Steffens quite a catch for Wauconda

When she received a text message from her high school softball coach Saturday night, Alexandra Steffens did what any good team player would do.

She offered to help, even if it meant switching positions on the field and donning catchers gear.

Wauconda was in need of a catcher after junior Taylor McCarthy suffered a season-ending, torn left lateral collateral ligament earlier in the day against McHenry. Bulldogs coach Tim Rennels texted certain players and explained that there would be a practice Sunday to find a replacement for McCarthy.

"It was like a catcher tryout," Steffens said. "I told him I used to catch. He didn't consider me until I told him."

Tuesday, catching for the first time since she was 9, the sophomore Steffens belted a 3-run homer, as Wauconda beat visiting Lakes 7-3, handing the Eagles their first loss in North Suburban Prairie Division play.

Steffens also caught a good game, as UIC-commit Kayla Wedl struck out eight and did not allow an earned run in a complete-game performance.

"I thought she did really well," Wedl said of her new batterymate. "I was proud of what she did today and how well she did behind the plate."

Steffens had been starting at first base for the defending NSC Prairie champs.

"All day it was a little nerve-wracking because I didn't know if I was catching or not," Steffens said. "Once I came in and he told me to get the gear on, I just started to relax a little bit. We were messing around just warming up, and it let my nerves go."

Wauconda (11-7, 3-1) was feeling better after Steffens' first-inning homer. Freshman leadoff hitter Rachel Becker (2-for-4) had scored on a passed ball to give Lakes (7-8, 4-1) a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning. Steffens, batting in the cleanup spot, came up with two on and one out. With the wind howling out to right field, Steffens swung at the first pitch she saw from Eagles ace Ally Perdue and hit it high the opposite way.

The ball just cleared the fence.

"First pitch looked pretty good," Steffens said. "I like high and outside."

"We hung a ball where we shouldn't have hung a ball," Lakes coach Bill Hamill said.

Hayley Redmann's RBI double in the third made it 4-1, and Wauconda added two more runs in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Sarah Ricci (2-for-3) and Wedl (2-for-4) and a sacrifice fly by Brooke Sefcik.

Wedl's solo homer made it 7-1 in the sixth, before Lakes took advantage of 3 errors in the seventh to score a pair of runs. Cassidy Schaar's RBI groundout accounted for one of them. Freshman Georgia Ohren (2-for-3) had led off the inning with just the fifth hit off Wedl. Lakes played without starting second baseman Jen Reed (contusion).

Wedl recorded her 700th career strikeout in the first inning and also made an acrobatic catch of a windblown foul ball. She hit two batters and walked one but wasn't blaming the unseasonably cold and blustery conditions.

"There was one ball that was brand-new and it slipped out of my hand because of the slick leather," Wedl said. "But other than that, it was fine. I just kept blowing into my hand and wiping it on the dirt to get some grip."

McCarthy had been batting leadoff and making an impact both offensively and defensively. She said she is expected to be out 6-8 weeks but will not require surgery.

"We're best friends, even out of softball, so it affects me a lot," Wedl said. "I feel really bad for her. I wish she could be out here playing."