No sophomore jinx for Cary-Grove’s Efflandt

Many athletes who have a phenomenal freshman season suffer through the “sophomore jinx” and see their production drop off.

Not Cary-Grove’s Lindsay Efflandt.

Efflandt burst onto the area high school softball scene a year ago as a dominating right-hander who led her team to a berth in a Class 4A supersectional.

But a year ago, Efflandt was an unknown who sneaked up on the opposition somewhat. This year, she had a bigger Bull’s Eye on her back than her team. While everyone wanted to beat Cary-Grove, beating Efflandt appeared to be just as much an achievement.

In the end, only two teams — Elgin and DeKalb — were able to better Efflandt and the Trojans as she led her team to a 30-2 season — 15-0 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division — and a trip to the sectional finals where DeKalb eliminated Efflandt and Trojans 3-0.

“I kept telling myself not to get too comfortable,” Efflandt said. “That’s what happens with sophomores and you can’t do that. You have to come into every day with the same attitude and go out and do your job.”

For her efforts, Efflandt has been selected as the Honorary Co-Captain of the Daily Herald’s Fox Valley All-Area team for the second straight year. This season she shares the award with South Elgin senior center fielder Katelyn Stonecipher.

“Lindsay did a great job for us again,” said Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson. “Her numbers improved this year and she had more strikeouts. Last year she really focused on the 3-4 hitters. This year she was more consistent through the entire lineup. She was more focused and we hope that continues.”

Efflandt finished the season 27-2, giving her 59 wins in the last two years. She had a 0.86 ERA and 249 strikeouts, giving her 456 Ks in two seasons. She also walked only 34 batters in 196⅓ innings and had 11 shutouts. Opponents hit a minuscule .191 against her and she threw 562 first-picth strikes.

Her game was a complete one, as she also hit .337 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI.

But it was in the pitcher’s circle that Efflandt excelled the most, and she did so one day at a time.

“She looked at it as one game at a time just like our team did,” Olson said. “We had some rainouts and that helped her, I think. It helped defuse some of the tension. She learned not to think too far ahead.

Efflandt knew coming into the season that she’d be a marked girl.

“I just told myself at the beginning of the season that if you let someone else’s expectations get in the way of your own, you’ve already lost,” she said. “What everybody else says doesn’t matter. I just told myself that and my family told me that. I just had to do what I could do.”

Olson says nothing really changed about Efflandt’s pitching style, other than the fact her ace had a year of high school experience under her belt.

“Last year as a freshman she just did what she was told,” Olson said. “This year she was able to plan ahead on her own some. A high school schedule can be overwhelming and she really did a good job of just focusing on the next game.

“She really didn’t change anything, she just fine-tuned things. She increased her speed from last year and tightened up her spin. She focused on locations a lot this year.”

Efflandt knew during the Trojans’ second win over Jacobs that this could be another special season for her team.

“I can’t remember if we were tied or behind,” she said, “but then Emma (Gaulke) hit a bomb and that moment made me feel like our team was so together. That definitely was not my best game as a pitcher and she just said, without saying it, ‘OK, I’ll do it for you.’ I just hugged her and said thank you.”

With five seniors on the team, Olson wasn’t worried about Efflandt trying to take on a leadership role using anything but her actions this season.

“Leadership wasn’t really her place because she didn’t need to,” Olson said. “She did communicate with her teammates a lot better this year. We saw that side of her mature.”

Efflandt realizes her future is bright if she stays on track.

“I just have to keep working harder and set higher standards for myself,” she said. “You only get better when you push yourself. I’m not settling for anything. It’s good now but it has to get better.

And while disappointed in not making it to a supersectional or beyond again this year, Efflandt was satisfied with the season because of the relationships she formed with her teammates.

“The group of girls on this team, we were like a family,” said Efflandt, who will play this summer for the Northern Ice 16U team. “Regardless of what happened we gave it all we had. We had a great year and we had fun and that’s what matters most. I have no regrets. There were a lot of positive things about this season.”

The No. 1 positive being the continued maturation of Lindsay Efflandt.