In most programs, incoming freshmen find as a role model a graduated legend or a junior or senior who is continuing a great high school career.
Marist’s Savannah Jones was happy to find three freshmen from the year before, mentioning their names without prompting — Maddie Rogers, Layla Termunde and Maribel Blackburn.
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“Maddie is an inspiration,” Jones said. “She’s always competitive, always trying to do her best. Layla is amazing as well. She’s great in right field and always comes through clutch at the plate. Maribel is always positive and always trying to help people out and include everybody.
“There’s so much talent and so many other good teammates as well. All of them are role models for me. Every single one.”
These RedHawks are rapidly coming to appreciate her, too.
Jones is a first baseman/pitcher. More often than not, she has served as the team’s designated hitter. With her bat, she’s hitting .367 with 11 runs, three doubles, one home run and 11 RBIs.
As a pitcher, she’s 3-0 with 18 strikeouts in 20 innings.
Marist coach Colleen Phelan obviously knew what she was doing when she gave Jones a chance to start out her high school career on the varsity.
“We saw Savannah at incoming freshman camp and some offseason workouts,” Phelan said. “We could see how strong and powerful she was.
“I remember seeing her hit at one of my camps or at tryouts and thinking, ‘Wow. She is extremely strong.’ It reminded me a little bit of the power Angela Zedak had her freshman year. That’s how strong of a kid she was.”
Zedak is a hitting and pitching record-holder at Marist. The 2019 graduate went on to have a brilliant college career at Northwestern. She’s currently a private hitting instructor and a coach with the Illinois Chill.
Jones smiled when told about the comparison to Zedak.
“That’s … like … crazy to think,” Jones said. “I’ve been to a ton of Northwestern camps and I’ve seen Angie there. To be compared to her is such an honor.”
Jones took nothing for granted when she enrolled at Marist. She certainly wasn’t expecting a red carpet waiting for her to the varsity roster.
“There were a lot of doubts actually,” Jones said. “Coach Phelan had been talking with me for a while, but just seeing the competition (at tryouts) and knowing how good the team was, there were doubts. I’m glad to be here.”
Jones had her first big game for the RedHawks against St. Charles East on April 6 when she went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs in a 4-0 victory.
“Just being in the lineup was exciting,” Jones said. “But driving in the first run was really fun. That’s kind of when my hitting started to pick up and I started feeling more confident.”
Her first career home run came on April 13 in a 17-0 victory over Mother McAuley.
Junior catcher Lexi Kyros was among the crowd waiting for her at home plate. Jones’ smile could have covered it.
“Oh, she was so excited,” Kyros said. “I remember what it was like to hit my first home, so I love when I see my teammates do it. Savannah is so passionate about the game.
“I could just see how important that was to her.”
Jones’ eyes were wider on only one other occasion.
“Oh, my gosh, we went to Jacklyn Pigatto’s
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house for a team sleepover and brought way too much of everything,” Jones recalled, laughing. “The food covered like two dining room tables. You could have fed 10 million people. It was crazy.”Welcome to the varsity, kiddo.
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.