The profile description on Anyssa Iliopoulos’ Twitter account @anyssailiop describes her hitting style to perfection.
“I swing with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big.”
Iliopoulos, a junior shortstop for Trinity, is hitting a lot more often than she’s missing this spring.
Through 12 games, the Norridge resident has a batting average of .614 with nine doubles, five homers and 26 RBI.
Iliopoulos thinks some of her power is derived from gymnastics practices when she was younger.
“The conditioning for (club gymnastics) is crazy and when I decided to focus on softball, the conditioning and strength I built really helped,” Iliopoulos said.
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Her power wasn’t apparent as a freshman at Trinity, but that had more to do with a lack of confidence. She struggled early in the season, was moved to the bottom of the order and finished with zero home runs.
During the offseason she worked on the mental and physical aspects of her game.
First up was clearing her head with a focus on driving the ball, and if it went over the fence, well, that was just a bonus.
She also started going to Fastball USA, which is billed as a “baseball power development school,” in Schaumburg. At first, she was one of the only girls at the facility and each visit she spent an hour on hitting, 75 minutes on strength and agility, followed by some throwing.
“They really preach about being explosive and being as strong as you can,” Iliopoulos said. “It was a good fit and I just really believe in it.”
She also spent time swinging a 33-inch, 30-ounce wood bat during the winter, which helped build muscle in her forearms.
All the hard work that went into getting stronger led to a faster swing and resulted in more power. She slugged 13 home runs as a sophomore and has five this year after a first-inning, two-run homer in a 4-3 loss to Downers Grove North on Tuesday.
“It’s really nice when she hits a home run early, like she did (Tuesday),” Blazers’ pitcher Cortlyn Kelly said. “It sets the tone and takes the weight off of my shoulders.”
About a third of the way through the season, Iliopoulos is on pace to hit 16 home runs, but she’s aiming even higher — the state record of 24 set by Goreville’s Taylor Odom in 2012.
Trinity has a history of sluggers. Abby Ramirez — who batted .889 with two home runs to earn Big Ten co-player of the week honors at Michigan last week — belted 20 home runs her senior year at Trinity.
“That’s from a smaller girl but one with a lot of bat speed who can drive the ball,” Trinity coach Bob Osborne said about Iliopoulos. “She has a long way to go but you want to strive for the stars. She wants to walk away from Trinity and be the best and that’s good.”
Iliopoulos committed earlier this year to play softball at Rutgers. She was attracted to the Scarlet Knights because they play in the Big Ten and the school has strong academics and is situated in an urban setting.
NOTES
* Iliopoulos’ homer in the first got Trinity (8-3-1) out of the gate fast but Downers Grove North (7-1) responded with runs in the third and fifth innings.
* Blazers’ second baseman Brynisha Campbell looked like she was going to be the hero with a solo home run to lead off the seventh, but two errors in the bottom of the inning helped the Trojans score twice and rally for the win. “We are young,” Osborne said. “We only have two seniors, one of them starting. These are the moments that define you. Do you step up after this game or do you fold after this game?”
Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.