STAMFORD - When it comes to making statements on and off the field, Brittany Longo has few peers.

As the starting second baseman and a pitcher for Westhill High School's softball team, Longo was a key factor in leading the Vikings to their first Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship since 1999.

Longo also has a keen interest in fashion. She is as likely to grab attention with her stylish flair as with a diving stop or key hit. That was the case last month when the North Stamford Exchange Club held a dinner honoring the Vikings as Stamford city champions. Longo showed up wearing blue suede shoes.

"She really enjoys that type of stuff," said Taylor Kurtz, who plays left field for the Vikings and is one of Longo's closest friends. "Brittany always gets teased because she's pretty unique in the way she dresses, but it motivates her to do it more. She likes to stand out."

The question now is whether Longo, who will be a senior in the fall, can find a place after Westhill to pursue her twin interests. Longo wants to study fashion design, but most of the best schools specializing in that field lack athletic programs. And right now, she said, giving up her favorite sport is not an option.

"They are completely different and there are not too many schools where you can find both," Longo said. "It is definitely going to be complicated."

For now, Longo has cast aside her dilemma and is reveling in the Vikings' success this spring while playing summer ball for FC Express, a travel team based out of Wilton.

"This season with Westhill was a lot of fun, probably the best I've ever had so far," Longo said. "We just really clicked. I've never been on a team that close. To be on a team where emotionally you want to cry at the end of the season, that's really awesome."

A big reason for the Vikings' success was the way they operated as an ensemble, without a true superstar, and Longo was a key piece to the puzzle. She batted .296 for the season, had a 6-1 record and was outstanding at second base.

"She was a huge part of the team, whether she was on the mound or infield," Westhill coach Tom Pia said. "She always made the big play or got the big out. She just has a big heart. She always wants the ball, or wants the ball hit to her."

Perhaps a selfless act by Longo best epitomized the Vikings' character. Longo and Jen Joseph shared the pitching duties until late in the season, when Pia moved Longo to second base full-time to bolster the infield defense. Joseph was outstanding in the postseason and Longo turned a position that had been a weakness into one of the team's greatest strengths.

Deep down Longo was mildly disappointed but never showed it.

"You can't get upset about it," she said. "He didn't kick me off the team. I had to do it to help the team. It's not about being in the spotlight. I just enjoy playing the game."

With a different player, Pia might have spent more time wrestling with the decision.

"Ninety percent of the athletes in Fairfield County, if you did something like that they would have had an attitude," Pia said. "Brittany exceeded our expectations at second base. She just always went out and got the ball. She ended up basically becoming the leader of the infield."

That came as little surprise: Longo will be a captain of Westhill's softball and field hockey teams next season.

"Her greatest quality is her leadership," Pia said. "It just comes naturally to her. I've had captains who have led and done a good job, but it seems to be work. Brittany is quiet but forceful. She's like someone they talk about from previous generations, where they just gave a look and you know what they meant."

Longo's attitude was not lost on her teammates.

"She accepted the move, knew she had to do it and did what was best for the team," Kurtz said. "Brittany wasn't a captain this year but she was a leader in practice as well as during games. She was the one telling people to get up. She has the kind of personality where she likes to make people laugh. She was really important to us."

Longo has been playing softball for a decade but didn't start pitching until before her freshman year at Westhill. Now the mound is one of her favorite places.

"I haven't always been a pitcher but I always wanted to pitch," Longo said. "I like to be in control. I feel a pitcher gives an attitude out on the field."

Longo said her interest in fashion also started at an early age, mostly from spending time with her grandmother, Elvira, a seamstress who lives in New Canaan.

"When I was younger I was really into arts and crafts," Longo said. "I was inspired by what she did. I would be at her house and see what she was into. I always try to dress myself properly for different occasions. When I got to high school and started thinking about what I was going to be doing, I guess I thought I was kind of good at it."

Longo said she has made a couple of her own dresses and jackets, and tends to stand out beyond wearing footwear that Elvis Presley made famous.

"I love bright colors and funky patterns," she said. "There's a fine line between thinking something's ugly and thinking something's cool. Things most people think are ridiculous, that's something I'd probably be wearing."

Kurtz said shopping with Longo is a different experience than going to the mall with her other friends.

"Brittany can go to a store and pull out something that I would never pull out in a lifetime and make it work," Kurtz said. "I couldn't wear all of what she does, but some of it. She really enjoys that type of stuff."

Now Longo just has to find a college where she can continue to master double stitches and hitting doubles. It has not been an easy search because Longo cannot imagine a future that does not include softball.

"I really can't see myself not playing, which is weird because I never used to think about playing in college," she said. "I've learned to love it so much. There has to be some school that can accommodate me. Right now I'm just trying not to think about it."