Freshman outfielder Anaysa Salmon had a couple of chances earlier in the season to hang with Oak Lawn’s varsity for tournament games.

Fun times? Sure.

But those feelings weren’t nearly as special as the one she had while enjoying a quiet Sunday at home. It came via a text from coach Shawn Neubauer.

“I was just sitting down when I got the message from the coach asking me to come up and play,” Salmon said. “I had no idea that I was going to get brought up. I decided to say yes because it was a great opportunity.”

And this time, it’s for keeps. Her parents were the first to know.

“When I told them, they were really excited for me,” Salmon said. “They were proud of me too.”

She was a varsity contributor Monday, helping the Spartans beat Reavis 12-2 in six innings in a South Suburban Red game in Burbank.

Salmon went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Oak Lawn (18-12, 9-9). Kamya Feigl added three hits, while Katie Casey and Teagan Krzystof each had two. Kaitlyn Berkery homered and struck out five to earn the pitching win.

Trinity Ferguson tallied two hits and an RBI for Reavis (17-16, 9-9). Lily Fish reached twice and scored twice.

One thing Salmon didn’t have to worry about before Monday’s game was having support.

Berkery and the other varsity players made sure of it.

“The best thing we could do was just hype her up,” Berkery said. “Whatever happened, we would be there for her because we didn’t want someone or anything getting in her head.”

Salmon’s first varsity hit, a single on a ground ball, came in the fifth and broke a 1-1 tie. The Spartans went on to score four runs in the inning.

“I’m pretty proud of myself actually,” Salmon said, smiling. “I wasn’t expecting to get a hit because I was scared and nervous at the plate, being on varsity and all.”

In her next at-bat, she unleashed a strong swing and rocketed a two-run line single to the gap in left-center.

No nerves on that one. Her older teammates noticed.

“To come up and be able to play that way was really something,” Berkery said. “I can remember, when I was a freshman, I was very timid. To be able to swing away like she did was really impressive. And that second hit was just insane.”

Salmon had a very productive season for the junior varsity. She hit .315 with 13 walks, 10 doubles, two triples, a home run and 27 RBIs. She also pitched for the Spartans, winning seven games.

Neubauer plans to make use of the many options.

“Right now, this is all for the playoffs,” Neubauer said. “She is one we thought we could bring up to use as a pinch runner because she has some speed. She can play infield and outfield and also pitch.”

And hit?

“When we were doing our offseason workouts and even during tryouts, we saw her potential,” Neubauer said. “We just didn’t want to rush her, so we decided to let her stay down on the JV.

“But when we saw her swing, we could see that she was capable of making good contact. She didn’t quite do it in some of the games when we brought her up earlier in the season, but (Monday) she looked real comfortable.”

Softball wasn’t actually Salmon’s first attempt at sports.

“When I was very young, I played soccer,” she said. “Our season had just ended and I was just looking for something to do, something different.”

She found softball. There is no looking back.

Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.