Naperville Central’s Jamie Saran loves the thrill of launching towering home runs far over the fence.
“Oh, it’s an awesome feeling,” Saran said. “I sometimes know when it’s coming as well. It’s just a really good pitch, and my hands are strong, and it’s awesome.”
The feeling never gets old for Saran despite the frequency with which she homers. The senior first baseman, who already has 30 home runs and 168 RBIs in her career, is one of the most prodigious power hitters ever to play for the Redhawks.
“In my 40 years as head coach, we’ve never had somebody where you think that she could just hit it out at any time,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. “That’s not to say she hasn’t gone through slumps like every player does. But it’s awesome.
“She hit 12 home runs in one month her freshman year. I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t think we can expect that all the time.’”
No, but Saran’s prodigious production means everyone in attendance pays attention to all of her at-bats. That eventually drew college coaches too.
Saran had offers from Lake Forest College and Olivet Nazarene. Then Northern Illinois called, and she committed last week.
Saran is the second Division I commit in Naperville Central’s senior class, joining catcher Riley Silvers, who is headed to Florida International.
“I really wanted a school that was close to home, and I also really wanted a bigger school that fit my major,” said Saran, who intends to study business or finance in college. “I also loved the athletic program and the coach.”
Saran credits her travel coaches, Mo Hohman and Mark Domico, and hitting coach Mike Casey for developing her skills, which have gotten better with each passing year.
Saran batted .373 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs as a freshman, and her average and RBI totals have risen every year. As a sophomore, Sarah hit .424 with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 41 RBIs. As a junior, she batted .500 with 22 doubles, 10 home runs, 61 RBIs and 39 runs scored.
“She isn’t only a home run hitter, but she always hits the ball hard,” Nussbaum said. “I don’t know that Jamie has ever gotten a bloop hit.”
Few high school softball players hit homers as frequently as Saran, and even fewer do so while hitting for such a high average.
Why is that?
“That’s a great question,” Nussbaum said. “She’s her own best coach. She corrects mistakes on her own.
“And she’s got a pretty good launch angle on her bat. There are kids that we’ve had before that always seem to hit line drives. There are times where Jamie is just hitting towering balls that take off at a different angle.”
Saran said a positive mindset helps her stay consistent.
“When I have a bad at-bat, I really just try to push it away and focus on how I can do better and how I can help the team,” she said.
Saran’s abilities have even affected how Nussbaum coaches.
“She is such a power hitter that it changes the way we run bases,” Nussbaum said. “There was one game her freshman year. We had runners on first and third, and they had called timeout. The runner on first came over and said, ‘Should I go ahead and take second base?’ I said, ‘No, because either Annie (Saran) or Jamie is going to hit a home run anyway.’ And I think they both did.
“Why should we gamble on the bases when we might just be jogging around?”
Saran has been doing a lot of jogging around the bases ever since she followed her sister Annie, who is a junior catcher at Judson, into the sport at age 6.
“She’s definitely a big inspiration,” Saran said. “I loved how she played, and I really wanted to play softball (because of her).
“She is also a very good hitter, and I wanted to be like her.”
When Saran graduates, she said she wants to leave behind “a positive environment” that inspires people to work harder. Nussbaum said she has already done that.
“She has had a very positive effect on our program,” Nussbaum said. “She is well liked by the other players. Everybody has got things to work on, but I think she’s going to be a solid player at the next level, and Northern must think so too.
“I’m really going to miss watching her hit.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
