There’s no learner’s permit for Crown Point junior Kendra Steinberg this season.
Pitching on the varsity level last year was an adjustment for her, but that process is in her rearview mirror.
“I feel ready for this season,” Steinberg said. “I feel really prepared.
“Definitely the step from JV to varsity was a big step. But I feel like I got that learning curve out of the way, so I’m really excited for this season. That learning curve is in the past.”
Steinberg still went 9-9 with a 2.76 ERA last season, helping the Bulldogs win their first regional title since 2019 with a victory against Lake Central after they lost both of the teams’ Duneland Athletic Conference matchups. She topped Crown Point in wins, ERA, games and innings pitched on a staff that included Brinkley Kita, who is pitching well as a freshman at Lipscomb.
“I’ve been playing with her since my sophomore year, and she’s definitely improved a lot,” senior Alina Blecic said of Steinberg. “She’s brought a lot of energy in general. She’s very upbeat, very energetic, very aggressive when she’s pitching — in a good way. We can always count on her.”
The Bulldogs will be counting on Steinberg more this season. She is stepping to the forefront as a leader and adding hitting to her workload. As she concentrated on making an impact as a pitcher last season, she went just 0-for-2 at the plate.
“I’m really excited to hit this year — beyond excited,” Steinberg said. “I’m really excited to contribute to my team on the offensive side.
“Last year I didn’t hit because it was a big step from JV to varsity pitching and they didn’t want to overwhelm me with hitting. I understood we had a lot of seniors, and pitching was enough last year. The learning curve of that was enough for me to handle and learning the varsity standards of hitting before getting on the field. This year I get to do all of it.”
It just was a matter of Steinberg waiting her turn.
“She has a great swing,” Crown Point coach Angie Richwalski said. “The only reason we didn’t hit her last year was because we had other hitters we needed to make sure were in the lineup who were older than her. Now it’s her time to shine.”
Steinberg typically does whatever is in her power to make it happen. She has a desire to improve and a thirst for knowledge.
“She’s a deep thinker, so she asks a lot of in-depth questions,” Richwalski said. “She loves to learn anything and everything. She’s genuinely interested in learning and fully understanding everything about the game.
“She wants to learn and understand the game at the deepest level. She’s one who will come back two months after you’ve said something and be like, ‘I get it now.’ She definitely listens.”
Steinberg has been in that mold for as long as she can remember.
“I just always love wanting to know more about the game,” she said. “I want to know every in and out of the game. I’m always needing to get better. Anything I can ask to get better, I want to know it.”
Steinberg also enjoys sharing her knowledge. She gives pitching lessons, with Richwalski’s daughter among her charges.
“I love helping mentor those girls,” Steinberg said. “And I love seeing their progress.”
Steinberg’s progress was slightly slowed leading up to this season. She tore two ligaments in her right ankle in the fall with her travel team. She was sidelined for 12 weeks, with two weeks on crutches, four weeks in a boot and six weeks of physical therapy.
“It was hard to be away from the game as long as I was,” Steinberg said. “Recovering from it was mentally tough. But coming back, I’m more excited than I’ve ever been.”
Steinberg also has a passion for music. She’s the first-chair oboe player in Crown Point’s top band and has earned gold medal recognition as a soloist from the Indiana State School Music Association in each of her three years in high school.
“I thought it was cool to have music and sports,” Steinberg said. “That combination doesn’t go together, and I wanted to be unique. I love music.”
The team’s potential for this season has been music to Steinberg’s ears.
“I’m really excited to be a leader this year and help mentor our freshmen and get them to the level we need them to be,” she said. “I’m just really excited to be one of the leaders this year and next year.”
Richwalski is happy to have Steinberg occupying such a position.
“Kendra’s incredibly coachable, just one of the easiest kids to coach,” Richwalski said. “She’s looking to learn. She buys into the ideals of the team. She accepts and embraces her role, no matter what it is. And in addition to all of that, she’s talented and works her butt off.
“She wants to get it right the first time. We don’t ever question if she’s going to give it her all. She always does.”
