Sophomore third baseman Morgan Reczkiewicz had a nice surprise waiting for her from Oak Forest coach Nick Fuentes on Monday when she arrived at the ballpark.
He told her to put on the gear and get behind the plate. Catching is a position near and dear to her heart.
“During travel, I’ve always caught,” Reczkiewicz said. “I’d played some third base before high school, but not very much. This was interesting.
“I came to the game not knowing I was going to catch. And it was fun to find out. I love catching Mel (Melanie Andrysiak). I caught her a couple of times last season and enjoyed it. This was a nice way to end the regular season.”
Both catcher and pitcher had a lot of nice things to say after Oak Forest’s 16-1 victory over Eisenhower in a South Suburban Conference crossover game in Blue Island.
Reczkiewicz reached base three times and drove in a run for the Bengals (24-6, 17-2). Andrysiak, a junior right-hander, struck out 15 in five innings and allowed just two hits. Annabelle Rush added two hits.
Lynette Cleavenger had both hits for Eisenhower (5-20, 1-18).
Reczkiewicz clearly had fun behind the plate, mixing pitches well with Andrysiak. And Reczkiewicz was free-reeling with her right arm, just missing on a pickoff attempt at first base. Her throw to second on a base-stealing attempt by the Cardinals was right on the money but dropped.
For Andrysiak, the fun was mutual.
“Oh, yes, I basically grew up with Morgan without growing up with Morgan,” Andrysiak said. “We played together in rec leagues back in the day. We always had a high-five or a hug for each other.
“Haha, she can be kind of bossy, but she’s a lot of fun to play with.”
Reczkiewicz has been the heart of the offense this season for the Bengals. She’s hitting .470 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs. That batting average has seen a big jump from last spring.
“I keep it pretty simple,” Reczkiewicz said. “I see a pitch and if I like it I swing and hope for the best. I’ve also learned to know when I’m struggling and adjust, knowing I can do it.
“Also, my teammates are always behind me. So knowing I can do it and knowing that my teammates have faith in me just keeps me going.”
Reczkiewicz has made third base her own in what basically has been a very successful two-year experiment.
“She was built differently,” Fuentes said. “It’s not often you get a kid who immediately impresses when you watch how she carries herself, how she thinks about the game.
“Morgan is a student of the game. She’s strong. She swings the stick well. And she makes adjustments. She has all the attributes of a top-tier softball player. With her talent, you can find somewhere for her to play.”
And he will. It’s third base for now. However…
“I’m confident if I needed to, I could put Morgan at shortstop, I could put her at second base or first base or behind the plate,” Fuentes said. “At the start of this season, I thought she would fall back to the catcher role, but I loved her so much at third base I didn’t want to lose that.”
Plus, he had junior Imani Hogan step up as a stellar backstop.
“We lucked into Imani kind of coming into her own,” Fuentes said. “That was big for us.”
Faith — from others — has brought Reczkiewicz a long way.
“When I was a freshman, it was good to know he had confidence in me even when sometimes I didn’t,” Reczkiewicz said of her coach. “Just the reassurance that he gave me, knowing he had faith in me and knowing my teammates were behind me, carried me through.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
