned well and just got into things."

When the season started last spring, Buddy could tell his team had the right energy to make a run.

"Last year's team was focused from the word 'go,'" Buddy said. "That was our third trip there, and we felt like things happened for a reason the year before that was out of our control. They never gave up. From start to finish, they were going to do everything in their power to win it last year. We lost two starters from last year's team, but a lot of them witnessed all that and were a part of all that, so that's how it's transpired to continue this year. We've got some new faces this year, naturally, but the mindset is still there. We've got a goal to get back there and try to repeat."

Laini and Kayleigh were both healthy all season and piloted a spectacular spring. By the end of the season, LMA racked up 18 wins, and they went into the postseason as the favorites in SCISA 4A. After a blowout 15-0 win over Augusta Christian to open the state tournament, they were one win away from returning to the state championship series. Hammond was the only team standing in their way.

Kayleigh got the start for LMA and allowed three unearned runs across four innings of work. When she left the game, the Lady 'Cats trailed 3-2. Laini stepped in and gave Laurence Manning a chance, holding Hammond scoreless across three hitless innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Karly Bjork provided the heroics, lifting a three-run shot over the fence at Patriot Park to clinch their tickets to state.

"It took us a minute to get our bats going that game, so we were like, 'We have to turn it up a notch; we have to make it to state.' Then Karly pulled through with a home run," Laini said. "That's when we kicked it into gear."

LMA faced off with that same Hammond squad for the state title and hit the road to kick off the series. Laini delivered another strong start, allowing just one earned run in a game that needed more than seven innings to deliver a winner. LMA scored twice in the top of the eighth, one of which came on a sacrifice fly from Kayleigh, before Lyza Prickelmyer delivered a dart to home plate after fielding a ball in center to seal a 5-4 win.

"You want to win the first game; you have to win the first game. It was definitely nerve-wracking," Laini said of the game.

The deciding game was far less stressful. Kayleigh delivered an excellent performance. While she had some control issues at times with eight walks, she allowed just two hits and struck out 15 across seven shutout innings. The Lady Swampcat offense struck early and often in a 9-0 win as they finally claimed their state title.

"It definitely takes a lot off your shoulders, but anything can happen," Kayleigh said of pitching with a lead. "You can be up by 10 runs, and someone can always come back. You always have to stay on top of everything, no matter what."

FAMILY BONDING

For both LMA coaches, it was a special family moment to celebrate a championship. Buddy's daughter Hailey Truett was behind the plate for the title, while George was able to coach Laini to her first ring.

"It was overwhelming, emotionally, to see them get to be able to celebrate on their home field. I felt so proud of every one of them," George said. "A lot of them, not only Laini, we've been coaching since they were 8 or 9 years old, so to be able to see them grow up. You tell them at 8 or 9, 'I think you guys can win a state championship.' Then you actually get there, and it's really cool.

"Then, here's the weird thing, you win it, and then you're almost looking forward to the next one thinking about how hard you had to work to win this one, so we're going to have to work twice as hard to win the next one."

Buddy's daughter graduated after winning her state title, but George and Laini have the chance to defend their championship.

"I picked at George at the beginning of this year, saying I'm stress free now because my daughter has graduated. We won it her senior year, and now it's their turn," Buddy said. "For all of us to be together this long is a big deal."

While Laini and George are father and daughter, those roles go out the window when they hit the field for LMA. Kayleigh joked that the two Kosinskis don't know each other when they step between the white lines.

"I do love having my dad coaching me and my team," Laini said. "I feel like he's a great coach; he calls pitches well for both of us. He's just good to have in there. Honestly, when he's in the dugout, he's my coach, he's not really my dad there. When we get home, it's back to dad mode."

Kayleigh feels the love from both of her head coaches, even if she doesn't have the same father-daughter bond. Both Buddy and George strike the balance of light-hearted goofball and serious head coach, which is important in a sport that can swing one way or the other based on the energy in the dugout.

"He always has jokes," Kayleigh said of George. Laini added, "If we're having a bad game, he'll joke with us and stuff to get us to smile. We've got to get yelled at sometimes, and then sometimes we can joke about stuff."

TRUST

Trust is a critical aspect of pitching. Laini and Kayleigh have to trust that George is making the right call on every pitch, and George has to trust his two pitchers will execute.

"Pitching is mechanical, but it's 99% mental," George said. "You've got to talk them off the ledge sometimes and just say, 'Hey, you can throw that pitch. Trust it and throw it.' It's neat to be able to do that."

Laini and Kayleigh also have to trust their teammates behind them. Neither LMA star feels like she has to strike out every batter because she knows her defense has her back.

"It's so important," Laini said of the trust in their teammates. "We have a great infield and a great outfield. Popups are great, ground balls are great. That's what we want for our defense because they can make the out."

The culture around Laurence Manning softball is built on trust and strong relationships. That bond is one of the reasons Buddy is confident his team can make another run after losing just two starters to graduation.

"We feel like we've got the two best pitchers in SCISA, and the whole team believes in them so much that it gives them the confidence that they can make a mistake because they've got their whole team behind them that's going to make it up," Buddy said. "It's a family oriented, team-first mentality that we take."

ONE LAST RIDE

As their time at Laurence Manning winds down, Laini and Kayleigh are thankful to have their fellow ace along for the journey.

"I think we're trying to save it until the end because it is emotional, but I'm just glad I got to play with her throughout my whole high school career," Laini said.

While it will be Laini's last time pitching for LMA, her softball career will continue at Francis Marion. Kayleigh, meanwhile, decided to hang up her glove after high school ball.

The Laurence Manning coaches had the same message for their star pitchers as their time together begins to wind down.

"I wish them all the luck in the world. I want them to enjoy it," Buddy said. "I told them at the beginning of the season that it'll be over before they know it. I told them to work hard and let the cards lay where they lay. Enjoy the ride, and you'll be happy when it's over. Have no regrets, leave it all on the field, and hopefully we'll enjoy what we did last year."

George agreed.

"Of course we've got a goal; we want to go back, and we want to send them out on top. I want to make sure they don't regret anything that they've done. Just leave it all on the field, and if you can say at the end of it, 'I did all I could, I left it all out on the field,' there's no regrets," he said. "Our saying this year is, 'There's no we over me.' There's no me when it comes to a softball team, and they buy into that. That's what separates us from other teams is that they buy into the team aspect of it. All 14 win a state championship, not just the nine that played that specific day.

"They all support each other, and if you come by our dugout when we're playing softball, hopefully we have one of the loudest dugouts in SCISA. That's the goal, that they're always cheering each other on."