Call him a visionary.
He’s no optometrist, but when it came time to assess the potential of Addy Umlauf, a newcomer as a junior to his varsity last season, St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin had 20/20 foresight.
He also had a bit of a dilemma.
Umlauf’s best position was probably second base, but senior Maddie Hernandez already had that spot nailed down in the North Stars’ lineup.
“She came in as one of our more talented players,” Poulin said of Umlauf. “She’s a good contact hitter. She gets on base. With Maddie at second, Addy was repping in the outfield.
“We needed her to get really focused and work to her potential. Throughout the season, she was in and out of the lineup, and she earned her opportunity to start in the tournament.”
Umlauf nailed down left field and proceeded to author the fairytale ending her coach envisioned.
St. Charles North edged Oswego 2-1 in a Class 4A state semifinal at Louisville Slugger in Peoria and then topped Marist 7-2 to take the title for the second time in three years.
“Addy was the player of the game in the state championship,” Poulin said of his difference-maker’s two clutch hits. “She drove in both go-ahead runs.”
And she did it each time with two outs.
The sixth batter in the North Stars’ lineup, Umlauf’s first-inning RBI single broke a 1-1 tie.
In the sixth, her drive to the warning track in right-center went for an RBI triple, breaking a 2-2 tie and kick-starting the winning five-run surge.
“Before the tournament we told her, ‘Your bat is gonna help us in the middle to bottom of the order,’” Poulin said. “And sure enough, she came through big time.”
Umlauf also had a bunt single in the team’s winning, seventh-inning rally against Oswego.
“I know my main position is second base but we had Maddie,” said Umlauf, who plays travel with the Dennison Silver Hawks. “I had to find my role and I had to be able to hit to get in the lineup.
“We have a lot of talent and usually do, and you can’t lay back and do nothing. I struggled a little bit in the middle of the season, but this competition drives me to do better. If I didn’t have to work as much as I did, I don’t think I would have produced.”
Umlauf, who has played softball since she was 8, played basketball through her first two years in high school before giving it up.
“I enjoy the fast pace, here and there, but it wasn’t my fit,” Umlauf said of basketball. “I think I like the thought that goes into softball more. It’s more my fit.”
Her mother, Liz, didn’t play sports but her dad, Rob, played baseball, pitching for Indiana before introducing her to softball.
“He’s definitely my biggest supporter and critic all in one,” Addy said. “But they’ve both been there through and through.”
She spoke Wednesday at the team’s indoor practice on the 24th day of the season after a game with Bartlett was postponed.
St. Charles North (1-0) gets a later start since Poulin doesn’t schedule games during spring break.
“Three straight years we had every game postponed by weather,” he said. “Now, we have an extended spring training and kids know when they come back from break, it’s a six-days-a-week commitment to get 32 games in. The parents love it. The kids love it.”
Umlauf, who committed in September to Taylor in Upland, Indiana, certainly does.
“I think it’s a big part of why we do so well the back half of the season,” she said. “We don’t play in the bad weather as much. Coach Poulin is known for producing good teams.
“He knows how to get the best out of these girls.”
