Olivia Duehr: Lake County softball captain

This is heavy stuff, so to speak, as the inside joke on Antioch's softball team is that the players like to kid each other about how they're, well, not exactly the skinniest bunch.

"We have a lot of fun with that," said pitcher Olivia Duehr, 5 feet 8 and built tough. "Don't get me wrong - we're all athletic."

Easy to digest that.

No softball team in Lake county fattened up on wins more than the Sequoits this season. When Duehr (pronounced Deer) pitched them to a 1-0, 10-inning victory over postseason nemesis Johnsburg and star pitcher Amanda Daly in the Class 3A Richmond-Burton regional final last Saturday, it was their 31st triumph against only 2 losses.

"The day we walked into the gym to start tryouts, we told ourselves that this is going to be a great year and we're not going to expect anything less than what we can do," Duehr said. "This is what we can do."

This is what Olivia Duehr can do when she sets her mind to something.

On a star-studded team, no Sequoit shined more brightly or was more noticeable than the sophomore ace, whose pitching and hitting numbers have earned her the honor of captain of the Daily Herald Lake County All-Area softball team.

Chew on these numbers: During the regular season, Duehr went 16-1 with 10 shutouts and a 0.50 ERA. She struck out 197 batters and walked just 18 in 126 innings.

She pitched Antioch to a 2-0, 15-inning win over Lake Zurich in the North Suburban Conference championship game, striking out 20.

"She pitched in all the big games and still put up incredible strikeout numbers," first-year coach Jeff Tylka said. "Some of the area pitchers strike out 300 girls a year and they pitch every inning. Olivia struck out over 200 (221 heading into the sectional) and never pitched against some of the weaker opponents. Which is a credit to her."

More credit to Duehr: She went into the sectional batting .455 with 8 home runs and 38 RBI. She also had a team-best 12 stolen bases and slugged at a .779 clip during the regular season.

Tylka calls her a "phenomenal hitter."

She was the Sequoits' MVP.

But don't tell that to Duehr, whose modesty might be her most impressive attribute.

"I feel I'm not the player I am without the players on my team," she said. "I don't get recognized without them."

Perhaps she's humbled because she claims, believe it or not, this is all new ground for her. She's never been the star on her team, she says, even though you would never guess that when considering how dominant she's been in the circle, in the batter's box and on the base paths.

"I never was on a team where I was the standout," said Duehr, the oldest of two daughters of Kurt and Sandy (nee Weitz), an Antioch graduate. "But I always played on teams that got along."

During her eighth-grade year, she was inspired by watching Northwestern's softball team play in the Women's College World Series.

"That was the time I realized I wanted to be someone special and go somewhere," she said. "That's when I started going all-out for softball. They (Northwestern's team) made me realize how to play with your heart and how to love the game."

So she gave up basketball after eighth grade and focused on softball, which she started playing when she was 6. As a freshman, she was called up to the varsity for the final month of the season and was impressive in limited action.

Heading into this season, however, there was no guarantee that Duehr would become the Sequoits' ace because the team already had senior Ashley Mysliwiec, who had been on varsity since her freshman year and anchored the staff last year.

"I knew that we had Ashley, so that gave me more drive to work harder," Duehr said. "In the off-season, I worked every day and told myself that I was going to be the No. 1 pitcher, and I worked toward that goal. It was nothing against Ashley. It was just a goal I had and worked for."

Mysliwiec, a great hitter and great pitcher, never begrudged her younger teammate.

Which helps explain why Antioch's players get along so well, why they have so much fun together and why they've been so successful.

"She's been really helpful," Duehr said of Mysliwiec. "She knows these hitters because she's a four-year varsity starter. She's got the experience I don't have. If I get in a jam, she's always there to talk to. That's nice."

Duehr has earned everything she's accomplished this season. That's nice.

"I worked hard for this," she said of all the success, both hers and the team's. "This doesn't come without hard work."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>All-Area Teams</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Cook County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298406"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298405">Softball captain: Nikki Goranson</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298398"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298397">Baseball captain: Jon Carlson</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298403"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298402">Soccer captains: Laura Mayer, Mary Kubiuk</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298401"><B>Boys volleyball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298400">Volleyball captain: Chris Falknor</a></li> </ul> <h2>DuPage County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298388"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298392">Softball captain: Hannah Santora</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298388"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298582">Baseball captain: Jack DeAno</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298391"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298394">Soccer captain: Leah Fortune</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298390"><B>Boys volleyball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298393">Volleyball captain: Joe Kelly</a></li> </ul> <h2>Fox Valley</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298676"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298362">Softball captain: Kimberly Pierce</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298660"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298356">Baseball co-captain: Brian Brauer</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298355">Baseball co-captain: Craig Lipp</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298658"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298361">Soccer captain: Cori Wronski</a></li> </ul> <h2>Lake County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298410"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298408">Softball captain: Olivia Duehr</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298407"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298396">Baseball captain: Chas Evans</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298404"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298409">Soccer captain: Courtney Levy</a></li> </ul> <h2>Tri-Cities</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298385"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298379">Softball captain:Stephanie Becker</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298383"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298380">Baseball captain: Matt Milroy</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298382"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298378">Soccer captain: Emily Hinchman</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>