Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec thinks senior third baseman Taylor Herschbach has pretty unique abilities as a leadoff hitter.
Let her count the ways.
“She’s a triple threat,” Chovanec said of Herschbach. “She looks to drive the ball. She looks for a good pitch. She sprays the outfield. She can go left field or turn on an inside pitch.”
The Valparaiso recruit just missed hitting a home run Friday against Lincoln-Way East, hooking the ball foul down the right-field line by just a few feet.
“Yeah, it was a close one,” Herschbach said, laughing. “It was against Alex Storako. I remember right when I hit it, I knew it was going out. I just didn’t know if it was going to stay fair.”
Things have gone better than fair for Herschbach, who’s hitting .472 for Lockport (8-2) with four doubles, a triple,15 runs and seven RBIs. She hit two home runs last season.
“I’m feeling really good about this year,” Herschbach said. “Our batting order, all together, we’re stacked. I mean, I like hitting leadoff and I feel like I can get something going. But if I don’t, there is always Nikki Visvardis or Tara McElligott who can get something going, too.
“Our order, no matter what, we’re strong together.”
Herschbach played up on the sophomore team as a freshman, but stayed at that level in her second season despite having made her college commitment.
“I can’t have everybody on the varsity and I can’t have somebody sit (with potential),” Chovanec said. “She probably could have been brought up, but that season we had seniors in some positions and I really didn’t want to bring up a kid who was not going to play.
“She came on strong last season, and this year she was hungry and wanted to prove herself. She has been a spark at the top of our lineup.”
Power up: Providence (5-4) is on fire after losing its first four games. One of the main reasons is DePaul recruit Taylor Young.
Over the past five games, the senior shortstop has produced a double, four home runs, four runs and eight RBIs. During that stretch, the Celtics as a team have hit 13 home runs.
The power up and down the lineup gives Providence coach Jay Biesterfeld the luxury of batting Young in the No. 2 spot.
“She’s a kid who has a real solid swing,” Biesterfeld said. “She is pretty good at hitting the ball hard consistently. Even some of her outs have been pretty good shots.
“Taylor is one of the most competitive kids we’ve had in the program. She has been a lot of fun to coach because of her drive and passion for the game. She has been a good example for the younger kids on what it takes to be a quality player at the varsity level.”
Left speechless: Lincoln-Way Central’s players had quite a response for coach Jeff Tarala on Friday when he gave them a fiery pep talk after beating Lincoln-Way West 9-3.
Tarala had been unhappy about what he felt was a lack of focus at recent practices. He told them so in a pointed manner. He did finish on a high note, however, when he told them they played well during the victory.
A few seconds later, one of the players emerged from the huddle and approached Tarala.
“This is for you, coach,” she said, presenting him with a glass memento. “Congratulations on your 100th career victory.”
Tarala, who said later he was unaware of the milestone, gave his best sheepish look. Everybody in the group laughed.
He got his own fiery pep talk later from his wife.
“She said to me, ‘Why were you so mad at them?'” Tarala related. “I said, ‘I wasn’t mad, I was just a little bit frustrated.’ She said, “Yeah, well they were all excited to give you this award and you ruined the moment.’
“I said, ‘Yep, that’s typical me.'”
But it really wasn’t ruined. There were smiles all around as the team headed back to Central.
“I told the girls on the bus ride home that the only reason I had 100 wins was because of the players,” Tarala said. “They were the ones who did it.”
Softball Top 10
Records included through Sunday, with rankings from last week in parentheses.
1. Lincoln-Way Central 8-1 (2)
2. Lincoln-Way East 8-1 (3)
3. Marist 7-1 (1)
4. Lockport 8-2 (4)
5. Beecher 9-0 (5)
6. Tinley Park 10-1 (6)
7. Joliet Catholic 7-1 (10)
8. Sandburg 8-4 (7)
9. Lemont 7-0 (NR)
10. Evergreen Park 7-3 (9)
Player of the Week: Sophomore catcher Kaitlin Tholl went 6-for-7 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs as Andrew defeated Sandburg and Thornwood.
Twitter @TBaranek