Staff Writer

Scarborough High School senior Catie Funk shares a trait with her favorite baseball player, David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox: a cool nickname.

Ortiz goes by the nickname of “Big Papi.” Funk said friends give her nicknames for her unique last name.

“I get a lot of jokes, like ‘Funky,’ or ‘Funkadelic,’” she said. “I think my last name is part of who I am.”

Funk, a third baseman on the Red Storm softball team, was last season’s Southwestern Maine Activities Association Player of the Year, having a batting average above .500 and committing zero errors defensively.

Funk said for this season, the softball team has acquired a sound system to play 30-second introduction music before players get ready to hit. She said she expects her intro-song to be “Funkytown,” sung by Lipps Inc. 

She said the team had an undefeated 16-0 regular season record, but lost to the Biddeford Tigers in the Western Class A Final, one game shy of the state championship.

“Obviously we were disappointed with how we finished,” Funk said.

The Red Storm had previously won the state title in 2007, Funk said. 

Funk said she is “excited” about the upcoming season. 

She said the team is well rounded, with plenty of hitters.

“[Other teams] can [pitch] around me, but we’ve got big hitters in our lineup,” Funk said. “I’ve got so much confidence in our lineup.”

Funk said the team also has good chemistry on the field. She said the team can “almost communicate, without saying anything.” 

Funk said this year’s team will need to focus on winning one game at a time, which she said was a reason they were beaten by Biddeford in the playoffs. 

She said even though the Red Storm needs to focus on that, the team will look forward to playing against Biddeford, as well as Gorham and South Portland, teams Funk said are good every season. 

Funk said she has been preparing for the season by trying to make herself faster. She participated in indoor track during the winter to improve her speed.

She said she does not feel pressure about having the same type of season that won her player of the year honors a year ago, because she said her other teammates are also talented, easing the stress of always having to hit and play well in the field. 

Funk said her softball career began after being introduced to tee-ball by her father at a young age. She said during little league tryouts she realized she had the ability to play and wanted to continue.

“I just love the idea of hitting the ball as hard as you can and running around the bases,” she said.

Funk said she has tried basketball, but wasn’t a good shooter. She also played volleyball, which gave her some trouble because of her 5-foot 3-inch height, she said.

In her spare time, Funk said she likes to hang out with friends, as she doesn’t get much time to spend with them because of sports. She has recently tried knee boarding and wake boarding and has also taken up snow boarding.

Funk said her favorite baseball player is Ortiz.

“I think he’s amazing,” she said. “He can crank home runs all the time. I would love to do that.”

Funk said she will continue her softball career at the college level. She is currently undecided about which school she will attend, but is leaning toward Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. 

She said she likes the softball team and the school and said the Babson softball coach would allow her to take a semester to study abroad, which she said she has always wanted to do.

Funk said she is thinking of majoring in business, but would also like to take education classes as well.

In the meantime, Funk said she is looking toward capturing another state championship.

“I would love to go out with another state championship under my belt,” she said.