Andrew pitcher Kathleen Hester gets pretty excited after a strikeout.
The junior right-hander is quite joyous and a bit amusing.
She does what her teammates — and Thunderbolts coach Alyssa Gunther — call “The Hester Hop.”
“She jumps and she points at (catcher) Madison Vrastil,” Gunther said of Hester. “Yeah, she gets super fired up.
“It’s fun. She’s also a competitor out there, and she’s been doing her job leading this team.”
Hester did some extra jumping Thursday for host Andrew during a 2-0 SouthWest Suburban Red win over Lincoln-Way West.
Megan Kirnbauer hit a home run and scored both runs for the Thunderbolts (12-9, 5-3). Hester fired a one-hit shutout, recording five strikeouts.
Katelyn Kundys also struck out five for Lincoln-Way West (16-10, 3-5).
Hester did a hop on the first batter of the game, but it wasn’t after a strikeout.
Lincoln-Way West leadoff hitter Peyton Cusack sent a line drive up the middle that ricocheted off Hester’s right shin. After contact, the ball skittered out to short for a single.
It wasn’t Hester’s first shin shot.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been hit a bunch of times,” Hester said. “And it’s always on the right shin. It’s never the left.
“I couldn’t react fast enough. It already hit my shin before I even got my glove down. I mean, it didn’t go up the middle, so I guess I kind of stopped it a little bit.”
The damage?
“It hurt for a couple of seconds and it’ll leave a bruise,” Hester said. “But it’s OK. After that I was like, ‘All right, I have to get my game together.’
“One, I didn’t want that to happen again. Two, I wanted to get in a better mindset going forward and just really kind of shut them down.”
Did she ever.
Hester (12-8) turned in a sterling performance, walking just two batters the rest of the way. Only three balls left the infield, with two caught by center fielder Alex Rendon and one by left fielder Marissa Adams.
For the season, Hester has 134 strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings.
“I really feel like I’m dialed in,” Hester said. “I’m ready to go for regionals. Everyone on the team wants this and I want this as much as everybody else.
“I want to take this team on my back and take them to a regional championship. I’ve got the fire in my belly. I’m ready to go.”
Kirnbauer’s home run came in the bottom of the first inning. It was her second of the season.
The junior shortstop was a battler, taking the count to 3-2 and fouling off two more pitches before launching a drive over the right field fence.
“Honestly, when I was up there fouling them off, I was like, ‘I need to get on top of it and get a base hit,'” Kirnbauer said. “I wasn’t expecting a home run. It felt good.”
Kirnbauer also reached in the sixth when her sharp grounder skipped under the glove of Avery Imes at first base. Kirnbauer then scored on a single by Makayla Tarasiewicz.
So far this season, Kirnbauer is hitting .311 with 15 runs and 17 RBIs. And she has been a super utility player for the Thunderbolts.
“We’re kind of handling some injuries and some sickness on our team right now,” Gunther said. “Megan has played multiple positions for us. And she shows up and competes every day.
“We’ve also had her all over our lineup. She has hit in the two spot, in the eight spot, probably in our five-six spot. She handles what we ask her to do and she’s handled it great.”
Overall, Kundys did an excellent job pitching for Lincoln-Way West. The sophomore right-hander allowed just one earned run. During one stretch, she retired 16 of 17 batters.
Kundys has taken over most of the pitching duties since Lewis recruit Allie Wondrasek had her season ended April 28 due to an injury.
“Katelyn has made a few adjustments late in the season and she’s done a great job keeping us in games,” Lincoln-Way West coach Heather Novak said. “For her to step in and do what she’s done … I’m really proud of her.”