Is it the year of the Hawk?
From the very moment they began walking off the Eastside Centre field in East Peoria last June after losing to Downers Grove South 3-2 in the state quarterfinals, the Bartlett softball team has had one goal:
A state championship.
Now, as the 2008 season awaits Mother Nature's go-ahead to get under way, that goal is as strong as ever in the Hawks' collective mindset.
And why not? After making a run to last year's Class AA Elite Eight and finishing with a 31-7 record, Bartlett enters this season as the hunted, having earned the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A from the Illinois Coaches Association as well as the top spot in the Daily Herald Top 20.
"It's a nice feeling to come in as a known commodity," says fifth-year Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith, fresh off guiding the school's boys basketball team to a school-record 22 wins and a berth in the sectional finals.
"We talk about having the target on our back. We talked five years ago, before any of these kids were here, about building it to this. Now that we've done that, and been downstate, we want to maintain it. Our next goal is to maintain that high level, raise it even more, and bring home a state championship."
While the goal may be lofty and bold to some, one needs only to look at the pitcher's circle and behind the plate to realize the Hawks' goal is realistic. The talent around the field for the Hawks is plentiful but at the two key positions -- pitcher and catcher -- it just might be the best in the state.
Senior Lauren Wydra is coming off a 23-5 season in the circle, a junior year in which she struck out 289 batters and fashioned a 0.52 ERA while earning all-state honors. Her batterymate, junior Elizabeth Kay, is not only one of the most talented defensive catchers in the state, she's one of the best hitters too. Last year Kay, who has committed to Illinois State, hit .449 with 15 doubles, 9 triples, 4 home runs (including one in the state quarterfinal game) and 33 RBI.
The scary part is, they could both be better this year.
"I've been working real hard with my pitching coach (Jillien Waldron)," said Wydra, a right-hander with a repertoire that includes a fastball, a curve, a changeup, a drop, a rise, and a devastating screwball.
"We've been working hard on tweaking things. Last year we worked hard on my screwball and now we've been working on muscle memory for the other pitches."
Kay has been working a little on muscle as well.
"I've been working really hard," she said. "I always work a lot on hitting. I wanted to get more power in my swing so I've been doing a lot of weightlifting."
Kay, who plays for the Bartlett Silver Hawks in the summer, played her freshman season in center field for the Hawks before moving behind the plate last year. The connection she and Wydra made last season will be a huge asset for Bartlett this season.
"I know her style and we're like one now," Kay said. "It's good to have that connection."
Wydra, who pitches for the DuPage Diamond Dawgs in the summer, couldn't agree more.
"We've grown together and we have a special bond," she said of her relationship with Kay. "When I get nervous or frustrated she's always able to calm me down. She makes me laugh."
Wolfsmith, who is 2 wins short of 100 for his Bartlett career, couldn't be happier to have two Division I quality players at the two key positions on the field.
"I think anybody would tell you if you're going to have Division I players on your team, the best place to have them is behind the plate and on the mound," he said. "Lauren is as confident a pitcher as anyone in the state. She brought her ERA down last year, raised her strikeouts, brought her walks down and she is just a very efficient pitcher. She's not going to throw 120 pitches in a game; more like 70-80. She's so good around the plate that hitters swing at bad pitches early in the count because they don't want to get down 0-2.
"And E-Kay … she played center field as a freshman and led the team in assists. Then she goes behind the plate last year and only 17 runners tried to steal on her and she threw out 53 percent of them. We all know she can hit. She'll be a hitter until she's 95 and in a wheelchair."
Wolfsmith also sees Wydra's bat as becoming more potent this year. She hit .305 last season and Wolfsmith expects that production to increase.
"Lauren established herself as a hitter last year and I think she's going to have an exceptional year at the plate. She's in mid-season form now."
To some players, the pressure of being a top-ranked team might take its toll. But to Wydra and Kay it's a place they want their team to be.
"Last year we ran under the radar and this year we're ranked way up there," said Wydra, who revealed that at the present time she is thinking about not playing college softball and just attending ISU as a student. "It's not something we're focusing on. I know I'm focusing on what I need to do to be better and that's what I think everyone on our team is focusing on. We all get along so well. We're like a family. We grew so much together last year."
"It feels good (to be No. 1)," Kay said. "(Winning state) is what we're thinking about and building for. This season can be better. We lost a couple key players (to graduation) but we have some good young players who are ready to step up."
Wolfsmith says the entire Bartlett team is primed to take that next step. He's toughened up the nonconference schedule, including a mid-April trip to the prestigious Wendy's Spring Classic in Ohio, and the Upstate Eight Conference should be tough as always.
"Not many people expected us to do what we did last year," he said. "We graduated nine seniors. But now the whole crew is back and the bar has to be set higher. These girls raised the standard for themselves last year. I would have been shocked if they came in this year wanting anything less. They relish it and they're having fun with it. As a coaching staff we're demanding a higher level of performance in practice. We're asking an awful lot of them but this is a group that takes their craft seriously and they want to get better.
"The goal is a state championship."
Game on.