Hinsdale Central softball coach Lee Maciejewski is showing this season how much trust he has in Faith Koffron, his fourth-year starting catcher.
For the first time, Koffron will select pitches for the Red Devils’ staff as Hinsdale Central returns nearly its entire team from last season. She is one of three four-year starters, along with outfielders Emma Day and AnneMarie Tracey.
Previously, coach Al CopperSmith called pitches from the bench and relayed signs through Koffron. When the longtime assistant retired following last season, Maciejewski told Koffron over the summer that he wanted her to handle the pitches this season.
“He said this year I will call the signs,” Koffron said. “I’ve grown up more. I know a little more about the game.
“Coach Lee has such a passion for the game. “He knows what each girl is capable of and what the team is capable of.”
Maciejewski pointed out that Koffron is more than just a smart player; she has the glove and bat to complement her softball intelligence.
“She is so good defensively that the (school’s) new softball field might not need a backstop,” Maciewjewski said. “She hits with real power in the middle of the lineup and will continue her softball career at the next level.”
The cleanup hitter committed to play softball at Division II Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo..
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Koffron was a pitcher growing up, but a youth coach suggested that she trying catching after getting too emotional on the mound after giving up walks.
Koffron has worked the entire careers of Hinsdale Central pitchers Courtney Berlin, a junior, and AnneMarie Tracey, a senior. They also played together over the summer on travel teams.
The Hinsdale resident played soccer until the eighth grade before deciding to focus on softball with the Downers Grove Rebels and later the Dirt Devils of Romeoville, where Tracey also played.
Back when Berlin was in eighth grade, the future Red Devils teammates were hotel roommates while playing in a tournament in Indianapolis with the Rebels.
“Faith off the field is just as fun as Faith on the field,” said Berlin, a Clarendon Hills resident. “She’s very competitive herself. She helps the team stay calm in situations. If there is a timeout, Faith gathers the team together.”
The departure of CopperSmith ends nearly 20 years of partnership with Maciejewski. They coached together at Glenbard West for more than a decade before coming to Hinsdale to rebuild the Red Devils program.
Maciejewski will now handle the pitchers and catchers and new assistant coach Brittany Wolski will work with the hitters and defense.
After every inning, Berlin said Maciejewski talks to the team, but then pulls Berlin and Koffron aside to go over the pitch selection.
“We talk about what we did and what we can do better,” Berlin said.
OTHERS TO WATCH
Taylor Arends, Oak Park-River Forest
The state medalist tennis player and all-state academic selection enters her third varsity season for the sectional champion Huskies (27-10). The shortstop and senior captain missed 19 games last season with an ankle injury, but hit .543 with 23 runs and 28 RBI. Arends plans to play softball at Division III Washington (St. Louis).
Natalie Cairo, Fenwick
The sophomore second baseman leads a young Friars squad that won a Class 4A regional title last season. Cairo is already off to a solid start to begin this season, going 2-for-3 with a run on Saturday in a season-opening loss to Montini.
Kendall Duwal, Leyden
The junior first baseman hit .500 and had 35 RBI and won 11 games as a pitcher. She forms a potent 1-2 punch with senior Sammi Caputo (.378, 39 RBI). Leyden (18-11) will have its hands full again in the West Suburban Gold behind preseason state title favorite Downers South.
Annyssa Illiopolous, Trinity
The Rutgers-bound junior shortstop got off to a 6-for-6 start in Saturday’s doubleheader opener against Mundelein. She is one of five returning starters from last year’s Class 4A sectional finalist. Illiopolous hit .515 with 17 doubles, six triples and 13 home runs for the Blazers (23-11-1).
OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
Brynisha Campbell, 2B, So., Trinity; Emma Day, OF, Sr., Hinsdale Central; Giselle Diaz, IF, So., Fenwick; Jodi DuBrock, IF-P, So., Leyden; Riley Frisbie, C, Jr., Lyons; Abby Grande, OF, Jr. Leyden; Jennah Hernandez, SS, Sr., Guerin; Ariana Kelley, 1B-OF, Sr., Elmwood Park; Chardonnay Harris, P, So., OPRF; Cat Klostermann, P, Jr., Nazareth; Maeve Nelson, IF, Fr. OPRF; Valerie Perrelli, P, Jr., Fenwick; Courtney Petrosius, SS, Sr., Lyons; Emily Richardson, P-1B, Jr., OPRF; AnneMarie Tracey, OF-P, Sr., Hinsdale Central; Maggie Vacchiano, P, Jr., Lyons; Devyn Zuro, P, So., Nazareth.