'Just incredible'
Rosary's Schalz dominates at the plate, in the circle
Science or art?
Take your pick, but it was probably a generous portion of both. And when Kylie Schalz stepped onto the softball field this spring, the result was a thing of beauty as the Rosary senior made things happen.
Mary Beth Nolan/For The Beacon News
How else do you explain throwing back-to-back perfect games and posting an area-best .538 batting average in leading the Royals to the Suburban Catholic Conference title?
"She was just incredible this year," Rosary coach Tara Tattersall said of the four-year starter who played shortstop when she didn't pitch.
"She worked really hard this year in the offseason. She's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. She's really driven."
Maybe it should come as no surprise The Beacon News 2008 Player of the Year plans to major in engineering, "the science concerned with putting scientific knowledge to practical uses," according to Webster's NewWorld Dictionary, next year at Division I Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., where she will also play softball on scholarship.
Schalz had input on a personal program to improve her pitching and hitting skills last offseason that paid huge dividends.
She began working with pitching coach Lisa O'Rear of Naperville before her junior season and managed to get in twice-weekly throwing sessions while also playing high school and club volleyball.
"(O'Rear) broke down my mechanics and fixed a horrible arm circle (problem)," said Schalz. "I rolled my shoulder and it might have led to a rotator cuff injury. My delivery is just so smooth and I'm a lot more comfortable. Before, I felt like I was muscling everything."
The results have been amazing.
The fluid delivery helped improve her speed and led to "a lot more crisp, better pitches," she said of her assortment that includes fastball, change, rise, curve and screwball.
In her junior year, when she also made our All-Area team, Schalz hit .316 with seven homers and 18 RBIs and struck out 96 batters in 103 innings pitched.
This year, she spent more time in the circle and the results were dramatic. Her strikeouts-per-inning doubled, improving from .93 to 1.85. In going 13-7, she fanned 243 batters in 131.2 innings with a 0.85 ERA.
"I had an amazing season and I think I shocked everyone with that amount of strikeouts," she said.
"I've probably picked up 7-8 miles-per-hour but my coach doesn't even use a speed gun or worry about that. She just works on mechanics."
At the plate, her 50 hits in 93 at bats included 11 doubles, four triples and four home runs as she drove in 32 runs.
And her pitching experience helps Schalz in the batter's box, said Tattersall.
"She sees the ball really well out of the pitcher's mitt," the coach said, noting Schalz hit at a .650 pace in conference games. "And when she gets two strikes on her, she's not afraid. She's really disciplined."
Schalz is keeping her options open at Oakland (enrollment, 18,000) in the classroom and on the field.
On her visit, she learned of one of the school's graduates who now designs surfboards and skateboards and thinks, "I really want to design sporting equipment but I'll go wherever the occupation leads me."
That same flexibility may be needed in softball, where she was recruited to play shortstop.
"Now, they may want me for both," she said, adding it's hard to choose between the two.
"I love the thrill of pitching and being involved in every play, especially when you strike someone out. But I also like making plays and backing up whoever else is pitching.
"Personally, I think I'm pretty good at both."
She'll get no argument from opponents who faced her this spring.
Girls Softball Player of the Year
