Amanda Aardema has never been “behind” anyone on Lake Central’s pitching staff, in coach Jeff Sherman’s view.
Aardema has been “right there with them,” he says, and it’s been more a matter of the North Florida recruit waiting for her turn.
After all, Aardema’s teammates have included Peyton Pepkowski, the 2021 Miss Softball who is flourishing as a freshman at Loyola in Chicago, and Jenna Towle, a 2019 Miss Softball finalist who is thriving as a two-way player in her junior year at Missouri-St. Louis.
But Aardema is Lake Central’s undisputed ace this season.
“It’s, like, ‘Whoa, I’m the senior pitcher now,'” she said. “It’s not pressure. It’s a good feeling. I want to do great for my team. There are slight nerves, but it’s a good nervousness. It want to perform so well, and it adds to the competitiveness of it.
“Pep was such a great senior, a Division I player, a role model for me. I get to continue her legacy and keep it going. I want to follow in Pep’s footsteps and make a name for myself. It’s great to have someone like her set the bar so high, and I have to keep going with it.”
It’s not as if Aardema, who also has been an outfielder and a designated player, hasn’t enjoyed a high degree of success already.
She went 6-1 with a 0.95 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 13 walks in 44 innings last season. She also hit .333 with five home runs and 20 RBIs as Lake Central reached the Class 4A state championship game before losing 4-1 to Roncalli.
In 2019, a year before her sophomore season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, she was part of the dynamic triumvirate with Pepkowski and Towle. She went 7-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 88 strikeouts and seven walks in 43 ? innings. She also hit .350 with a home run and 12 RBIs.
“Here’s a kid who enters her senior year 13-1,” Sherman said. “She’s still gotten time, she’s still gotten innings, she’s still done extremely well for us. We were excited for Pep and Aardema her sophomore year (before the season was canceled). Last year, Pep just kind of ran away with things. But Amanda still got in and still did really well for us.
“I don’t like to use the phrase ‘waiting in the wings.’ But I’m excited to see what Amanda does when she gets an extended run in the circle. It’s truly her time, and she’s embraced it all offseason right through now.”
Sherman also praised Aardema for the way she approached her situation.
“She’s had the character to stay mentally involved,” he said. “She did a really nice job of that. She could’ve been asking, ‘When is it going to be my turn?’ But she never did that.
“Everybody thinks of her as the next pitcher. But she’s so much more than that. When I talk about being a triple threat, that’s her. She hits in the top of our order, and we’ve had some good lineups. She’s one of the best defensive outfielders I’ve ever coached — she’s phenomenal out there. She can do it all.”
Aardema has tried to contribute in as many ways as possible.
“It wasn’t hard,” she said when asked about sharing time as a pitcher. “The way we do things, seniors, senior pitchers, usually get the spotlight. I’ve still gotten innings my whole time at Lake Central.
“But now it’s, like, ‘Whoa, I’m the one to look up to.’ I have to set the example. No one is setting the example for me. It’s actually an honor. You want to do well for the younger people and continue what others have done.”
Lake Central, which lost four players to graduation, has seven seniors this season and talent in other classes too. Count Aardema, who committed to North Florida in December, among those who believe the Indians can make another long postseason run.
“This is my senior year,” she said. “I want to go out with a bang.”