St. Charles East’s Rylee Stout set a goal before the season, and then experienced a problem.
“I wanted to hit 13 home runs to reach our school record,” Stout said.
The trouble was, Stout broke Rae Anne Payleitner’s record well before the season ended.
“So, then it was like, well OK, I guess I need a new goal,” Stout said.
Stout, The Courier-News 2017 Softball Player of the Year, didn’t stop there. She just kept swinging away for the Saints (30-8). By the time the senior catcher finished hitting softballs over fences, she had 20 home runs to go with 72 RBIs.
That’s a ton of celebrations at home plate.
“Even when I reached 13 home runs, I never thought I’d hit 20,” Stout said. “Something like that never entered my mind.”
Only five Illinois players before 2017 hit more than 20 homers in a season, according to records at IHSA.org. Goreville’s Taylor Odom (2012) and Schaumburg’s Elaine Walker (2015) share the record with 24.
It wasn’t just the amount, but also the way Stout hit them. Many were prodigious shots.
“The one I really remember, when I thought she really had it going, was when we played West Aurora and she faced (Hannah) Beatus,” St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha said. “When that ball left the bat, you knew it was gone.
“My gosh, it was an absolute tape-measure shot.”
A four-year varsity player, Stout hit nine homers as a junior.
“I think a lot of this was because of the workouts I did at Legacy Performance and I think my strength was better,” Stout said. “I was using my legs more in the swing.”
Stout credited offseason hitting coach Thijs Dennison with honing her technique.
“He definitely taught me a lot about hitting in offseason, but in high school season, it was kind of different,” Stout said.
During the spring, Dennison is an assistant coach for rival St. Charles North.
“Rylee is one of those kids whose swing uses everything’s she’s got,” Gutesha said. “She has very quick hands, a loose, fluid swing. And she is such a relaxed hitter. The timing of it all lets her generate power, even though she’s not real big.
“Her biggest thing was just pitch selection. She is very disciplined and finds the best pitch to hit, then hits it a long way.”
Stout started playing softball at age 9 and eventually played travel. She’s signed to play for Division II Winona State and will room there with former travel teammate Kristina Ahlers of Burlington Central.
“Sports has always been a really big thing with our family,” Stout said.
Her brother Ryder played water polo for the Saints last year before graduating. Her cousin Eric Stout is in the Kansas City Royals farm system. Her aunt is Chicago sports broadcaster Cheryl Raye Stout.
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And Maddy, Rylee’s sophomore sister, is a potential candidate to threaten the home run record after hitting eight in 2017.
“She was the one waiting at home plate, reminding me how many I had all the time when I wasn’t keeping track,” Rylee said.
Rylee Stout thinks her RBI total may have been as critical as her homers to helping the Saints reach the sectional finals.
“If they’re not getting on base and doing their job, then it’s just 20 home runs and not much more,” Stout said. “Without them, I wouldn’t even have the chance to hit that many.”
Gutesha pointed out a truth about statistics in high school softball as well as baseball.
“A lot depends on scorekeepers, how accurate and honest they keep the book,” Gutesha said. “But one statistic there is no uncertainty about is when that ball goes over the fence.”
There was never uncertainty about Stout’s impact this season in that department.
Twitter @genechamberlai2