Kankakee Valley freshman Mallorie Rose holds herself to a high standard.
She has expectations. So from Rose’s perspective, her productivity in her debut season with the Kougars comes with the territory.
“I’m pretty hard on myself when it comes to softball,” she said. “I do a lot, so much practicing. If I did bad, I would be really mad at myself.
“I came into the season knowing I put in so much work, and it’s just relying on what I put in, what I know about the game, in order to show what I’ve done.”
Rose, an outfielder and pitcher, is hitting .439 with a homer and team highs of 18 RBIs, 18 runs scored and seven stolen bases as the Kougars (7-6, 3-5) get ready to play a Northwest Crossroads Conference game against Munster on Friday. She is also 1-1 with 21 strikeouts in 20 innings in six pitching appearances.
“My biggest thing this year is just putting the ball in play, just getting on base and making sure we have base runners because we have girls behind me who I know will get me in,” Rose said. “So just getting on base, getting around to third any way I can — stealing, bunting, delayed steal, whatever — and let them get me in.
“To some people, it’s all about hitting a home run. So you’re a good hitter. Yeah, you can hit home runs. But just getting on base is a big deal too.”
Rose’s maturity has struck second-year Kankakee Valley coach Jay Biesterfeld.
“For being a young player, she really has a good knowledge of the game,” Biesterfeld said. “She’s someone who has a good work ethic in practice. She’s always pushing herself to get better. She’s been a really coachable kid this year. I’ve been impressed with how quickly she’s adjusted to playing at the varsity level and being on a team where we’re looking for her to make a bigger contribution than maybe a typical freshman would. She’s handled it very well.”
Rose said she had a strong fall travel season and was hoping to “piggyback on” that success in the spring.
Her performance during basketball season also helped set the stage for softball. She averaged 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds, splitting time between the junior varsity and varsity teams before solidifying her role as the Kougars’ sixth player midway through the season. The 5-foot-7 Rose used her uncanny strength to transition into a post player after she had been a guard in middle school.
“It was a little easier coming in because I was a freshman on the basketball team too,” she said. “That was harder for me. I’m more comfortable in softball than basketball. But coming into softball, I still felt like an underdog a little bit. But I started to play, and I was like, ‘OK, I’m here. I can do this.’ It was a little rough to begin with. It took me a second to realize how it was going to work. But it’s gotten better.
“It’s almost like you feel like you’re on the same page, you’re one of them. Just being around the older girls, I’ve never really played with that higher level. They definitely take the freshmen in very well, the two of us, and try to lead us in the right direction. They’re there to help us. The girls are very close. We’re here for each other, and that makes it a lot better.”
Indeed, Rose has flourished as part of the larger group.
“She’s a great hitter,” standout senior Elyse Starr said. “She’s very aggressive at the plate. She’s also great in the outfield, very quick to the ball.
“She has a positive attitude. She always does a good job of keeping people on track in the game. She’s very talkative in the dugout. She’s a great asset.”
Rose credited her family for supporting her development. Her brother Matthew is a sophomore at Kankakee Valley who played on the JV basketball team.
“If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today,” Rose said. “I know a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I don’t like my brother.’ And we argue a lot. But definitely growing up with him and being so close, we’ve always been so tough on each other.
“He’s very strong, and he’s built me into who I am. If somebody tries to mess with me, it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, he’s done way worse.’”
Rose laughed as she said that. She then described certain practices with her brother.
“He’s been throwing or hitting pop flies to me, and it would hit me in the face on accident because I didn’t catch it when I was little,” Rose said. “I would get mad at him, and he would be like, ‘You just need to do better.’ And I was like, ‘You’re right. I do. I do need to get better.’
“I’ll ask him to go out to the cage with me and pitch to me, and he won’t pitch good. I’ll be like, ‘Will you just pitch the ball down the middle? Just give me something to hit.’ And he’ll be like, ‘The pitch isn’t always perfect.’ And he was right there too. Just some wise words from him, just him making me mentally tougher.”
Rose said she typically has around 15 family members attending games, “sitting right in the middle.” That contingent includes her parents, Danielle and Ryan.
“My parents, both of them, put in so much time and effort into my softball, really helped me get to the point where I am,” Rose said. “They really help me a lot, as much work as they do.
“They’re part of a family business, Cheever’s Towing. It’s been in the family for years, and we’re one of the biggest towing businesses around. My dad’s always gone because he’s on call 24 hours, and my mom takes calls all day and all night. Them being able to find time to put in the work to help me and the money to make me better, it really makes me feel I need to do as well as I possibly can.”
