Minooka softball team seeking offense to back pitcher Alyssa Hajduk

MINOOKA – The Minooka softball team is off to an 0-3 start after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at Joliet West.

Don’t let that fool you, however. The Indians have one of the area’s best in the circle in senior left-hander Alyssa Hajduk, and coach Mark Brown’s roster includes 11 seniors.

It is a matter of getting the offense going.

“In our first couple of games, offensively, we are in a team-wide slump,” said Brown, whose team also has lost to Providence and Lincoln-Way East. “We’re not getting the big hit right now.”

Of course, the Indians are facing strong competition.

“From start to finish, there are no easy ones on our schedule,” he said. That’s the way we want it. Hopefully, this will pay off in the long run.

“We’re kind of under the radar right now. We’re not attracting too much attention. But once our bats heat up, we’re going to be a tough team.”

Getting the bats heated up might not mean knocking the fences down with shot after shot. It will be more a matter of execution.

“In years past, we have had some sluggers,” Brown said. “That’s not the thing with this group. The idea is to get on, get ’em over and get ’em in. We have a lot of speed. We’ll be playing small ball and looking to get the big hit.”

The 11 seniors on Minooka’s roster include several with experience. In addition to Hajduk, who hits third in the batting order, No. 2 pitcher Shannon Stuchly, shortstop Courtney Kurtz, outfielder Steffanie Pershey and catcher Audrey Hanouw are among those Brown is counting on to provide senior leadership. Kurtz is in her first season at shortstop.

Other seniors who will be in prominent roles include outfielder Dani Cain, second baseman Lauren Fox and first baseman/catcher Julie Czerniakowski. Third baseman Maria Ruettiger and outfielder Lexi Cerven are two juniors who pencil in for regular duty.

Cerven made a highlight-reel, diving catch in center field Tuesday with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth inning. Joliet West tied the score at 1 on the sacrifice fly, but Cerven threw to second base to double the runner off and helped quell the threat with no further damage.

“That was an amazing play,” the appreciative Hajduk said of Cerven’s catch.

Hajduk finished her junior season with a 1.75 ERA.

“Alyssa had a couple of tough-luck losses last year,” Brown said. “If we get our bats going, she will give us a chance to win every time out.

“We’ll keep working on the offense. Our mindset is that the tournament starts in two months, and we have to be at our best at that time.”

“We need to come together as a team,” Hajduk said. “We need to get people on base, and we need to get them in.”

Minooka, which won the Class 4A state championship in 2013 under Brown, is using its difficult early schedule to help prepare for the Southwest Prairie race.

“We won it in 2014 and Plainfield Central took it from us last year,” Brown said. “We’re trying to get it back from them.

“But there are other good teams in the league. Plainfield North is good, Plainfield South can beat you and Plainfield East is capable, too. Our conference is not a two-horse race.”

If togetherness makes a difference, the Indians should be ready for the challenges they face.

“A lot of us have played together since we were young,” Hajduk said. “We might have gone off and played with different travel teams at times, but we’ve been together other years (in high school). We’re a close group.”