As the Daily Journal coverage area continues to see more and more student-athletes make waves at the college level, several of them are doing so at the highest level: NCAA Division I. Our summer campus catch-up series begins on the diamonds of baseball and softball.
Baseball
<strong>Hutchings shines in Illini rotation</strong>
Heading into his fourth season as a redshirt sophomore (and COVID-19 season) southpaw pitcher, 2020 Coal City graduate Payton Hutchings seemed to turn a corner after totaling just 23 1/3 innings in his first three seasons with the University of Illinois.
This past spring, Hutchings finished with the fifth-most innings pitched on the roster, totaling 37 2/3 innings in 17 appearances and four starts on the rubber. He finished the season with a 4-3 record and a 7.65 ERA and 1.81 WHIP, all while amassing 31 strikeouts out of 150 batters faced, trimming his ERA by more than 50% down the stretch after a tough start to the season.
Some of his season highlights included striking out a career-high six batters in 2 1/3 frames March 19 against Bradley, when he allowed just one hit and zero walks. Hutchings also found himself pitching in postseason action when he worked a season-high five innings June 1 in the NCAA Lexington Regional at No. 2 Kentucky. In that appearance against the Wildcats, the four-year hurler allowed just three runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts. Hutchings also finished the season with All-Academic Big Ten honors for his efforts in the classroom.
<strong>Jackson ends historic career at Toledo</strong>
After having a dominant two-year stretch at KCC on the diamond, 2020 Bishop McNamara graduate Owen Jackson took his talents to Toledo University in 2023, where he since has proven he’s one of the most feared hitters in the entire Mid-American Conference.
After tying the school’s homerun record (16) in 2023, Jackson followed up his debut season with the Rockets with an even more stellar year while still going yard 16 more times in 2024. This past spring, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound left-handed hitter batted .246 with a .938 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (third-highest OPS for Toledo) in 56 games played, including 55 starts.
Out of 191 total at-bats, Jackson collected 47 hits, including 21 extra-base hits, with 42 runs and 43 RBIs, which allowed him to finish 19th in the MAC for RBIs. In addition to his power, Jackson tallied a new Toledo single-season record 47 walks, which led the entire MAC. In the field, the right-handed first baseman and outfield finished with a .987 fielding percentage, with 70 putouts and four assists against only one error in the field.
All in all, he finished 2024 with 13 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games, all while earning himself All-MAC Academic honors.
<strong>Hopwood comes home</strong>
Keaton Hopwood, a 2020 Wilmington graduate, redshirted this spring after opting to transfer from Coastal Carolina to Illinois State before the start of the 2023-24 season.
During his time with the Chanticleers, the right-handed hurler found himself appearing in 16 games between the 2021-22 seasons. As a freshman, Hopwood saw significant time on the rubber, totaling a 4-3 record in 13 appearances with a 5.97 ERA. He totaled 28 strikeouts and surrendered 32 total hits in 31.2 innings pitched.
As a sophomore in 2022, Hopwood wasn’t able to build off a solid first season as he was limited to just three appearances and zero starts. Out of the 1.1 innings he did see time on the bump, the former Panther allowed just one hit and two earned runs with one strikeout and three walks, leaving him to end his final season with Coastal Carolina with a 13.50 ERA.
His best outing in 2022 came on March 30, when he tossed one scoreless inning, giving up one hit and zero walks with one strikeout.
<strong>Trepanier makes Bradley debut</strong>
Luke Trepanier, a 2021 Manteno graduate, finally made his first career appearance on the rubber in 2024 after failing to get any appearances between his first three seasons with the Braves.
The 6-foot, 185-pound southpaw found himself appearing in two games this past spring Feb. 25 against UNLV and March 3 against Lindenwood. His first time out on the bump finished a bit rocky, as he totaled zero innings pitched and gave up four earned runs on two hits and two walks, which resulted in his first college career loss.
Despite the tough act to open his career, Trepanier bounced back by tossing one perfect inning of relief against the Lions, when he still managed to suffer the loss after not allowing a single hit or walk.
<strong>SOFTBALL</strong>
<strong>Jackson continues steady action with Hawkeyes</strong>
Avery Jackson, a 2022 Kankakee graduate and younger brother of Owen, has had no trouble seeing the field on the diamond in an Iowa Hawkeyes uniform. Between her freshman and sophomore campaigns, Jackson already has appeared in 82 games, including 67 starts.
Known for her excellent defense and quick speed, Jackson showcased her defensive ability quite well by concluding this past season with a .975 fielding percentage that included 42 putouts and 73 assists in 35 appearances with 29 starts in 2024.
She managed to be one of only four Iowa players to start in all 23 of the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Conference games this past spring, when she totaled a .148 batting average that included eight of her nine total hits on the season, three of which were doubles.
Jackson’s season totals included nine hits, four doubles, five RBIs, two drawn walks and a perfect 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts. Her best individual effort at the plate came in Big Ten action against the University of Minnesota on April 27, when she went 2-for-4 with one run scored. On two separate occasions against Pacific on March 16 and Wisconsin on March 23, Jackson recorded a season-high two RBIs. The strong start to her Hawkeyes career allowed her to finish as a letterwinner in 2024.
<strong>Talbot providing pivotal role in DePaul</strong>
Bourbonnais native and 2021 Bradley-Bourbonnais graduate Addison Talbot found herself seeing plenty of action this past spring during her junior year at DePaul University. The 5-foot-5 left-handed hitter appeared in 33-of-47 possible games last spring, with 21 coming as starts for the Blue Demons.
She concluded the year with a .200 batting average that saw 11 total hits, including two doubles for a total of 13 bases. Additionally, Talbot added eight runs scored, five walks, two RBIs and two stolen bases in her 55 appearances at the plate. Talbot’s season-highs came against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 11 and Kansas City on Feb. 16, when she managed to record her only two multi-hit games of the season.
In the field, Talbot proved to be very reliable, as she finished with a .919 fielding-percentage with 33 putouts and one assist compared to only three errors made.
<strong>Bylak’s ISU career wraps up</strong>
Four years after graduating from Bishop McNamara in 2020, Madi Bylak recently wrapped up her Red Bird softball career as a utility player with Illinois State this spring.
As one of the team’s veterans, Bylak saw action in 20 games in 2024, including seven starts.
This season alone, Bylak finished the year with a .250 batting average with seven hits, five RBIs, three walks and two runs scored in 28 at bats. Out of her seven hits, six of which were singles, Bylak managed to record her first career home run against Valparaiso on April 14 to help her squad complete the conference comeback sweep.
Defensively, Bylak accumulated eight putouts and one assist compared to just one error for a .900 fielding-percentage.
Bylak’s top two performances at the plate this year came in the months of February and March. On Feb. 18, she went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles to record her only multi-hit game of the year. And on March 1 against St. Thomas, Bylak record a season-high three RBIs off a two-RBI single and an RBI walk
Some of her career achievements included earning the Laurie Mabry Award at the Illinois State Student-Athlete banquet as well as being awarded the Heart of Service Endowed Scholarship recipient in 2024. The Heart of Service Endowed Scholarship was established by Eric and Maria Boerngen, which is awarded to the Redbird Softball student-athlete who most exemplifies a “Heart of Service.”
Bylak also was named the 2022 Team’s Most Valuable Role Player award after seeing action in 31 contests, mainly as a pinch runner.