Softball: Keller kills it as Geneva's tone-setter
Geneva expects a lot out of Katie Keller, and the junior catcher wouldn't have it any other way.
The Northern Illinois commit with a sweet left-handed stroke easily could be an ideal No. 3 hitter, with a school-record 12 home runs this year. It's where she bats during the travel season, and she certainly has the power and skill to do it.
But Geneva likes putting Keller in the leadoff spot. She's perfect for it, putting pressure on the opposing hurler from the first pitch on.
Keller couldn't have performed that role much better, especially against the Vikings' toughest opponents in games that came to define both Keller and the team's dream season.
Having not defeated St. Charles East since 2011, Keller went 4-for-4 back on April 26, scoring 4 runs and driving in 2 in a 9-5 breakthrough win for the Vikings.
Two days later, Geneva knocked off St. Charles North 8-3, and Keller singled, doubled and walked twice to get on base all 4 plate appearances.
St. Charles East finally got her out in the second meeting, but not before Keller homered on the fourth pitch of the game in a 6-4 win that clinched the first conference championship in school history. She went 4-for-4 in an 8-0 win over St. Charles North, completing a 4-game sweep for Geneva over its St. Charles rivals and leaving Keller 14-for-16 in getting on base in Geneva's four biggest games of the season.
Tough to do her job much better than that.
"I love being able to set the tone immediately," Keller said. "I know if I get a hit I will totally motivate my team and everyone will want to hit behind me. That's what helped us win so much this year. Just making sure everyone knows I'm ready to play. If I come out of the gates I know everyone will come out behind me too."
Keller didn't quite keep up that .875 on-base clip the entire season, but she didn't miss by much. She batted .576, breaking her own school record she sat last year. Keller also set school records for runs scored (62), on-base percentage (. 710) and slugging percentage (1.152) for an area-best 1.862 OPS.
She is this year's captain of the Fox Valley All-Area Softball Team in an exciting spring that saw big performances turned in by West Aurora's Hannah Beatus, St. Charles East's Rylee Stout, Hampshire's Delaney Rummell and many more.
"She is kind of a calm and cool assassin," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. "She has ice in her blood. I like the fact if things aren't going her way she doesn't wave her arms and stomp her feet. She just does not get rattled.
"I also like she's very aware and eager to get better. She's aware there's areas she can improve in and she can't wait to work on those things."
Keller, who won the Upstate Eight Conference River Player of the Year, said whatever satisfaction she got from her play paled in comparison to the team's success. Geneva finished 31-3, winning 29 straight games at one point while capturing its elusive first conference championship.
Getting over the St. Charles hurdle was key to making all that happen.
"It's always been daunting that we have to play the St. Charles this week and I think that was a challenge for us this year," Keller said. "We have a great team and I knew we could do it and I had to be totally energized and this had to be our best games. I knew I had to do whatever I could to get on and get hits so my team could hit behind me. If I can hit everyone else will hit behind me and if I can lead and motivate the team everyone is going to be more comfortable because we always get nervous playing good teams. I think that was the difference this year because everyone was calm and knowing we can actually do it this year."
Of all the impressive numbers, Dierks said he was most impressed by Keller's batting average.
"The slugging percentage is ridiculous but the foundation of all the other percentages is that her batting average is so high to begin with you are just building on that," Dierks said. "The fact our highest average ever before her last year was .480. We've had about 10 people total hit .400. It's not easy to do. The fact she broke the .500 mark (last year) and took another leap forward, she's knocking down barriers that no one ever touched before."
Keller, born and raised in Geneva, has a younger sister Sam who played shortstop for the Vikings this year and a brother in fifth grade. Her parents are Brian and Kris, a former football player and cheerleader.
Keller played both soccer and softball for a few years before settling on softball, starting travel ball in third grade with the Geneva Foxes and continuing with the Wasco Diamonds, Kane County Xplosion and Mizuno Hawks.
Along with her coaches, Keller credits her tight family support with much of her success.
"My parents are the most supportive of me and my sister and brother too," Keller said. "I've had a lot of great coaches. I love coach Sean (Geary) and I love coach Dierks. I think they are great coaches and I've also had great coaches with the Hawks and Xplosion and I had a lot of good experiences that totally boosted my confidence with them."
It was back with the Foxes when Keller first started catching. The left-hander hasn't stopped, picking off 11 runners this season.
Once again, it's a role - like leadoff - that Keller enjoys because of the impact she can make.
"I know I'm able to motivate my pitcher and motivate the players and being able to lead behind there is the best part," Keller said. "And also making sure my team is calm. A lot of them look up to me and I take that and use that to my advantage to motivate them to get us to win."
One of Keller's biggest disappointments in softball came during her freshman year at Geneva. She tried out for varsity but made the JV team.
That ended up serving as motivation to elevate her game.
"I wasn't happy I made JV but that was the turning point of me becoming a better player," Keller said. "I knew I had to step up and get better. I used that JV year to my advantage and changed the way I approached things and changed my swing. I got a lot better that year and coming back that summer for travel I got a lot better.
"So coming back the next year for varsity I was ready and I just came out of the gates doing the best I could knowing I prepared myself. Getting into a mental state that you know you are good and know you can do it got me to the point I am now."
"Part of it was there was a lot of competition at the catcher spot," Dierks recalled. "It wasn't like we had a hole there. She wasn't good enough to tell them to go find a new position to play. And as far as the offensive side, she was a good player back then but she was nowhere near the player she showed up as a sophomore. She made massive improvements.
"It is a little strange though to look at somebody who is putting numbers up like no one we have ever had before and think she didn't play for us her freshman year. But I think we did the right thing."
In her first varsity season as a sophomore, Keller broke Geneva's record with a .510 average and 61 hits along with 16 doubles and 5 home runs. She committed to Northern Illinois shortly after, where she wants to study physical therapy.
"They were hands down where I wanted to go," Keller said. "I had a strong connection with coaches immediately. I knew this was where I wanted to go. They have great softball too."
Geneva played plenty of great softball this past spring, all the way to its final game - a surprising loss as a No. 1 seed to Yorkville in the regional finals.
Keller said she's still not over that loss and is using it as incentive for a big senior season when once again a lot will be expected of her.
"It's still there," Keller said. "I don't know how long it will take. It was super disappointing. But I think no matter what happened in the playoffs no one can take away that we did so well."