Hanover Central’s Alexis Mokos saw Audra (Rains) May’s name flash on her cell phone.
Mokos, a senior catcher, immediately knew why St. Joseph’s coach was making that mid-February call.
It was to confirm that the college, the one that had signed Mokos in November, was closing after this academic year.
“Neither one of us could talk, we were both crying so much,” Mokos said. “It was my dream to go to that school and play. And she played there four years, was an assistant before she became coach. And none of it was going to happen anymore.”
It has been an emotional several months for Mokos — from the whispers she heard in the fall, from friends on campus, to the talk growing much louder in the winter, to the reality. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for her to commit to Manchester, which had been her second choice.
“I emailed Manchester after everything was over and told them what happened, and they said they heard,” Mokos said. “They actually were going to reach out sooner, but they wanted to give me time. I’m just glad they still wanted me and took me back. I’m excited.
“It was crazy. They said it sucked the way it happened, but they were happy to have me.”
After recalibrating, Mokos has been happy, too. She impressed Hanover coach Amanda Suarez with her poise and maturity.
“When you think you know where you’re going and you’re excited about it, and then you’re halfway through your senior year and you don’t have a school and other kids are talking about theirs, it’s a tough situation,” Suarez said. “But she handled it well.
“All along, she would’ve been happy to go to Manchester. It really no longer feels like a second choice.”
Mokos, who plans to study exercise science and then attend school for physical therapy, has been the Wildcats’ top choice at catcher for four seasons.
She opened this season by going 1-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs in a win against Munster. She hit .433 with 20 RBIs and 29 runs last season.
Suarez values Mokos’ ability to “run our infield” as much as, if not more, than her offense.
“A lot of kids just play the game, but she knows the game,” Suarez said. “She thinks to the next play — not just the next out, but the next two outs. She has that calmness on the field. She keeps her composure.”
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Settling in: Junior Alexa Pinarski turned in a nice start Tuesday in Lake Central’s 4-0 loss to Amy Kaniewski and Munster.
Pinarski, a Columbia commit, allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. She gave up two of those runs in the first as two of the first three batters tripled.
But Pinarski retired eight straight batters from the first through third innings, with a stretch where she struck out three straight and four of five.
“She did well all game,” Indians coach Jeff Sherman said. “She kept us in the game, she gave us a chance, and that’s all you can ask.”
Crossing the bridge: Last season, Munster won its first regional title and reached a semistate final.
When Mary Ellen Gilhooly tripled to lead off a win at Lake Central in the season opener, the Mustangs’ success was still fresh in junior shortstop Rebecca Radtke’s mind.
“We had a lot of momentum coming from last year and we want to build on that,” said Radtke, a Green Bay commit. “Mary Ellen getting that triple got us hyped up and energetic, and it went from there.”
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TOP 10
With records through Friday, based on results reported to the Post-Tribune, and last week’s rankings in parentheses. Please report results to [email protected].
1. Crown Point 2-0 (1)
2. Kankakee Valley 1-0 (2)
3. Hanover Central 1-0 (8)
4. Munster 1-1 (7)
5. Lake Central 1-1 (3)
6. Chesterton 0-1 (4)
7. LaPorte 1-0 (5)
8. Boone Grove 0-0 (6)
9. Bishop Noll 0-0 (9)
10. Andrean 0-0 (10)
Player of the Week: Alyssa Gill went 3-for-4 with a homer, four RBIs and two runs Wednesday in Hanover Central’s 6-1 win against Munster.