Marist sophomore Maddie Rogers is the Dancing Queen of the team.
Whether it’s in the huddles, in the dugout or in center field, whenever she gets a chance, she’ll be having the time of her life.
“Yeah, I love dancing,” Rogers said. “I’ve grown up dancing with my family. I truly believe that before the game is the biggest part. I like getting my team hyped up.”
Notre Dame recruit Layla Peters pointed out that Rogers saves her best moves for the bus.
“It’s the most fun thing,” Peters said, laughing. “On the bus, we love to get hyped. Sometimes, coach (Colleen Phelan) will be driving and Maddie will just go up in the front of the bus and start making every dance move you can think of.”
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Rogers got the rhythm going Tuesday afternoon as the host RedHawks rolled to a 10-0 victory in five innings over St. Laurence in a Class 4A Marist Sectional semifinal game in Chicago.
Peters led the way offensively with two home runs and five RBIs for Marist (34-1). Ellie Holmstrom also homered, while Wisconsin commit Soleil Tate struck out eight en route to a two-hit shutout.
Demi Lotus and Cloe Villa each had singles for St. Laurence (23-7).
Marist will play in the sectional final at 4:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Downers Grove South (24-6) and Riverside-Brookfield (26-4).
Rogers, meanwhile, chipped in with two hits and also scored twice Tuesday for Marist. But it was her glove that was the real star.
In the top of the second inning, Rogers reached over the fence in center field to rob Hannah Marusarz of a home run.
“I had one like that a couple of games ago and I was disappointed that I didn’t get it,” Rogers said. “I just knew working in practice that I had to go back hard to find the fence and do whatever I can to catch the ball.”
Her biggest salute came from Tate.
“Oh, yes,” Tate said, smiling. “When she caught that home run, I was so excited. I was praying that she would get it. She kept us in the game.
“Maddie has a very positive mindset. She’s always ready to hype up the team with either a big hit or a great catch in the outfield.”
The home-run-stealing hop wasn’t Rogers’ only defensive dance.
In the third inning, she sprinted into right-center to steal a gapper hit away from Peyton McDevitt. Two outs later, she made a sprawling, belly-flop catch on a blooper to center by Viviana Chavez.
“On that one, I actually had a bad read at first,” Rogers said. “But I was able to recover and come forward on it. Playing the outfield is fun. It’s just keeping positive and finding where the ball is.”
Rogers has also starred with her bat. She’s hitting .477 this season with 44 runs, 20 stolen bases, seven doubles, three homers and 19 RBIs. On defense, she has made just one error.
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“Maddie was game-changing (Tuesday),” Phelan said. “She has the speed to cover the gaps. She is also a vocal leader. She learned from Bree Hanik last season and she’s a good leader out there, even though she’s only a sophomore.”
Last season, Rogers played left field. While Hanik is having a stellar freshman season at Penn State, Rogers hasn’t missed a step in taking her place.
“Last year was my first year playing outfield,” Rogers said. “So it was more getting used to being in the grass. Playing behind Bree and being able to learn from her was great.
“Bree was truly my best friend. She was one of the best center fielders I’ve ever seen. She worked me hard last season getting me ready to follow in her footsteps.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.