Shepard’s Analise Mulvihill had an extra busy school day before pitching against Richards.
Test No. 1 involved her brain.
“I had my AP psychology exam at the administration building,” Mulvihill said. “We actually took the Richards bus here, changed, and then we came out.”
The senior left-hander aced her test on the softball field Tuesday with both her arm and her bat for the Astros in a 6-2 South Suburban Red victory.
Mulvihill struck out 10 and reached base all four times for Shepard (11-6, 8-2). Brooklynn Sedlak and Dina Stavrakis each hit three-run homers, while Kailey Selvage had three hits and Sarah Kreamalmeyer added two.
Meghan Wirtz had a triple for Richards (10-7, 6-6). Skylar Egan contributed an RBI single.
This will be Mulvihill’s farewell season for softball, but she’s going out with a flourish. As a pitcher, Mulvihill (8-4) has 92 strikeouts in 77 innings.
Offensively, she leads the team with a .617 average, six home runs and 25 RBIs.
She has different college plans, however, at Illinois. She’ll be packing a clarinet and hopes to play in the band.
“Music is a huge passion of mine,” Mulvihill said. “It’s just something that I’d rather fully pursue. I’m going into music education.”
Mulvihill’s third varsity season is her first as the main pitcher. As sophomore and junior, she played mostly in the outfield.
More Top Picks Milwaukee M12 Fuel 2553 20
Kelly Greene was the ace of the staff — with good reason. The Green Bay recruit became Shepard’s all-time program career leader in strikeouts.
“It was a little bit frustrating to have to wait,” Mulvihill said. “But Kelly Greene was just so good. The way that she threw, her sequences, I learned so much from her.
“We worked on a lot of things. She taught me about certain pitches, the way she throws them.”
It has rubbed off.
Mulvihill had at least one strikeout in every inning against Richards, including those to end innings from the first through the sixth. She retired her final eight batters.
She had two big swings of offensive support.
The home runs for Sedlak and Stavrakis were their first of the season. Sedlak’s came in the third inning and erased a 1-0 Richards lead.
It had plenty of distance … even if Sedlak wasn’t so sure.
“I was about 50-50 on it,” Sedlak said, laughing. “I didn’t want to bat flip and get cocky or anything. But I was hoping it was going out.”
The view from third base when Mulvihill pitches is interesting.
“Her spins are really good,” Kreamalmeyer said. “The way she reads not only the batters’ swings, she can tell if the batters are rolling their hands, if they’re pulling their head up.
“She knows what to throw at that exact time.”
She plays pretty decent defense in the circle as well.
Twice in the fourth inning, Mulvihill made plays and retired Richards runners at the plate. On two other occasions, she snared balls heading up the middle and threw to first for the out.
“That’s kind of a thing that everyone has always told me,” Mulvihill said. “They say that I defend my position well, better than most pitchers.”
More Top Picks Best Eye Massagers For Puffy Eyes
Shepard coach Andy Schindel puts Mulvihill in the third spot in the batting order. She walked twice Tuesday, reached on a tough-hop chopper to short and laced a single up the middle.
“She’s a phenomenal kid, a phenomenal athlete,” Schindel said. “She puts in the work. She worked all last summer on pitching, hitting, everything.
“She’ll stay after games and practices and hit buckets of balls on the field with her dad. Her family is a huge support to her. It’s been great to watch her develop over three years. It’s finally her time.”