Junior shortstop Sara Tarr receives high praise for West Aurora — and for good reason.
Sure, the Miami of Ohio recruit leads the Blackhawks in hitting with a .519 batting average, but the 6-foot-1 Tarr also is a force in multiple aspects of the game, according to coach Randy Hayslett.
“Sara means everything,” Hayslett said of Tarr afterward. “She’s smart. She’s heady.
“She gets the game and understands everything.”
That was evident Wednesday, although Tarr had a rare tough game at the plate in going 0-for-3.
Senior right-hander Katelyn Serafin shouldered the load for West Aurora with her pitching and hitting, leading the way to a 3-2 Southwest Prairie Conference win over visiting Joliet West.
Serafin ended up pitching a five-hitter with 10 strikeouts and also delivered the game-winning hit for the Blackhawks (11-11, 6-4) with a two-run homer to right-center during the sixth inning.
Maybe it was the mojo.
Both Tarr and Serafin were disappointed to see a row of evergreen trees that lined the adjacent tennis courts were recently removed for a resurfacing project that will improve drainage.
The trees provided a good hitting backdrop and were part of a team tradition.
“I’m upset about it,” Tarr said. “On game days, we warm up to run, grab a piece of a tree and throw it on the softball field near the warning track. Now we can’t do it.”
Neither player is certain how it originated.
“I miss the trees,” Serafin said. “It’s just like good juju. We always do it.”
Serafin, an Aurora University commit who missed much of last season following elbow surgery, overcame that obstacle and topped 100 strikeouts for the season to lead the Blackhawks.
Her homer came off Madison Jadron, the Southwest Prairie East’s reigning pitcher of the year for Joliet West (11-9, 5-5). It ties Serafin with Tarr for the team lead with five homers and 22 RBIs.
“Honestly, Katelyn has always had that line-drive swing where, if she gets a hold of it, it really goes,” Tarr said.
In the field, Tarr and freshman catcher Macie Spenny had Serafin’s back on a key defensive play in the fifth inning after Joliet West grabbed a 2-1 lead with two outs.
As the batter squared to bunt, a runner on second base broke for third.
“I had a feeling they were gonna try that at least once, especially with how many times they were bunting and like to run,” Tarr said. “It’s a play our travel team uses — fake the bunt and steal.
“I was just hoping (Spenny) would throw it right away because a lot of times catchers will wait, and I was gonna be there.”
Spenny’s throw was on the money, and so was Tarr with her tag.
“The score was close and we needed to get that third out,” Spenny said. “Sara’s definitely a leader and gives good advice, which you like coming from a junior recruited as a D-I player.
“It’s encouraging for her to say you did a good job or give you different feedback.”
Tarr will be joining Yorkville’s Madi Reeves, a former conference rival, at the Oxford, Ohio campus.
On Sept. 1, Tarr was attending a camp at Miami of Ohio on the first day coaches were allowed to speak with potential junior recruits and received her offer that day. She committed in October.
Karli Spaid, a Lane Tech graduate and senior for the RedHawks who ranks second in NCAA history with 97 career home runs, played for the same Dennison Silver Hawks coach as Tarr does.
“I’ve always known about Miami and it’s always been one of my interests,” Tarr said.
Tarr, who has eight doubles and five triples and plans to major in sports management, recently returned to the leadoff spot for West Aurora.
“With her extra-base hits and stealing, she’s basically at second base every time she gets on,” Hayslett said of Tarr, who is 16 of 20 on stolen bases. “Then Ionicca (Rivera) and Katelyn, who are hitting .500 and .400, follow so it usually means a run, maybe two.”
