Shepard coach Kelsey Clifford had some news for pitcher Bridget McDermott, and she was just itching to tell her.
McDermott was in the on-deck circle during a recent home game when Clifford sidled over bearing a smile.
“I asked her if she wanted to know a secret,” Clifford said.
McDermott’s answer?
“She told me, ‘No,'” Clifford said. “But that’s her, perfectly. She knew that the secret would be about her, but she’s out here for 15 other kids.”
The secret was that McDermott is a record-setter for Shepard. A few days earlier, the junior right-hander broke the program’s all-time career strikeout mark of 203 held by 2017 graduate Gabby Graffeo.
McDermott laughed when talking about her abrupt answer to Clifford’s “secret.”
“When she says it’s a secret, it’s usually something good,” McDermott said. “But I didn’t want to rattle myself. I just wanted to focus on the game.
“It’s nice, though. I’ve been working really hard. I’ve had a lot of different pitching coaches, but the one I have now (Ali Franzen) has really helped me with my movement. I just feel good.”
McDermott had 10 strikeouts in Thursday’s 3-0 victory over Oak Lawn. She also hit a towering home run to left field.
It was a big South Suburban Red victory for Shepard, following a 9-7 loss to Richards while committing six errors.Oak Lawn went into Thursday just one game behind the conference leaders.
“Our team as a whole had the yips or something against Richards,” McDermott said. “But at practice we were like, ‘Let’s learn from our mistakes and fix it for the Oak Lawn game.'”
McDermott is hitting .617, with 13 doubles, four home runs and 31 RBIs. She has a 7-2 pitching record, with 86 strikeouts in 80 innings.
“She’s a special kid,” Clifford said of McDermott. “We’re glad to have her and we’re glad she’s a junior.”
Taking a Tholl: Sophomore catcher Kaitlin Tholl had a day to remember Saturday for Andrew at the Marengo Tournament.
In Game 1 against Bishop McNamara, she went 3-for-4 with two home runs and eight RBIs. One of the home runs was a grand slam.
In Game 2 against, Bartlett, she was 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. She was intentionally walked twice.
In Game 3 against Hampshire, she went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double and three RBIs.
Quite a day.
“Yeah, I would say,” Andrew coach Matt Fish said. “Oh, man. Every ball she hit just this past week was hard. Everybody was excited, like ‘When is she going to hit the next one?’
“She almost doubled her home run total in three days and almost doubled her RBI total in two or three days. And it has come against good competition.”
For the season, Tholl is hitting .509, with six doubles, 23 runs, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs.
Tholl, the starting catcher since her freshman year, is the niece of former Andrew star Bonnie Tholl, who’s the associate head coach at Michigan.
“When you see Kaitlin up at the plate, the way she walks on the field, everything screams athlete,” Fish said. “One of the coaches at the tournament said, ‘Man, this girl is legit.’
“When I said, ‘Yeah, she’s just a sophomore,’ his eyes lit up. He said, ‘It must be nice for the next two years for you.’ I said, ‘Yeah, we’ll be all right.'”
Meteor-ic rise: De La Salle (11-11) has won nine of its last 13 games, and the main reason is junior Cassie Sutor.
Sutor, a pitcher/first baseman, has been on a hitting surge that has raised her average to .413. She has 19 runs, four doubles, two triples and six home runs. Four of the homers have come over the past week.
She’s 3-1 in her last four pitching decisions, sharing the duty with sophomores Alyssa Luna and Kamryn Gonzalez.
“She has given the team a lot of energy,” Meteors coach Tom Trendle said. “She seems like she has more confidence. She has always been a team leader, but she just seems more confident and she’s having more fun doing it.”
Softball Top 10
Records included through Sunday, with previous rankings in parentheses.
1. Lincoln-Way Central 20-2 (1)
2. Lincoln-Way East 16-1 (2)
3. Marist 23-1 (3)
4. Lockport 22-4 (4)
5. Beecher 21-1 (5)
6. Tinley Park 19-1 (6)
7. Joliet Catholic 16-6 (7)
8. Shepard 15-4 (9)
9. Providence 17-6 (10)
10. Sandburg 13-11 (8)
Player of the Week: Michigan recruit Lexi Voss was 17-for-20 with four home runs and 22 RBIs as Marist went 5-0.
Twitter @TBaranek
