Softball: Jacey Schuler, Lake County All-Area Captain

For those keeping score at home, it is possible for the great ones to become even greater.

And Antioch junior pitcher Jacey Schuler did just that.

The repeat Daily Herald Lake County All-Area Softball Captain took things up a few more notches, helping her Sequoits squad reach the Class 3A state title game in East Peoria where it engaged in a classic 12-inning battle with Lemont that saw Schuler and Lemont standout Sage Mardjetko combine to strike out 34 batters as Lemont repeated as state champions.

"Jacey is, flat-out, the most dominant player in the area," Antioch coach Anthony Rocco said.

The numbers prove Rocco's declarative statement and then some.

In the pitching circle, the Michigan State University recruit, went 19-2 with an ERA of 0.81. She allowed only 17 earned runs over 147 2/3 innings, while striking out an impressive 270 batters against only 31 walks.

Those numbers come on the heels of a sophomore Lake County All-Area captain campaign that saw Schuler go 20-3 with an 0.68 ERA and 272 strikeouts against 31 walks. She went 23-5 as a freshman with a 2.11 ERA and fanned 236 batters in 149 2/3 innings. She will enter next year with a 62-10 record and 778 strikeouts with a chance to hit the 1,000-K barrier before she calls it an Antioch career.

"The biggest thing that changed for me was I worked a lot on mechanics and improved my speed and spin," Schuler said. "My confidence has grown a good amount since last year."

Schuler said she was hitting 60 miles per hour last year with her fastball and that went up to the 62-63 range this season.

"My spin rate improved this year," she added.

Lincoln-Way Central coach Jeff Tarala, whose team lost 5-2 to Antioch this season in a game that saw Schuler fan 15, said watching Schuler pitch is like watching Central's own pitcher Lisabella Dimitrijevic. The two play on the same travel team (Illinois Chill) and go to the same pitching coach (Jonathan Hon out of Homer Glen). Dimitrijevic struck out 12 in that game.

"Jacey uses the same still technique that Bella uses and I believe that is what makes them different and special," Tarala said. "Because Jacey does not use a bit windup and rather just looks at the ground and strides, it is very difficult for hitters to time her up. I also think this technique allows Jacey to be 'sneaky quick,' or in other words the ball gets on the hitter quicker than they think it will. On top of the technique, Jacey is simply a talented pitcher with the tools to succeed. She has velocity, movement and a competitive edge."

Schuler agrees with Tarala's assessment.

"I would say my start is different than what other pitchers do and it throws off batters a good amount," she said. "I started seeing my current pitching coach a little over a year ago. Last year, this was not perfect. And now, a little over a year later, I'm seeing a lot of success with it."

When it comes to the confidence piece of the pie, Schuler can't take complete credit for that.

"I would say the girls on the team help me with my confidence a lot," she said. "Freshman year we lost in supersectionals and last year we made it to state. That gave us a boost this year with being more confident as a team. We have a great offense and that makes me more confident to shut hitters down so we can go score some more runs on offense."

Schuler most certainly took part in the offensive side of the success story as well. She hit .541 (59 hits) with 11 doubles, 3 triples, 9 home runs and 63 RBI on an Antioch team that had four players with 45 or more hits and three players with seven or more home runs. Of those 9 homers, three were grand slams, which places her in the IHSA record books, and two came against strong pitching opposition in Warren and St. Charles North.

Schuler, who went 7-0 and struck out 93 in Northern Lake County Conference games in helping the Sequoits to an undefeated league title, also committed no errors this season between the pitching circle and the outfield.

Back to the pitching stuff. Schuler, who went 7-0 and struck out 93 in Northern Lake County Conference games in helping the Sequoits to an undefeated league title, fanned a season-high 17 batters on three different occasions this season. She was especially tough when it mattered the most: starting with the Wauconda sectional championship game, Schuler went 3-1 over Antioch's final four games of the postseason with a 0.21 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings of work.

"Jacey is able to spin the ball and keep hitters off-balance," said Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec, whose team was one of only two to defeat Antioch this season. "She has great control of her pitches and location and has composure on the mound. It was a great game between two great teams."

"We have seen quite a few of the better pitchers in the area and in Illinois, so that is saying a lot. I feel like our conference (DuKane) is full of quality pitching, but not like Schuler," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "She held us to one hit and our offense has been potent this season. She has speed, movement and the ability to change speeds. She does a great job of attacking hitters and not wasting pitches."

Like Rocco, Poulin gave Schuler the ultimate praise.

"Jacey Schuler was the most dominating pitcher we saw this season," he said.