Around the time I was 12 years old, I told my mother I wasn't going to eat beets anymore. Thirty years later, nary has a single beet crossed these taste buds.

How does such a random tidbit crosses over into the world of local sports? I'm glad you asked.

When Megan Robustelli was 12 years old she decided she didn't like pitching softballs anymore.

So she quit.

Until last fall, at least, when Stamford High softball coach Tony Esposito approached Robustelli with a pretty big request.

The Black Knights, who had graduated both their pitcher and catcher from the year before, needed her back in the circle.

"I just didn't like it anymore. I had no passion for it anymore," Robustelli said, when asked why she had stopped pitching. "I love softball and I still wish I was at first, but I had to do it for the team. I was on the spot and I could have said, 'No, I didn't want to,' but I realized how important it was."

And with that self-less decision, Robustelli put her team, not to mention all her teammates, first and learned how to pitch all over again.

Nearly six months later, Stamford's season — which could have been on the precipice of a disaster — has them once again heading to the state Class LL tournament and on the verge of another FCIAC playoff spot.

The 9-9 Black Knights haven't missed an FCIAC playoff spot in 15 years. They'll need some outside help to sneak in the back door this season, but Robustelli's return to the circle is a big reason Stamford is back on the brink.

"Big time," said Esposito. "The girl just started pitching again a few months ago and she's just keeping us in games. That's all we're asking. Keep us in the game and we'll do our best."

Esposito knew Robustelli didn't want to pitch anymore, but he had nowhere else to turn.

"I think we just both realized if she wasn't there, what were we going to do?" he said.

Many of Robustelli's teammates knew exactly what they'd be getting.

"Megan and I are best friends and we grew up playing together," said Katie Pape, a junior and one of the Stamford softball captains. "I've played with her and I've played against her and whenever I was on another team, I was always nervous because she was THE pitcher in Stamford. I knew she had it in her. Once a pitcher, always a pitcher."

It just took some time and effort to get her arm and her pitching ability ready for the varsity level.

"It was tough," Robustelli said. "I had to practice a lot. With pitching, it's repetition. You have to practice so much with each pitch. I'd get frustrated, but I knew I had to do it."

I'd like to report that Robustelli's spark with pitching was re-ignited this spring. I'd like to say she loves the position more than she ever did.

That's too Hollywood, however.

"I'm just doing it for the team," said Robustelli, who has decided not to play summer softball this year and won't start pitching again until next winter. "I can't say I'm happy there, but I'm out there doing it. But I don't regret doing it."

Megan Robustelli has sacrificed a lot for her team and it's paid off for the Black Knights.

So if I ever have to eat a plate of beets in order for The Stamford Times to win a Pulitzer Prize, I just might think of Stamford High's junior pitcher as I choke them down.

John Nash is The Stamford Times sports editor. He can be reached at 354-1051, or by e-mail at johnnash@ thestamfordtimes.com.