Softball: Geneva's Keller completes record-setting career

Katie Keller homered in her first varsity at-bat for Geneva and didn't slow down much over the next three years - until the opponents wised up and stopped pitching to her.

Keller's senior year at Geneva this spring had its share of frustrations, mainly when she didn't get a chance to show off her sweet left-handed swing.

A 2-0 win over Batavia best illustrated Keller's year. She hit a 2-run home run in the first inning, then walked her next three at-bats including the final two times intentionally. The only strike she saw in the game she hit 240 feet.

"The name of the game this year was getting around the whole intentionally walking business," Keller said. "It's humbling and kind of a compliment to me but at some points it's really frustrating. But I understand where they are coming from."

Keller ended up walking 24 times in 100 plate appearances. When combined with her 40 hits and .526 batting average, all those walks led to a .670 on-base percentage.

The Northern Illinois recruit finished with 10 doubles, 4 triples and 5 home runs, slugging .961. She's the Fox Valley All-Area Captain for the second straight year and a three-time All-Area selection.

As a junior Keller slammed 12 home runs - a number she wanted to approach again. But as the season went on and the good pitches to hit disappeared she learned to help her team in different ways.

"This year I didn't see as many strikes," Keller said. "Last year I got a lot more to hit which is why I hit a lot more home runs. This year I was just trying to get runs across for my teams. Instead of home runs I focused more on producing runs.

"The person I vented to the most was (assistant) coach Shawn (Geary) our first base coach because he was like just pitch to her and my dad was mad too. You could hear my dad sometimes in the stands. But I have been working a lot on my speed and if you put me on the bases and (head) coach (Greg) Dierks started giving me the steal sign and sometimes it worked out."

Pretty much everything Keller did at Geneva worked out. She spent her freshman year playing JV as she continued to develop from a contact to power hitter.

In her first varsity season as a sophomore, Keller broke Geneva's record with a .510 batting average and 61 hits along with 16 doubles and 5 home runs. She committed to Northern Illinois shortly after, where the straight A student wants to study physical therapy.

As a junior the catcher batted .576, breaking her own school record. Keller, whose younger sister Sam is Geneva's shortstop, also set school records for runs scored (62), on-base percentage (.710) and slugging percentage (1.152) for an 1.862 OPS.

One coach who has had a front-row seat to much of that success is Larkin's Anne Vogt. The Royals lost every game to Geneva, but Vogt said she didn't mind - because she knows Keller as well as anyone having given her batting and catching lessons for years.

"Larkin didn't win a game against Geneva in Katie's four years there, but I always left those games with a smile on my face because I was able to watch Katie Keller accomplish her goals that she started working so hard on at such a young age," Vogt said. "I am always super proud of her for her accomplishments on the field, but just as proud of the extraordinary young lady she became."

The way Keller soaked up every coaching tip was something that struck Vogt.

"She was very driven at such a young age to learn the game and excel on the field," Vogt said. "She has so much heart and dedication for the game and always has. I worked with her on a weekly basis for years and very early into our lessons I knew she was going to be a very special player. Her mom and I would discuss whether or not she should be a catcher due to the fact you do not see so many lefty catchers. I would always reassure her that she is very talented and is going to turn heads. Once a coach sees her behind the plate they will understand why she is a catcher."

Geneva coach Greg Dierks certainly agrees.

"Her hitting draws so much attention that it is easy to overlook what a great job she does behind the plate," Dierks said.

Keller set a school record this season by reaching base 17 straight times. She is Geneva's career leader in doubles (43), batting average (.539), slugging percentage (.946) and walks (67). She is second in runs (138), third in hits (160) and second in home runs (22).

"She probably would be first in all those stats but she only played three years of varsity softball and the players ahead of her all played four," Dierks said.

"She has always been very aggressive as a hitter," Vogt said. "We worked on hitting location early on in her time with me. I would try to explain that once a pitcher got to know her that she wouldn't see many great pitches and that she needed to capitalize and learn how to hit pitches on the corners. We would play a point game based on the location she hit the ball. She was determined to beat her previous score each week. Unlike most coaches I loved to play Geneva so I could watch her excel behind the plate and crush softballs out of the park."

Now Keller moves on to NIU where she will try to continue that success. She said she'll be competing with two others to catch, and on the bright side she shouldn't have to worry about intentional walks - at least for awhile.

"It's going to be different, the next level, but I think I'm up for it. I'm definitely excited for it," said Keller, adding last year's 31-3, conference championship Geneva team will be one of her best memories of high school softball. "Knowing I was part of team that went down in history that had never done something is unreal to me."

The best hitter to play softball at Geneva is going to leave big shoes to fill.

"She loves playing softball and she shows that every practice and at every game," Dierks said. "She always has a smile on her face. For a coach, she is a once-in-a-lifetime type of player."