Pulled from first start, Gianna Hillegonds gets back on track as Marist’s ace pitcher. ‘I just chalked it up.’

Marist’s Gianna Hillegonds is a confident kid. And a pretty sharp-witted one, too.

The junior right-hander was at her witty best after Lincoln-Way East roughed her up for three home runs in the RedHawks’ season opener.

The next day, Marist coach Colleen Phelan stopped her in the hallway at school.

“I think that might have been the first time I ever had to pull her out of a game,” Phelan said. “So I told her when I saw her, ‘I want you to start again tomorrow. We need you to bounce back.’”

Hillegonds was more than ready.

“She told me, ‘I’m not worried at all about it, coach,’” Phelan said. “‘If the next game doesn’t go well … then I’ll freak out.’ I said, ‘OK, that sounds like a plan.’

“She was so funny. Gianna is kind of a quiet leader on our team, but she has a sarcastic sense of humor. She made me laugh.”

Hillegonds made her smile two days later when she pitched three shutout innings, striking out five and allowing no hits in a 14-3 win over Lyons.

No need to freak out.

“That first game, it was just like a rough day overall,” Hillegonds said. “So many things went wrong, I just chalked it up. I told myself to forget about it, come back, and if I’m still not game-ready, then I’ll start looking to see what I can tweak.

“But I came back. I bounced back. And I did well. It’s all good.”

Hillegonds doubled down on her revival with another strong performance Tuesday against Lemont. She struck out six and allowed no hits in three innings as the RedHawks prevailed 11-2.

Marist (2-1) has a healthy share of returnees from last season’s Class 4A state championship team. Hillegonds figures to be the ace of a staff that also includes promising freshman Soleil Tate.

She also has a chance to make a special mark on the softball program’s history.

Every other Marist pitcher who won a game during its seven state appearances was a senior. For the RedHawks, there would be no repeats.

Hillegonds has a shot at winning not just two straight state titles as a starting pitcher but three.

Now, hearing that freaked her out.

“A little bit, yeah,” Hillegonds said, laughing. “That wasn’t even on my mind. I know the class above me, Caroline (O’Brien) and a couple of the graduated seniors are among the most decorated student-athletes at Marist.

“It didn’t even occur to me I could be the first pitcher to win however many state titles in a row. We have a good group of girls this year. I’m very hopeful for this season.”

Hillegonds had a sophomore season to remember, both from the team and personal aspect.

She was a sparkling 27-1 with 159 strikeouts and a 0.96 ERA in 159 innings. She ended up earning all-conference, all-state and first team all-area honors.

If it was a surprise that O’Brien, then a junior, converted so smoothly from the outfield to catcher, it was a stunner that Hillegonds would hit the ground running as a sophomore pitching sensation.

“She just always had a determination to get better,” O’Brien said. “In previous years, coming off those great pitchers, the new pitcher would put so much pressure on themselves to be the next one.

“‘G’ didn’t do that at all. She knew who she was, she knew what she wanted and she knew how to get better. She trusted her pitches and she trusted her defense, too. She didn’t try to strike everybody out — she just tried to be the best pitcher she could be.”

To that end, Hillegonds was happy with a one-strikeout-per-inning ratio. Interestingly, she’s running at almost a two-per-inning rate so far this season.

“I think I just have more experience,” Hillegonds said. “Also, during club I changed teams, and I think I played at a bit of a higher level this past summer. I played at tougher tournaments and played tougher teams.”

Bring on the best. She’s ready.

Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.