The CT Softball Blog

BEACON FALLS—Karyn Fortier thought she was prepared.

Then she looked around the field.

Mercy players were wearing orange socks and orange visors. Woodland players were wearing orange socks. Parents were dressed in orange. Coaches were dressed in orange.

For a moment, the Mercy assistant coach needed to gather herself.

“I told the girls the day before that I was probably going to need a minute when I saw everybody in orange,” Fortier said.

The color wasn’t chosen by accident.

Orange is the color associated with Multiple Sclerosis, the disease that claimed the life of Fortier’s mother in 2021 after a decades-long battle.

What began as a simple idea between Mercy senior pitcher Pip Karch and Woodland standout Kate Lisowski eventually turned into an MS Awareness Game between the two schools, raising nearly $1,900 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and providing a meaningful tribute to a woman many of the players never had the chance to meet.

“Our assistant coach, Coach Fortier, her mom had MS and fought a really long battle,” Karch said. “I’ve always wanted softball to have awareness games like football and volleyball have. We were talking about it last year and then this scrimmage happened to fall on National MS Awareness Day. It just seemed perfect.”

The game itself—played last Saturday—was a postseason scrimmage between two state tournament teams, but the focus quickly shifted beyond softball.

Karch reached out to Lisowski, one of her teammates on the CT Lightning travel program, and asked if Woodland would be interested in joining the effort.

“I texted Kate and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we did an MS Awareness Game?’” Karch said. “She was all for it.”

Lisowski never hesitated.

The Woodland senior not only knew Karch through travel softball, but also knew Fortier through the Lightning program. Her own school has experienced the impact of awareness games, as Woodland rallied around a coach who was battling cancer several years ago.

“We were more than happy to participate,” Lisowski said. “Knowing what it’s like to have someone close to you going through something like that puts it on a very personal level.”

What started as orange ribbons quickly snowballed.

Soon there were orange socks, orange visors, orange helmet decals and orange-clad fans filling the stands.

Fortier worked with the National MS Society while Karch’s family helped establish a GoFundMe page with an initial goal of $1,000.

The response was almost immediate.

Within four hours, the fundraiser had already reached its goal.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Fortier said. “We hit $1,000 in four hours.”

As of Monday, the fundraiser had climbed to approximately $1,895, putting organizers within reach of the $2,000 mark.

For Fortier, however, the dollars raised tell only part of the story.

After her mother passed away in 2021, Fortier walked away from the sport she loved.

She stopped coaching.

She ignored repeated attempts from Mercy head coach Kathleen Hoag to bring her back to the dugout.

“She asked me four times,” Fortier said with a laugh. “I kept telling her I wasn’t ready.”

Eventually, she returned.

Last spring was her first season at Mercy.

The healing process was gradual.

“My Mercy girls, you are literally my proof and reason that healing is possible,” Fortier told the team before Saturday’s game.

The fundraiser gave Fortier an opportunity to share parts of her family’s story that she normally keeps private.

Her mother’s illness prevented her from attending most of Fortier’s games growing up.

“My mom came to my state championship game in Southington and my senior day at Sacred Heart University,” Fortier said. “Those were the only two games she saw in eight years.”

Rather than dwelling on what MS took away, Fortier focuses on what her mother taught her.

“If you stepped back and looked at what my mom was dealt and how she handled it, it was incredible,” Fortier said. “She never felt sorry for herself. She never asked, ‘Why me?’”

Those lessons continue to shape her today, both as a coach and in her work outside softball.

“I think I’m a better coach because of it,” Fortier said. “You learn that before they’re softball players, they’re people. Sometimes there’s something bigger going on and you have to understand that first.”

That perspective wasn’t lost on Karch and her teammates. Nor the Woodland Regional team.

When Fortier spoke before the game, the fundraiser became something more than a charitable event.

It became personal.

“You don’t think 14 to 18-year-olds care about things besides themselves,” Fortier said. “But they really do.”

The players embraced the cause.

Orange ribbon decals appeared on helmets. Stickers showed up in the dugout. Bracelets became part of everyday attire.

And for one afternoon, two softball programs came together for something bigger than wins and losses.

“I think it shows we’re more than a sport,” Lisowski said. “We’re a community of players, parents and fans. It was really nice to see everyone come together.”

For Fortier, standing on that field surrounded by orange, the moment served as a reminder of both where she’s been and how far she’s come.

“The reason I left was because of her,” Fortier said of her mother. “But also the reason I came back was because of her.”

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Readers interested in supporting the fundraiser can donate through the link below. Organizers are hoping to push the total beyond $2,000: https://donate.nationalmssociety.org/campaign/In-Honor-of-Cathy-Fortier-and-Those-Courageously-Fighting-MS

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