Mysliwiec can't miss in her endeavor to power Antioch

With eyes wide open and an infectious smile that can stretch across an Iowa cornfield, Ashley Mysliwiec can't hide her excitement for the challenges in her near future.

Challenges such as opposing softball teams.

Outfield fences, with her bat.

Even the state directly west of Illinois.

The Antioch senior earned a full scholarship from Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant and she recently signed a letter of intent to play softball for the NAIA school.

"I hope to pitch, and I'll hit," said Mysliwiec, who's done both exceptionally well for the Sequoits ever since she earned a varsity roster spot her freshman year. "I also hope to play either second, shortstop or third. It'll be fun. I'm excited."

More than excited, actually.

"I'm ready to take on, like, Iowa," she added, apparently referring to the state, not the University of Iowa.

For as excited as Mysliwiec - pronounced MISS-lew-ic - is about heading off to college in another state, she's equally thrilled about the season Antioch could have after the Sequoits won 25 games last year with a team that had few seniors.

And talk about confident.

That No. 14 on the back of Mysliwiec's jersey?

That's how many home runs Can't-Miss Mysliwiec would like to hit this season. She belted a school-record dozen last year.

"My goal was 14, because that's my number," said Mysliwiec, who batted .338 in 2008 with 23 total extra-base hits and 29 RBI.

"But I only hit 12 so my goal this year is 14, again."

Really, it's realistic.

"She's a strong kid," said first-year Antioch coach Jeff Tylka, a former three-sport athlete in both high school (Lacrosse, Wis.) and college (Knox).

"She's excellent at keeping her hands always inside the ball, which keeps her balanced all the time. She's able, with her balance, to hit any pitch that they throw her."

Mysliwiec might not hit 14 dingers this spring, as she considers herself more of a line-drive hitter.

But maybe a teammate will break her one-year-old mark.

Sequoits shortstop Allie Anttila smashed 7 homers last season and got her first of 2009 in the team's season opener against Cary-Grove. Sophomore Olivia Duehr also went yard. Junior Lauren Moore can swing the bat with authority too, and so can veteran Samie Seamon, who hit a pair of homers last year.

"I think we have a really strong offense, as well as defense," Mysliwiec said. "I think (opposing teams) are going to have to watch out for us, because we got a stacked-up (batting order). Like 1-9 can hit really hard."

Swinging for home runs, however, isn't always recommended.

Sluggers often strike out. And, especially in softball, bunting and slapping are often just as effective as the long ball or a gapper.

Antioch has hitters - not just home-run hitters.

"We haven't really talked about home runs," Mysliwiec said. "We have a lot of sophomores, so we don't want them to think, 'hit for a home run' because it'll start messing up their swing or something like that.

"What we try to do is just score a run for the team and get a solid line drive. That's what we go for. Then if you hit a home run, hey, it's nice."

Ashley Mysliwiec is part of "A" softball sisterhood.

Older sister April also played ball for Antioch and is now doing so for Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconsin. Kid sister Amber is a freshman softball player for Antioch.

The Mysliwiec sisters' parents, Fred and Trish, both played softball when they were younger. Growing up, it was softball all the time for the Mysliwiec girls.

"That's what we did," Ashley said. "Weekends. Every day ... since I was 5."

Ashley is proud of her school home-run record and is serious about wanting to better it. But she's realistic.

Her teammates are a threat to the mark. So is her kid sister.

"She's stronger than I am," Ashley said of Amber. "I hope to see good things from her too. Hopefully, she'll break my record. Or, Olivia (Duehr) will probably break my record next."

Well, maybe there's an Antioch softball pitching record out there to be had for hard-throwing Ashley. Of course, Duehr does more than hit long balls too. She, too, pitches and pitches hard.

"To my surprise, Ashley's ball moves a lot more than I thought it did," Tylka said. "They're different styles of pitchers, even though they're both overpowering."

Overpowering, yes.

jaguilar@dailyherald.com