Watching her in action in the circle, it’s readily apparent St. Edward pitcher Alaina Nolan has her head in the game.
A junior right-hander in her third varsity season as the team’s ace, Nolan also bats leadoff and is a vocal leader for the Green Wave.
She encourages teammates, reacts to plays and calls and has a good time in spite of the usual ups and downs experienced by a group struggling to stay above the .500 mark.
“We’re just trying to do what we can,” Nolan said. “My whole thing is if I can inspire someone to make a play, that’s what I want to do. Can’t strike everyone out, even though you can try.”
Nolan and St. Edward had just dropped the first of the three games they played Saturday in the Larkin Slugfest Tournament at the Elgin Sports Complex, losing 15-5 in six innings to the host Royals.
Hampshire went 3-0 in the eight-team event and outscored three opponents by a cumulative 52-4 score to capture the title.
Nolan worked the first three innings against Larkin and reached a career milestone — 500 strikeouts — with the fifth of her eight strikeouts in the game.
She added two more in three innings of work in a 7-1 win over ITW Speer of Chicago and stands at 505. She didn’t pitch in the third game for the Green Wave (5-7), a 13-2 loss to Dundee-Crown.
It’s a noteworthy number.
“We don’t play as many games as other schools because we don’t schedule during spring break,” St. Edward coach Jerry Kublank said, noting how impressive Nolan’s strikeout total is.
The Green Wave went 7-15 and 13-16, respectively, in Nolan’s first two seasons.
Lindsay Zdroik, a 2016 graduate, is the program’s record holder with 781 strikeouts.
“Alaina took part in our summer camps in junior high,” Kublank said. “You could see she had a gift and was very serious about the game.”
Nolan said she has been taking individual pitching lessons since first grade with a Willowbrook-based instructor who started by coaching his daughters.
“It’s been the best experience and is perfect for me,” Nolan said. “I go once or twice a week and pitch on my own other days and also lift. I wouldn’t be throwing as hard as I do or as accurately as I do without it.”
Nolan, who said she hit 65 mph with her fastball a month ago, has 94 strikeouts and a 3.35 ERA in 46 innings this season.
Her team continues to struggle with shaky defense, but Nolan doesn’t get frustrated.
“I have a lot of passion for the game,” she said. “I love it so much. I get so excited about it. What you see is definitely more passion than frustration.”
Nolan also throws a variety of pitches.
“I use my screwball as my fastball,” she said. “You’ll rarely see me throw a fastball. I throw a curve and rise ball a lot because it kind of cousins with the screwball. I’ll also use my change-up and sometimes a drop.”
Kublank, who has been coaching baseball or softball for 54 years, said he allows Nolan to call her own game.
“She’s taken so many lessons, she has a good idea of what she wants to do,” he said. “I may make a suggestion between innings now and then.”
In the summer, Nolan plays with an Iowa Premier team headed by Jacobs coach Jessica Turner.
“The things I’ve learned from her are insane,” Nolan said of Turner, who has coached Nolan since eighth grade. “Fall games, summer games, if I’m not pitching, I’m sitting by her listening to what she calls and constantly asking, ‘Why did you call that or why didn’t you call that?’
“That’s just how I am. I like to have control and like the satisfaction and learning from every pitch. It’s super interesting and a side of the game I would not have known.”
