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Power numbers increasing among NewsTribune-area softball players · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Power numbers increasing among News Tribune area softball players. Written
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  by Kevin Schlum. This article is being read by an
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  automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Princeton junior Eva
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  Ortel loves to high five her coach, Jessica Strausch at
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  third base and see her teammates waiting for her at
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  the plate when she hits a home run. The joy
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  after going toward third base and Jessica with her big smile,
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  and knowing your teammates are all there cheering you on
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  when you get to home plate is probably the best
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  part about hitting a homer because it's a team sport
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  and seeing that you did something for your team is
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  a really great feeling. Ertel had that feeling a lot
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  this spring as she launched a News Tribune Area best
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  seventeen home runs. But Ertele wasn't the only slugger sending
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  softballs sailing over fences. Three other players hit double digit
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  home runs, with Princeton senior Keeley Lawson smacking thirteen, and
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  LaSalle Peru senior Ana Riva and Saint Bede senior Eva
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  Blestri each hitting ten. In total, forty four News Tribune
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  Area players combined to hit one hundred and forty six
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  home runs this season. Area home run numbers have increased
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  in each of the last five seasons. In twenty twenty two,
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  the area leader had four home runs and the top
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  ten combined to hit twenty seven. In twenty twenty three,
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  no player had double digit homers and the top ten
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  had forty two round trippers. In twenty twenty four, no
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  player reached double digits and the top ten combined for
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  sixty one homers. And last season, Ortel was the only
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  player to hit double digits, as she had twelve and
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  the top ten hit sixty eight homers. This spring, the
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  Area top ten combined for eighty four homers. I think
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  several factors contribute to the increase in home runs. Saint
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  Bede coach Rob Ruppert said. One, I think girls are
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  playing more and become better hitters. Years ago, you were
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  taught to swing level. Now it's launch angle, so balls
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  carry farther. Two. The bats today are so much better.
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  The ball just jumps off the bats. I also think
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  the balls are much better when they make solid contact.
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  There is just a sound that resonates. Three. Pitchers are
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  throwing harder today, so when they barrel a ball. It
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  goes even with better bats and pitchers throwing harder to
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  help balls leave the yard. Players and coaches agree the
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  main factor in becoming a good power hitter is hard work.
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  This group of athletes in our area are overall a
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  talented and athletic group. Straus said, I've known so many
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  of them since nine, ten years old, or started hearing
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  about them at the ages of twelve or fourteen. Their
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  dedication and hard work don't go unnoticed. I've coached or
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  provided hitting lessons to them over the years. I've been
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  able to see the work behind closed doors first hand.
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  Bilestri said she didn't become a power hitter overnight. Vice
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  I would give someone to be a better power hitter
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  is that it takes time. Bilestree said. You can't wake
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  up one day and decide that you're going to just
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  start hitting home runs. You have to put in hours
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  and hours of practice on and off the field to
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  become better and stronger. Ortel agrees that it's off season
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  work that makes a good hitter for her. That is
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  strength training, hitting in the cage, and working with hitting
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  coach Trey Hannam, who helped tweak her swing. Change how
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  she loads and taught her to make changes to her
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  own swing. I feel like if you don't put in
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  the work, then you won't succeed. Urtel said, a few
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  players can get in the box and be a natural
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  at it, but it's the off season hours that count.
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  If you don't put that work in, it might be
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  harder for you, whereas if you do, you're going to
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  be more relaxed and more fluent with your swing. Noustrebund
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  twenty twenty six home run leaders. Riva said, you have
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  to become disciplined to hit often and gain strength. I
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  have worked hard to get stronger, which is given me
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  quick hands and better bat speed. Riva said. I have
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  been strength training with emphasis on core, hips and legs
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  to provide more power. I also do a lot of
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  off season hitting. All the off season work pays off
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  in season. Timing and pitch selection are key at the plate.
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  Timing is everything, said Bilestri, who will continue her career
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  at IVCC. If you're too early, you'll roll over, and
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  if you're too late, you'll miss the opportunity. So working
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  on timing up pitches in different parts of the zone
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  is really important to be able to drive the ball.
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  To hit a ball out, power must be generated with
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  the lower body. I would tell hitters to make sure
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  they use their lower half to become more explosive and
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  to look for pitches to drive early in the count,
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  said Reva, who also will play at IVCC and most importantly,
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  hit with confidence. While rivas at a home run can
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  change the momentum of a game, don't swing for the fences. Artel,
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  who's committed to Illinois Springfield, hopes to keep increasing her
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  power numbers as a senior. She's already Princeton's career leader
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  in home runs thirty five, RBI's one thirty seven and
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  doubles thirty five. Seeing the jump from my freshman year
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  to sophomore year, then from my sophomore year to junior year,
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  I'm hoping that I can keep that jump going, Burtle said,
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  I've added numbers each year. I'll put in a lot
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  of work this offseason and hopefully see those numbers grow
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  even more. Area coaches think home run numbers as a
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  whole can continue to grow. I think this trend can
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  continue as more and more coaches are dedicated to the
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  lifting programs and implementing the correct hitting techniques. LP coach
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  Randy Jobbe said