Stevenson junior shortstop Jasmine Lucero is quite skilled in the art of hitting.
Lucero demonstrated that during her award-winning freshman season. Two years later, a pottery class has helped her craft a tour de force on the softball field.
“I’ve learned with pottery you have to be really patient and trust the process,” Lucero said. “It’s the same thing with softball. You have to have patience and learn from your mistakes.”
Mistakes are few and far between for Lucero, who continued to crush the ball during a Class 4A New Trier Regional semifinal in Winnetka on Tuesday. She went 2-for-3 with a home run as the fourth-seeded Patriots rolled to an 11-0 win over 13th-seeded Niles West at Duke Childs Field.
Alyssa Shimanski hit two homers and drove in three runs for Stevenson (20-6), which will play fifth-seeded New Trier or 12th-seeded Buffalo Grove in the regional championship game at 4 p.m. Friday. Hannah Baker had two hits, including a home run, with four RBIs, and ace Ava Potempa (11-5) allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in four innings.
Lucero entered the game batting .562 with nine home runs, nine triples, seven doubles, 37 RBIs and 37 runs scored.
“Jasmine’s preparation makes her special,” Stevenson coach Brandon Simmons said. “She’s an endless worker. We’ve actually talked to her about forcing her to take a break. She never wants to stop.
“Her mentality and preparation are the key. She’s been consistent all season long and leads our team in almost every category.”
Lucero, a two-time All-North Suburban Conference pick, agreed that her mental approach has improved. After she hit .480 as a freshman, her average dipped to .385 last season.
“My freshman year, I felt I didn’t have much pressure,” she said. “I didn’t need to show anything. My sophomore year, I felt the pressure. I felt last year I had to show people I belonged on the varsity after all the awards I won my freshman year and that I earned it.
“Going into this season, I wanted to focus on having fun.”
Potempa has noticed.
“Whatever there’s a dull moment in the infield, she will come up to me,” Potempa said of Lucero.
Potempa also sees a difference when Lucero bats.
“She’s very confident when she’s at the plate, knows what she wants to do and uses that to her advantage,” Potempa said.
But Lucero’s work ethic remains unchanged.
“She puts in more work than anyone I know,” Shimanski said. “She’s always in the dome, always practicing and hitting after games and practices, and is also a great teammate and always helping with adjustments.
“She’s always positive and a good leader. I can’t wait to see what she does leading this team next year.”
Not that Lucero and her teammates are looking that far ahead yet.
“Winning a regional is our first goal right now,” she said. “But we haven’t won a sectional in my time here. Our goal is to win sectionals, and my end goal is to make state.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
