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36 | June 27, 2019 | the homer horizon sports homerhorizon.com Going Places Porters ace pitcher prepares for expanded role in college Kleffman headed to Evansville for softball career Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter Erin Kleffman played on the LTHS varsity softball team for three seasons and is now headed to University of Evansville to play. 22nd Century Media File Photo On Thursday, June 6, recent Lockport Township graduate Erin Kleffman was on her way to college orientation at the University of Evansville in Indiana. Even though Kleffman knew two-and-a-half years ago that is where she wanted to college, the standout softball pitcher for the Porters wished she was not going there at that time. “I wish I was on my way to state,” she said of the IHSA Softball State Finals that were held on June 7 and 8 at EastSide Centre in East Peoria. “Not on my way to orientation.” The Porters, however, lost to Joliet West 6-5 on May 31 in the sectional title game. The Tigers went on to win their supersectional game, advance to the State Finals and finish third in Class 4A. Lockport wondered what could have been. “Nothing was clicking like it had been,” Kleffman said of the loss to Joliet West. “Our fielding wasn’t there, we were hitting the ball at people. It was just everything.” This past season, Kleffman gave her all in being the Porters’ ace pitcher. The team went 29-6, and she had more than half the wins, going 15-3 in the circle with 89 strikeouts. She was named the SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue Division All-Area team in helping the team to an undefeated conference championship, “She was a workhorse,” Lockport softball coach Marissa Chovanec said of Kleffman. “We really worked hard this season. She also contributed in the role as a leader on and off the field.” Influenced by her mom, Sue, who played softball at Shepard in the 1980s, Kleffman started playing softball early. “I started when I was 4,” she said. “I’ve been pitching since I was 8. I was in Junior Miss Softball to start, and my dad, Jack, helped to coach me.” At Lockport, Kleffman was on the varsity softball team for three seasons. That was not her only sport, however. She also excelled at bowling. She was a three-year varsity member there, too, and the only senior on the Porter girls bowling team that finished fifth in the state this past winter. On the final ball of her high school bowling career, Kleffman fired a strike and then declared herself “retired” from the sport. “It’s not that I was tired of bowling,” Kleffman said. “It was just my hobby. I just did it for fun. I like the team aspect of softball better.” Given that both bowling and softball pitching requires one to perform with an underhand motion, did that correlate at all? “No, but a lot of people have asked me if that messed me up,” Kleffman said of the motion for bowling compared to that of softball. “But no. I just went from one sport to the other. I never combined the two, and it never affected me.” Kleffman never threw a 300 in bowling, She has, however, fired a no-hitter in softball. In fact, she had two this past season. The first one was in a 2-0 victory over Joliet West with five strikeouts on April 6 the title game of a WJOL Tournament. The second was a 16-0 win in four innings with 11 strikeouts on May 21 over Thornwood in the semifinals of the Lockport Regional. “It’s hard to throw a 300,” Kleffman said. “You just have to stay mentally focused the whole time. In softball, other people can do things to affect it. So, I actually think a no-hitter is harder to accomplish.” Even though she wished her orientation for college was later, Kleffman is ready to move to the next step. She has known for a long time that the University of Evansville in Indiana was the place for her. “I committed there in January of my sophomore year,” she said of her early commitment in 2017. “For me, I went to a lot of camps, a lot of schools. I like that it was a smaller school. I’m going to major in economics, and the coaches there prioritize education. They make sure you get good grades and keep that balance.” Kleffman plays for the Chicago Bulls/Sox Youth Academy Softball team and will do so again this summer. She also bats and plays some first base there, which she might also do in college. “I have more of a possibility of playing sooner,” Kleffman said of going to the University of Evansville. “I will be pitching, hitting and maybe playing some at first. I’m looking forward to it.”
