Lincoln-Way West sophomore Katelyn Kundys spent all of last season and part of this one pitching behind Lewis recruit Allie Wondrasek.
It was an enriching experience.
“She was great to watch and learn from,” Kundys said of Wondrasek. “I wanted myself to one day be in that position.”
When Wondrasek suffered a season-ending injury on April 28, Kundys faced a big role change. She went from being a potential star of the future to the present-day leader.
“Without Allie, it’s been different,” Kundys said. “But I’m excited for the opportunity. I feel I’ve been able to step up and do a good job.”
She was aces Wednesday for the Warriors during a 7-1 victory over T.F. South in a Class 4A Thornwood Regional semifinal game.
Kundys allowed two hits over five innings while striking out six for Lincoln-Way West (17-11). Peyton Cusack contributed three hits. Marley Been had a triple and a single.
Mya Durr delivered an RBI double for T.F. South (10-16).
In her last eight appearances, Kundys has 29 strikeouts in 33 innings for the Warriors, who will play at 4:30 p.m. Friday against Shepard for the regional title.
Kundys has been guided by Loyola commit Abbie Gregus, one of the Southland’s most experienced catchers.
“It’s definitely different working with Katelyn,” Gregus said. “You can tell this season she has put in a lot of work. She’s getting so much better. Her spins are definitely tighter.
“It’s 100% challenging to go from watching Allie to actually being out there. She’s doing well.”
The right-handed Kundys’ spin was sensational in the second inning. She struck out the side — the last two on called third strikes.
After Durr came through with an RBI double in the top of the third, Kundys and Olivia Calderone slammed the door, allowing no hits the rest of the way.
The future has definitely arrived.
“I’m very excited to see Katelyn step up, especially as a sophomore,” Gregus said. “Next season, she’ll have the team too. This is a great starting point for her.”
Cusack, meanwhile, set the offensive pace for the Warriors with three singles.
She’s also feeling confident after Lincoln-Way West coach Heather Novak switched her spot in the batting order.
“I am,” Cusack said, laughing. “I moved up. It’s been a few weeks since Ava (Murphy) got hurt and someone needed to fill in the role.
“It feels good to lead off. I’m really excited where this team is at right now. We worked really hard since the beginning of the season. I know we can go far.”
Cusack is batting .351 with five doubles, 23 runs and 13 stolen bases.
“Peyton’s been doing great,” Novak said. “She has been having quality at-bats. It’s nice that, as a sophomore, she has been able to step up in the top of the order and get things started.”
T.F. South’s Emily Dominiak kept the Warriors at bay over the first two innings. Durr’s double in the top of the third put the Red Wolves ahead 1-0.
Two infield errors by T.F. South, though, allowed Lincoln-Way West to break through with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Nonetheless, it was a big effort by Dominiak, a sophomore right-hander, in probably her biggest challenge of the season.
“Emily is learning to pitch this season,” T.F. South coach Dave Klupchak said. “She was just a thrower before. Now, she’s a pitcher. She was throwing a lot of change-ups because we knew West had sluggers. She just tried to keep them off-balance with it.
“She did a nice job hitting her spots and using the change-ups. There were a lot of pop-ups and ground balls. That’s what we were expecting. She’s a great kid. We have some big expectations for her next season.”
