Loyola recruit Anna Kiel inches closer to 500 career strikeouts. But what about her hitting? ‘Even more impressed.'
But which statistics put up this season by the four-year varsity standout and Loyola recruit are more impressive, those for her pitching or her hitting?
Take your pick, according to senior catcher Chloe Ricard.
'With Anna, you can call any pitch in any count,' Ricard said. 'I have a lot of confidence in her to throw whatever she wants and she has the confidence in me to call whatever I feel is best.
'But I think I'm more impressed with her hitting, which is remarkable. Usually, the standard is how far above .200 you are hitting, and she's hitting above .500.'
On Wednesday, it had to be Kiel's work in the circle.
The hard-throwing left-hander fired a three-hit shutout for the fifth-seeded Storm in a 4-0 shutout of 11th-seeded Addison Trail in a Class 4A South Elgin Regional semifinal.
Kiel (14-3), the Upstate Eight West's pitcher of the year, struck out 13 and walked none to lead her team to a familiar place in the postseason.
Her teammates put up three runs in the second inning, featuring a triple by sophomore left fielder Kaidence Rumachik and RBI singles by sophomore first baseman Jenna Sheehan and senior third baseman Adriana Jimenez. All three, along with Ricard, were all-conference selections.
South Elgin (27-4), which set the program's single-season record for wins, advanced to a 4:30 Friday regional final against third-seeded Lake Park (21-7), the Storm's nemesis.
'Knowing every pitch matters is something I'm going to focus on,' Kiel said. 'I'm trying not to focus on the pressure but trusting the people around me, knowing we can get it done if we play together.
'We're definitely going into the game hungry on Friday.'
Kiel was delighted to get in game Wednesday's game, especially after the area was hit with plenty of rain in the morning. South Elgin coach Brad Reynard said the U-46 grounds crew deserved an assist.
It allows his ace to have the day off Thursday and be available for the final without pitching two days in a row. Each of the past three years, the Lancers have ended the Storm season, twice in regional championship games and her sophomore season in a sectional semifinal.
Kiel's 13 strikeouts Wednesday pushed her career total to 494.
'She'll take one strikeout Friday as long as she gets the 'W' against Lake Park,' Reynard said. 'She's ready to go now. Anna doesn't get too high or too low. It's hard to read emotions sometimes from her.'
Kiel had a single in three at-bats and carries a .558 average (43-for-77) with seven doubles, one home run and 23 RBIs, one of seven players on the team with 20 or more RBIs.
'She's just locked, hitting laser line drives, finding the hole between shortstop and third base and hitting the left-center gap,' Reynard said. 'This year, she told me, 'One of my goals is not to strike out.''
Close. So far, Kiel has struck out only once in 86 plate appearances.
Kiel credited her work with New Lenox Lightning coach Jim Abbott and Phil Latoria of St. Charles for improving her hitting and St. Charles-based Jill Waldron on her pitching.
'I think it helps me as a batter being a pitcher,' Kiel said. 'I'm not guessing, I kind of know what they might be thinking throwing to me.'
Loyola coaches will let her do both, she said, if she earns it.
'Offensively, she probably doesn't get as much praise as she should,' Reynard said. 'But for me, knowing she's going to be in the circle is hard to beat.
'I don't want to say she's the best player I've ever had, but she never ceases to amaze me and I've been doing this 25 years. It's like talking to an adult.'
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