Emily Veschak’s intensity hasn’t waned in the slightest.
But as the Boone Grove shortstop has crossed the threshold to becoming an upperclassman, she has gained a certain perspective.
“It’s remembering that softball’s a game,” Veschak said. “It’s not your entire life forever. There’s other things besides softball out there, so you have to enjoy it while it lasts. If you strike out, you strike out. It happens. It happens to everybody. If you miss a play, you have to move on. You just have to keep playing with heart.”
Veschak will continue playing for the foreseeable future, having committed to Drake in early December. But she’s planning to major in pre-med and knows the end of her softball career will come.
“In the fall, I played a couple of tournaments in Kansas City and Arkansas, and they were there,” Veschak said, referring to Drake’s coaches. “They kept coming, they kept coming. They asked me to go on a visit, and once I stepped on the campus and met them personally, it was like, ‘Yeah.’ Everybody says they get that feeling, but now I know that feeling. Those coaches have that family bond. The team, I got to meet the girls, and they’re all spectacular.
“I definitely wanted that small, hometown-type vibe like Boone Grove is. Going to college, it’s not going to be all about softball. You still have to work because it’s your career for the rest of your life. The halls, the classroom size, it really appealed to me. It all was great.”
Veschak also mentioned the quality of Drake’s schedule, which includes fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Valparaiso. She paused and then added with a laugh, “Plus, they said they get ice cream after games, so I’m all about that.”
An impact player since debuting as a freshman, Veschak has elevated her game in the early stages of this season for the Wolves (4-0).
Entering a Porter County Conference game at Kouts on Friday, she was hitting .600 with three homers, 10 RBIs and four stolen bases. She batted second on Thursday and went 1-for-3 with a double, a run and a stolen base in a 12-0 win in five innings against Bishop Noll. Teammates Mariah Atteberry, Chayse Duerr, Mercedes Szakacs and Kalli Brady all homered, and Atteberry allowed just a hit and a walk.
Junior pitcher Natalee Meinert, a Lewis commit, understands Veschak’s central role with the Wolves.
“She brings a lot on the field, but she knows how to talk to everyone too,” Meinert said. “She makes me laugh, helps me readjust myself.
“She brings a whole lot at the plate. She’s just a huge asset to this team. We wouldn’t be close to as far as we are without her.”
In her first two seasons at Boone Grove, Veschak played center field and led off, with Erica Hoffman, now a freshman at Lewis, at shortstop. Veschak hit .489 with five homers, 27 RBIs and 25 stolen bases as a freshman. Last season, she batted .442 with two homers, 17 RBIs and eight stolen bases after missing the first six games with a left wrist injury.
She primarily plays shortstop for her travel team, with some work at catcher also in the mix.
“That’s my game — I love playing shortstop,” Veschak said. “But I’m going to play where we need me. It’s what’s best for the team. Whatever makes us stronger.”
Boone Grove coach Ron Saunders has enjoyed having Veschak on the team.
“She’s the one who will actually in practice stop the whole practice and say, ‘OK, come here,’ and talk to them all before I do,” Saunders said. “That’s the type of leader she is. Everybody looks up to her and Nat. They both have offers and accepted, and they’re only juniors. A lot of kids don’t get that until they’re seniors.
“Em knows the game better than anybody else, as far as mentally being prepared. There’s not a whole lot I have to tell her. Even when I start to tell her something, she says, ‘Yes, I know.’ At the same time, she’s one of my biggest cheerleaders in the dugout. Even though she is the boss on the field, in the dugout, she’s one of the biggest cheerleaders for everybody else. When you combine both of those together, you can’t ask for much more.”
Saunders added he is “in heaven” about the prospect of having players such as Veschak and Meinert for another season beyond this one, which shapes up as promising for the Wolves.
Boone Grove’s run of five straight Class 2A sectional titles ended in 2019, a stretch that also included four regional titles and back-to-back appearances in the state championship game in 2015 and 2016. As the Wolves have moved up to Class 3A this season, Saunders hasn’t looked too closely at a potential postseason path. But he likes the composition of this group.
“All I know is I have a pretty damn good team,” Saunders said. “To get past sectionals and into the semistate, you not only have to be good, you have to have a little luck on your side too. And with a little luck, we’re going to go somewhere this year.”
Veschak said she believes this team is “special” and has an uncommon unity.
“I’m excited,” she said. “As long as we’re not just playing for ourselves and we keep pushing, we can keep going. This team really has heart. We’ve been playing together forever, since we were like 5 years old. That jells us together.
“It all goes back to just having fun. I’ve really gotten better with my mental game. I definitely would put a lot of pressure on myself in years past. But I’ve learned to let it go. After games, review them. But then really just take a step back. I don’t know if there was a moment, but it just clicked.”