Boone Grove’s Mariah Atteberry took a step back to propel two steps forward.
Atteberry has gained a new perspective and parlayed it into a preeminent senior season with the Wolves.
“This year, I’ve just really embraced it as a game, just have fun and not sweat everything so much,” Atteberry said. “Just fall back in love with it. The previous years, I felt a lot more nervous. I really pounded myself for all my mistakes. But this year, I let it go and just have fun.
“This year, finally everything has come off. This has been my favorite season by far.”
Atteberry, who plays third base and pitches, was hitting .371 with a homer, 11 RBIs and eight stolen bases as Boone Grove (17-5, 6-0) prepared for its regular-season finale against South Central on Saturday with the opportunity to win the outright Porter County Conference round-robin title. The Wolves topped the Satellites in the championship game of the PCC Tournament on May 11.
Atteberry was also 3-1 with a 1.62 ERA with 36 strikeouts and four walks in 30 1/3 innings. She hadn’t allowed an earned run until giving up two against South Central.
Boone Grove coach Ron Saunders sang Atteberry’s praises.
“She’s having a fantastic year,” he said. “She’s pitched lights out. But she’s so good at third, I can’t take her off third base too often. She’s playing it very well. She’s hitting a ton, like .600 in conference.
“I can’t complain. All-around, this is by far her best year. She has earned everything she’s getting.”
Atteberry has been a fixture in the Wolves’ lineup throughout her career. She primarily was the team’s designated hitter, mixed in with some third base, as a freshman before taking over at the hot corner during her sophomore season.
Because of injuries on the roster, she shifted to second base last season. She hit .354 with four homers and 22 RBIs and also went 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA with 39 strikeouts and four walks in 33 innings.
“I embraced that and tried my best,” Atteberry said of playing second base. “But this year, being back at third, I love it.”
That passion has come to the forefront, and standout senior pitcher Natalee Meinert, a Lewis recruit, has appreciated Atteberry’s all-around productivity.
“She’s definitely showed leadership skills. She’s a great leader,” Meinert said. “On the field, her bat has contributed so much this season and has been very supportive, especially when I’m pitching. She’s hitting bombs right now. It’s so nice.
“She’s been coming in for relief and doing great. She’s just been doing a great job this season.”
Atteberry, Meinert, Alyssa Llanos and Drake recruit Emily Veschak — all four seniors on Boone Grove’s roster, which includes a talented freshman class — are captains.
“As a captain, I looked back and was like, ‘What’s something that younger me could’ve really used?’” Atteberry said. “It was just letting them just have fun, not holding them to such high standards. Obviously having expectations, but not pounding them so much. Just have fun and realize it’s just a game.
“It’s a fun responsibility. It’s a big responsibility too. As a captain, we all have a different role. I try to be more fun and not uplifting, but always see the positive. That’s something I could’ve used as an underclassman coming into sports because there is a lot of pressure.”
The Wolves, especially those seniors, also have been eyeing a long postseason run. The tradition-laden program, which produced the Class 2A state runner-up in 2015 and 2016, hasn’t won a sectional title since 2019. Boone Grove received a bye into the semifinals of the Class 3A Griffith Sectional, having moved up to that class last season.
“Us four seniors are really excited because this is our last year, and we haven’t made it past sectionals yet, so that’s our No. 1 goal, to go far,” Atteberry said. “As seniors, we really want to go out with a bang.
“It’s just a matter of putting it all together at the right time, and we can do it. We have a really talented group this year. Everyone has the potential to do something great.”
Atteberry has committed to Saint Mary’s, where she will enter the speech pathology program. She would like to minor in American Sign Language.
“With speech pathology, you can work at a hospital or a school or a private clinic, and I think I’m going to gear more to the kids,” Atteberry said. “Definitely with kids. That’s my favorite.”
Working with preschoolers from ages 3 to 5 for two class periods a day for the last two years has helped Atteberry lean in that direction. She played volleyball as a freshman and sophomore, “tried” golf this past fall and participates in a number of clubs and activities. But her experience at Porter Lakes Elementary School has been particularly rewarding.
“I take cadet teaching classes, and that’s been my favorite thing so far,” Atteberry said. “It’s like being an assistant teacher.
“I love it because it’s such a different case from high school. Sitting in class and then going to that and running around with them, it’s crazy, but it’s just fun.”
This season has been fun for Atteberry too.
“It’s been great so far, and we’re super excited for the postseason,” she said. “We all get along great, and we’re all happy to see each other do great things. We all have each other’s backs.”
