Softball: Zdroik's talent, leadership took St. Edward to new heights

When hitters stepped into the batter's box with St. Edward senior Lindsay Zdroik in the pitching circle, they took a different approach.

"A lot of batters were afraid to face her and rightfully so," said St. Edward catcher Allie Stratman. "You could tell by how far in the back of the box they set up."

Though Stratman and Zdroik have played extensively together in high school and travel softball, the travel part of the equation took them on different paths, which in recent times created the opportunity for Stratman to dig in against her best friend.

"She's a little intimidating," Stratman said, "but I feel like I put up a good fight against her."

Stratman would be in the minority in that category. Showing a dominance both in the pitching circle and at the plate, Zdroik played a major role in St. Edward going 25-10 and finishing fourth in the state in Class 2A (in the Green Wave's first appearance in East Peoria). A banner year also has earned her the distinction of being the well-deserved Honorary Captain of the Daily Herald's Fox Valley All-Area softball team.

"It was a real pleasure to have coached her this year," said first-year St. Edward coach Paul Netzel. "She made my job so much more easier. She's a great leader and a competitive person. By Lindsay being that competitive and being a strong leader, it caused other girls to be better and the better they were, the best team success we had."

Netzel noted Zdroik had the leadership ability to derail trouble in games at its earliest appearance. "We would make a mistake early and Lindsay would call everybody to the center and talk real calm," he said. "They all would slap hands and she ended up righting the ship."

One easy way for Zdroik to right the ship was by the use of her pitching arm. In another masterful season in the circle, Zdroik went 16-5 with a 1.22 ERA. She struck out 247 batters in only 143 innings of work, while allowing only 91 hits and 24 walks, which averages out to less than a baserunner allowed an inning via hit or bases on balls.

Those 247 punch outs helped her break the St. Edward record held by Jackie Brittain (680). Zdroik finished her career with 781 strikeouts.

"Anybody can tell she's very fast," said Stratman, who has played with Zdroik for nearly 10 years dating back to their days in Elgin Classic Little League. "It's not just the speed. She almost always hits her spots. She makes it very easy for me to call games. She has very good movement on her pitches, especially her rise and her curve."

Included in her magical season on the mound was a perfect game against Elgin at the Larkin Slugfest. Zdroik also turned things up a notch in the postseason. She threw a 6-inning no-hitter and struck out 14 in the regional title game, fanned 16 in the sectional semifinals and threw a 1-hitter in the sectional title game while striking out 17. She also had 14 strikeouts in the Green Wave's 11-inning supersectional victory.

"She was dominant," said Netzel. "We could count on 10 to 12 strikeouts a game. That's less balls we had to worry about. It made it easier for our fielders to play relaxed when they aren't always getting balls hit to them."

Zdroik said there was nothing new in terms of mechanics this spring that sparked further pitching improvement Rather, she put the majority of her apples into the mental-approach basket.

"I was a lot more mentally focused before, during and after games this year," she said. "I also had a lot of support from my teammates, which helped a lot."

And lest anybody forget about the damage Zdroik did this season with her bat. The Valparaiso-bound Zdroik batted .550 with 55 hits in an even 100 at-bats and belted 12 home runs to go with 68 RBI. Twenty-four of her 55 hits went for extra bases, giving her a robust 1.020 slugging percentage (103 total bases in 100 at-bats). The 68 RBI will earn her a place in the reported IHSA all-time single-season record book (tied for 20th place).

"People talk about her pitching all the time, but she's a heck of a hitter," Netzel said. "She had 2 home runs and 6 RBI in a sectional game. She did an awesome job."

Former St. Edward coach Jaci Corn isn't surprised in the least bit by Zdroik's exploits this season. Corn coached Zdroik her first three years at St. Edward.

"You can tell right away softball is a passion of hers and it has been for as long as she can remember," said Corn. "Lindsay has such a strong work ethic and she cares about the team so much. That helps drive her to be a better player and a person every second on and off the field. She's always come through and got the job done. She definitely is one of a kind."

Zdroik throws major praise to her battery mate Stratman for helping her enrich the softball journey along the way. "Allie helped so much with the way she called my pitches and the way she supported me and always kept me focused," she said. "We have great chemistry and that comes from pitching and catching together for so long. Allie has helped me so much on and off the field. She always made sure if I had a bad game that I got it out of my head."

Zdroik said it was a tremendous thrill to finish her high-school career on the big stage of the state semifinals in East Peoria.

"It was awesome that we made it down there and that we were the first Elgin team to do it," she said. "We never gave up. A lot of people told us we couldn't, but we did."

Zdroik, who plans to study special education at Valparaiso, admitted getting the school career strikeout record was "rewarding," but in general has never been overly concerned with the numbers she's put up. Instead, Zdroik focused on helping her teammates any way she could.

"I've always focused more on what is better for the team instead of what is better for me," she said. "Playing at St. Edward was great. I'm going to miss a lot of things, especially the girls on this year's team. They all wanted to be here, we had great team chemistry and they all wanted to win."

And Zdroik and her Green Wave teammates did plenty of that this season and have the state trophy to prove it.

Get to know Lindsay Zdroik

College: Valparaiso

Favorite music: Country

Favorite singer: Tim McGraw

Favorite movie: Charlie St. Cloud

Favorite food: Mac and cheese

Favorite restaurant: Wok and Fire

Favorite softball team: St. Edward, Wasco Diamonds and Valpo

Favorite athlete: Kris Bryant

Guilty pleasure: Dunkin' Donuts' hazelnut ice coffee