Oxbridge Academy standout Chandler Barry tries to stay loose at the plate. Sometimes, that means singing her walk-up music — Usher and Lil Jon’s 2004 hit “Yeah!” — in her head when she gets ready to bat.
“Hitting has always come super natural to me, and the only thing that stops me is overthinking,” Barry said. “So I just try to clear my head as best as possible.”
The internal singing worked. Barry crushed the ball and had a strong year in the pitcher’s circle, earning Sun Sentinel Palm Beach County Class 5A-1A softball player of the year honors.
Barry was one of Oxbridge’s most potent hitters, finishing second on the team with a .412 batting average and pacing the ThunderWolves with six home runs. The senior pitcher led the team with 34 RBIs and was second on the team with a 1.256 OPS.
The senior was also Oxbridge’s workhorse pitcher, tossing 118 of the team’s 145 innings. She went 14-5 with 15 complete games, tossing three shutouts and one no-hitter. Barry had a 2.61 ERA and 85 strikeouts.
“Even though the other team is going to score runs, we have a very strong offense,” Barry said. “One through nine can hit the ball. So I was very comfortable knowing that no matter what runs the other team could put up, we were going to put up a fight.”
Barry was a key contributor to Oxbridge’s success this season. The ThunderWolves went 20-6 and reached the Class 2A state semifinals.
“I had to fill big shoes this season,” Barry said, “and being able to know that my defense was going to be able to back me up and I have nine great players behind me that know the game better than anyone, it was really comforting to know that they knew what to do and things were going to go good behind me.”
Barry is staying close to home for college, signing with Miami’s Barry University.
“The coaching staff is absolutely wonderful,” Barry said. “It’s also a very small campus. I’m very happy for small classes, being able to have a personal relationship with my professors and just being able to focus. I really love their dynamic and the way that they have practices, and their strength training program is really good, as well.”