homerhorizon.com 36 | June 27, 2019 | the orland Park Prairie sports the homer horizon | June 27, oPPrairie.com 2019 | 37 Team 22: softball Publisher 22nd Century Media chose the best softball student-athletes in its seven-town southwest suburban coverage area — based on coach and reporter recommendations, and player statistics — to place on one super team. The team is made up of student-athletes from Lincoln-Way Central, LW East, LW West, Providence Catholic, Andrew, Tinley Park, Lockport Township and Sandburg high schools. —Compiled by 22nd Century Media staff FIRST TEAM P: Amanda Weyh, senior, LW Central 13-1, .445 ERA in 78.2 IP, .775 WHIP, 103 K. Hitting: .430 AVG, .478 OBP, .797 SLG, 8 doubles, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 25 R. Committed to Lindenwood, All- SWSC Red. 1B: Molly Ryan, junior, LW West .416 AVG, .509 OBP, .742 SLG, 8 doubles, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 37 R. All-SWSC Red. Commit to Toledo U. Hitting for power and average, she had clutch RBI shots this season. SS: Teagan Sopczak, junior, Providence .439 AVG, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 43 R, 10 SB. All-GCAC. Committed to Loyola. Both a threat at the plate and threat of speed on the bases. OF: Emma Young, sophomore, LW West .495 AVG, .558 OBP, .758 SLG, 12 doubles, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 30 R. All- SWSC Red. The utility player was a regular scoring threat for the Warriors. P: Danielle Drogemuller, junior, LW East 16-7, 2.011 ERA in 125.1 IP, 161 K. Hitting: .333 AVG, .383 OBP, .600 SLG, 5 HR, 14 RBI. All-SWSC Blue. Committed to University of Pittsburgh. 2B: Payton Grcevic, senior, Lockport .352 AVG, .441 OBP, .525 SLG, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 31 R, 13 BB. All-SWSC Blue. Also playing at catcher, she made a big impact for the Porters. OF: Alyssa Drogemuller, junior, Lockport .549 AVG, .636 OBP, .736 SLG, 8 doubles, 3 HR, 41 RBI, 43 R, 12 BB. Pitching: 1-0, .350 ERA in 20 IP, 4 saves, .600 WHIP. All-SWSC Blue. DH: Carly Alvers, sophomore, LW Central .461 AVG, .495 OBP, .787 SLG, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 28 R. All-SWSC Red. Also a fantastic third baseman who was a powerhouse at the plate. SECOND TEAM C: Keke Tholl, junior, Andrew .600 AVG, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 15 HR, 61 RBI, 26 R, .629 OBP, 1.291 SLG. SWSC Red Player of the Year. Verbally committed to Michigan. P: Ashley Platek, senior, LW Central 8-0, 1.52 ERA in 50.2 IP, 60 K. All-SWSC Red. P: Nicole Mucha, sophomore, Providence 7-1, 3 saves, .936 ERA in 52.1 IP, 49 K. C: Shannon Smith, senior, Providence .432 AVG, 19 doubles, 9 HR, 54 RBI, 43 R, 9 SB,. GCAC Player of the Year. 1B: Torince Muczynski, junior, LW Central .389 AVG, .511 SLG, 8 doubles, 32 RBI, 21 R, 6 SB. 2B: Corey Maloney, sophomore, Providence .447 AVG, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 22 3B: Irene Travis, senior, Sandburg .453 AVG, 15 doubles, 44 R, 3 HR, .481 OBP, .642 SLG. SWSC Blue Player of the Year. Against tough competition, Travis put up big numbers throughout the season. RBI, 41 R, 14 SB. SS: Grace Piotrowski, junior, Tinley .576 AVG, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HR, 20 RBI. 3B: Lexi Krause, senior, LW East .418 AVG, 3 HR, 9 doubles, 23 RBI. All-SWSC Blue. OF: Ella LeMonier, junior, Andrew .449 AVG, 9 doubles, 6 RBI, 33 R, 21 SB. All-SWSC Red. OF: Gabriella Gedville, senior, LW Central .506 AVG, .543 OBP, .575 SLG, 32 R, 17 SB. Committed Winona State. All-SWSC Red. The lead-off hitter for the Knights was a four-year starter for a reason. OF: Sarah Gonsch, junior, Sandburg .464 AVG, 39 R, 5 doubles, 3 HR. All-SWSC Blue. OF: Haley Panfil, junior, Lockport .440 AVG, 12 doubles,25 RBI. All- SWSC Blue. DH: Sarah Taheny, senior, LW West .362 AVG, 7 doubles, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 20 R. All-SWSC Red. <strong>HO</strong>NORABLE MENTION P: Jules Gomez, junior, Tinley; Erin Kleffman, senior, Lockport; Ashley Matejka, junior, Sandburg; Laila Summers, junior, Providence. C: Riley Schultz, junior, Tinley; Lauren Johnson, senior, Lockport. IF: Jenna Deang, junior, LW Central; Kaylee Clifton, junior, Sandburg; Melena Stemmler, junior, Lockport; Kayla Serafini, senior, Tinley; Kelli Riordan, junior, Lockport; Maggie Joutras, senior, Providence. OF: Kaitlin Lynch, senior, Andrew; Paige Geraghty, junior, LW East; Sydra Seville, sophomore, LW Central; Ashley Tipping, sophomore, Tinley.
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