Softball: Keller making her mark as left-handed catcher
It's not unusual for catchers and umpires to exchange in some small talk before a game.
There's one topic Geneva sophomore Katie Keller knows is always going to come up.
That's because Keller is a left-handed catcher, an extremely rare sight to see and one she's become accustomed to talking about.
"A lot of the umps do ask me, they talk to me about that," Keller said. "I say 'I'm a lefty, it's OK.' A lot of people have that lefty thing in their head, they might not be as good. I try to work my butt off."
Keller certainly is making a difference this spring for the Vikings, hitting in the leadoff spot and posting a .521 average as the table-setter for Geneva's 20-win team.
It's her position on the diamond that makes her stand out. Left-handed players don't normally stray far from the outfield, first base or pitcher.
Keller is the exception. She started catching when she was 8 years old.
"I had a friend who was a catcher and I thought that looked like a cool position," Keller said. "I said 'Why not?' I tried it out and ended up being a starting catcher the next year and took it from there.
"Nobody has tried to put me anywhere else."
Certainly not Geneva coach Greg Dierks. He has been watching Keller catch basically since she was 8 years old because she's been teammates with Dierks' daughter, Alissa, also a sophomore on Geneva's team.
"I can still remember an inning when she was 8 or 9 and all 3 outs were her throwing out runners at second base," Greg Dierks said.
Dierks doesn't have any problems playing a left-handed catcher. If it were up to him there would be more of them.
"To be honest with you I don't understand the lack of it," Dierks said. "To me the only play that I see is a hair more difficult for them is tag plays. The pickoff at first is stronger. The throw to third isn't quite as strong but how often does someone steal third? Not that often. Throwing to second is no different. To me it's a complete nonissue."
That's music to Keller's ears because there's no other position she wants to play.
"Catching is my favorite part of the game," she said. "I love being in control. I love having that leadership behind there."
Bright future: With 18 wins and counting, the Batavia softball team is having its best year yet in the four seasons under coach Lupe Castellanos.
The good news for the Bulldogs is the first four hitters in their lineup - Toni Galas, Jaelin Lisberg, Rachael Lovestrand and Jena Bendoraitis - all will be back next year.
The even better news is that those four players will handle center field, shortstop, pitcher and catcher.
"We will lose 6 seniors but our pitching is coming back, and we have some girls at JV level who should be able to step up," Castellanos said. "If you can be strong up the middle usually you are pretty solid."