Callanan's drive produces high five

A high five would have seemed more fitting.

Instead, after Lindsay Callanan raced home all the way from second base on a wild pitch, she and equally jacked teammate Shayna York leaped simultaneously into each other and bumped jerseys.

About five minutes and five seconds earlier, the 5-foot-5 Callanan dropped a bunt approximately 5 feet, 5 inches in front of home plate and sped to first base safely.

That gave the speedy senior 5 hits in 5 at-bats.

"I've never been up five times and had hits consecutively," Callanan said after her five-star-worthy performance in Antioch's 16-3 win over host Lakes on Tuesday.

Had Kaley Lindstrom not flied out to end the Antioch seventh, Callanan would have had the chance to go 6-for-6.

"That would have been cool," she said.

Lindstrom, who had a big day at the plate herself with a 2-run double and single, didn't say anything to Callanan about coming oh-so close to getting the Sequoits' leadoff hitter a chance for a sixth straight hit. Callanan's teammates didn't joke about it to her, either.

"They probably didn't even notice," Callanan said.

If you've watched Antioch's softball team the last three years, it's hard not to notice the energy Callanan provides.

The quintessential leadoff hitter, she has sprinter speed and exceptional athleticism. No wonder she's a three-year varsity starter in both softball and volleyball.

No wonder the University of Northern Iowa has recruited her to walk on its Division I softball team.

"We look to her for a lot of production," Antioch coach Mary Easton said of her two-time all-conference player. "She has a great glove and she comes through in clutch situations. I'm sad she's a senior because she does a lot for our team."

As good as Callanan was offensively against Lakes on Tuesday, she was equally superb defensively.

And that's not unusual.

First, the lefty first baseman made a leaping catch to rob Jeanna Dudley of a base hit. Then, two innings later, Callanan stole a base hit from Maddie Nelson by diving to her right and flipping the ball to second baseman Alli Anttila, who stepped on first just ahead of Nelson.

Callanan has also played some center field, where she would seem a natural considering her speed, but she's most comfortable patrolling first.

"First is my favorite," she said. "It's my home."

"She's been 'on' defensively and offensively the whole year," Easton said.

"Lindsay is very confident in herself at the plate as well as on the field. She is one of those players that always wants the ball to come to her. She is one of our team captains and shown great leadership throughout the season."

Callanan has been getting on base a lot lately thanks to her deft bunting. A left-handed hitter, she's able to deaden the ball just far enough away from the catcher, pitcher, first baseman or third baseman.

She had a pair of bunt hits against Lakes, hiking her batting average to .415 (34 hits).

"Probably 10-15 of my hits are drag bunts," Callanan said. "I probably did it twice last year. I wasn't quick enough then.

"I tore my quad (during volleyball) so I was recovering from that."

Completely healed now, Callanan has made the drag bunt an aspect of her game opponents need to respect.

"People think I'm slapping, so when I lay down (a bunt) they're not even close (to the ball)," she said. "They don't really even throw it to first."

Once on base, Callanan makes things happen. Take Tuesday again. She stole second base after her second bunt hit, then ran all the way home on a wild pitch.

"They were lollygaging so I just took my chances," Callanan said. "I was watching the play the whole time and as I was rounding (third base), (the catcher) was still picking the ball up and no one was even at home. So I did it."

Antioch was up 11-3 in the seventh.

While Easton said the hustle play was something her team didn't need to be doing at that point in the game, Callanan was simply playing the game. Players who hustle are players who hustle all the time. The score of the game doesn't matter.

"She's heads-up all the time," Easton said. "She'll make plays that nobody thinks anybody can make. And she'll make it look easy."

Callanan's excited to show Northern Iowa what she can provide.

"It's the perfect size," she said of the Cedar Falls campus. "I'm going to major in education and it's got a really good program there. It's in a nice town, and it's got a lot of things to do. It's like more of concealed campus, and it's not too far from home."

Particularly when Callanan is on base, she's never too far from home.