Hard-hitting Hogan sets tone for St. Viator
Sam Hogan hit a ball off the fence for the 11th time on Tuesday and it resulted in her 16th double of the season.
"I'm known as the 'almost-home run king,' " she said with laugh.
But not to worry.
She can hit them over it, too.
In fact, she did it in a Sacred Heart retro uniform on Saturday, then came back to do it again in the Lions' regular jersey on Tuesday against Rolling Meadows, the school which was directly across the street from Sacred Heart when it closed in 1987.
Hogan's blast over the center field fence gave the host Lions a 12-0 lead in the top of the third inning and they finished with a 14-1 five-inning triumph.
"That was awesome wearing the navy and blue Sacred Heart jerseys (with Sabres written across the front)," Hogan said of the all-girls school which merged with St. Viator. "Mr. (John) Scotillo (Lions coach) had replicas done of them. It was a cool experience."
Hogan has been experiencing a stellar season, hitting .469 with 38 hits and 3 home runs.
"Everyone hit great," said Hogan (3-for-4), who had a homer, double and single and also reached base on an error while collecting 5 RBI. "I've been working on my hitting and pitching at the (Illinois) Bash warehouse and that's helped me.
"No doubt this was one of our best hitting games (14 hits) of the season. Once we get going, we don't stop."
Scotillo says Hogan is like having a player-coach on the roster.
"A big reason Sam is so valuable is her leadership," he said. "An example occurred early in the year when a freshman dropped a flyball.
"Naturally, she felt bad but Sam took her aside a told her about the time when she (Hogan) was a freshman and dropped a flyball with the bases loaded. Sam told her she thought she would never get over it but things worked out pretty good. That goes a long way to explain why this team has such good chemistry."
Five starting seniors - veterans Hogan, Kristen Hackel, Tess Kaiser, Gina Mastrodomanico (3-for-4) and Martha Hayes - helped pave the way. They all reached base in the Lions' first inning when they scored 9 runs.
"They're all great leaders Scotillo said. "And they don't let each other get down. They stay clam because they've been here before."
Before the seniors came to the plate, led by Hogan batting No. 3, the Lions' leadoff batter and No. 2 hitter set the table.
Freshman Cameron Vanvalkenburg (2-for-2, walk) and junior Krystal Harris (2-2, sacrifice), were a combined 4-for-4 with 5 runs.
"Hitting is contagious," Scotillo said. "When those two lefties start are hitting at the top of our order, the middle continues it.
"Cam (Vanvalkenburg) is the prototypical leadoff batter," Scotillo said. "And she is a great outfielder (left field). She has thrown out two or three runners at home."
Meadows (4-23) scored its run in the bottom of the fourth when Chloe Prodanovic led off by reaching on an error.
She scored from third base when Jenny Watson singled with two outs.
Maddie Morgan singled to center to lead off the game and Meghan Slowik had the Mustangs third and final hit in the bottom of the fifth when she tripled down the right field line.
"We just have to come out with more energy," said Meadows coach Tony Wolanski. "For us to compete the girls have to be more mentally tough. That's something I have to keep coaching to make us get better."
"It was nice to see Meghan Slowik get that triple and that was a nice RBI single by Jenny Watson. It was also nice to see Lydia (Schultz, Mustangs freshman pitcher) keep battling."
Hogan (13-8) is truly a battler for the Lions (17-10).
"Sam is the heart and soul of our team," Scotillo said. "She just plays hard all the time. When she is throwing well, she keeps us in games.
"She loves the game. She loves to run the bases. She'll be upset when I take her out for a courtesy runner. She likes to get dirty diving for balls, She recognizes things on the field. She just knows how to play the game."