Shepard junior Londynn Sedlak goes to great lengths to keep herself mentally and physically in softball shape.
Her routine at home is impressive enough.
“I like to work out a lot,” Sedlak said. “I like to do cardio weights, and that really helps me in the field.”
Granted, it is self-declared, but she is the family champion for curls.
“I can lift about 75 (pounds),” she said. “Yeah, I’m definitely the fittest one in my family.”
The speedy center fielder also was the fastest one on the bases Monday afternoon for the Astros in a 10-0 five-inning win over visiting Argo in a South Suburban Red game.
Meghan Potenza picked up two hits and two RBIs and reached base all three times for Shepard (17-3, 9-0). Lexy Stergiopoulos added two hits, while Grace Woolwine had a walk-off RBI single in the fifth. DePaul recruit Kailey Selvage struck out six for the pitching win.
Abigail Grenier and Sadie Wheeler came through with hits for Argo (14-3, 8-2).
Sedlak, however, showed her speed in the first inning with an RBI triple that drove in Potenza. She circled the bases in a flash and made a beautiful pop-up slide into third base.
She couldn’t have done it any better.
“Thank you, but I actually ripped my pants on that one,” Sedlak said, laughing as she showed the tear and a burn on the back of her left leg. “I’ve ripped them three times already.”
Sedlak has been ripping it up as Shepard’s cleanup hitter. She’s batting .431 with a .486 slugging percentage and 26 RBIs. She has seven stolen bases, second only to Abbie Statham-Ball with 11.
Shepard coach Bridget McDermott confirmed it’s a delight to watch Sedlak run.
“Londynn is very athletic,” McDermott said. “And she’s so fast. When her and Abbie are next to each other on the bases, it’s always fun to try do to something.”
The big batting numbers? They start with reps in the cage.
“Even just hitting off a tee into the net, it’s really easy for everyone to take swings and not think twice about it,” McDermott said. “But every single rep she gets, she tries to improve on the next one.
“She can accidentally pop up one rep off the tee and she’ll know how to adjust. Then you immediately see the adjustment. She’s very locked in, very focused. She will not waste one rep.”
Or a chance to run down a ball in center field.
“Oh, it’s like a ‘no fly zone’ when she’s in center field,” Potenza said. “If you hit a fly ball anywhere near center, it’s going to be caught by her, whether she’s on her feet or not.
“Londynn is very much a leader, with all of the confidence and those other good factors. And she’s so fun to play with and a fun person to be around. Her inside jokes on the field always bring a smile. We always start laughing.”
Sedlak is the second family member to stand out in a Shepard uniform.
Her older sister, Brooklynn, was all-conference and all-state in 2024. She’s hitting .481 with 28 RBIs as a freshman at Moraine Valley. She also has 67 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings as a pitcher.
Londynn misses the drives back and forth to Shepard with Brooklynn. They still make drives back and forth to watch each other at Shepard in Palos Heights and Moraine in Palos Hills.
“Between her pitching and her hitting, she’s doing really well,” Londynn said of Brooklynn. “And I saw her make a diving play at short that was really amazing.
“I loved playing with her at Shepard and I really miss her,. But to see her at Moraine right now doing her thing is really good. I might go with her (after) next year … but we’ll see.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
