Friday, Jul. 10, 2009

The softball machine: Tigers' Rachel Coonrod is driven by thrill of competition

EDWARDSVILLE -- A day after breaking a finger in practice, Edwardsville junior third baseman Rachel Coonrod was back swinging a bat.

"The very next night after I got home from the doctor, I took the splint off and starting swinging," Coonrod said.

Because she hadn't been cleared by her doctor to play, Coonrod had to keep her hitting practice secret from Edwardsville coach Lori Blade.

"I was trying to keep that from Coach Blade for a long time, and then it accidentally slipped out," Coonrod said.

Blade's response?

"She's like, 'I knew you were,'" Coonrod said.

Coonrod returned from the injury to lead the Tigers to the Southwestern Conference championship and second place in the Class 4A State Softball Tournament.

Coonrod has been selected as the News-Democrat's Large-School (Class 3A-4A) Player of the Year.

She beat out teammate and last year's Large-School Player of the Year Lauren Francis in voting by 13 metro-east coaches.

"She had a great year for us," Blade said of Coonrod, who batted .521 with a school-record 54 RBIs this season. "She had some key hits for us, not just in conference, but in the postseason and everything. When you look at her numbers and think that she was out for the first two weeks, that makes it just that much more special, I think."

Coonrod missed the first four games of the season because of the broken finger.

"That was really upsetting," Coonrod said. "I wanted it to be another big year. I really wanted to contribute to my team, we really wanted to go far, and I was really upset that I couldn't be a part of that at the beginning of the season."

She went 18-for-31 with 14 RBIs in her first 11 games after returning from the injury.

Coonrod has improved every year. She batted .409 with 38 RBIs as a freshman at Carrollton High School, then hit .504 with 40 RBIs last year as a sophomore after transferring to Edwardsville High School.

Blade said Coonrod's work ethic is key to her improvement.

"She definitely loves the game," Blade said. "She puts in as much time as anybody I have ever had outside of practice with her other parts of the game."

Any Major League Baseball player who thinks that his 162-game season is a grind should take a look at Coonrod's summer schedule.

"Easily 200 games," said Coonrod, who played in a tournament in Colorado last week and will leave for a tournament in Oklahoma this week. "It's back to back to back, there's hardly any breaks."

Coonrod plays on the Southern Force with a lot of college players.

"It's so much fun," Coonrod said. "We play girls from other countries. We played a Peruvian team at this last tournament, and they were unbelievable. Oh my gosh, it makes you push yourself and be even better."

The thrill of competition drives Coonrod.

"When I see someone who has something over me, I have to earn it back," Coonrod said. "I like competing. I'm very competitive."

Despite standing 5-foot-5, Coonrod packs a wallop. She had 31 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, this season.

"She is awfully strong, but she is quick," Blade said. "She has very quick hands through the zone."

Coonrod said the sources of her power are her hips and legs.

"I'm actually pretty short," Coonrod said. "Compared to everybody else, I'm not very tall and I'm not very wide. It has to be my legs."

Though one of the most feared hitters in the metro-east, Coonrod received few walks.

Blade said having designated hitter Becca Strope in the next spot in the batting order forced teams to pitch to Coonrod.

Coonrod hit in the third spot in the Tigers' batting order with Strope at clean-up.

Strope hit .471 with 38 RBIs this season.

"Becca was an awfully big bat behind her, and I think Rachel got pitches to hit based on that," Blade said. "If you don't have a bat behind her that is a big-time threat as well, it's pretty easy to pitch around her."

With catcher Jessica McConnell having graduated, Blade said Coonrod could be splitting time between third base and catcher next season.

Baseball is a family tradition for the Coonrods.

Coonrod's dad, David, and uncle, Tim, played baseball at Carrollton High School. Her brother, Nathan, pitches for the Tigers' baseball team.

Coonrod was introduced to baseball by her dad as soon as she could walk.

"I remember getting my first tiny little glove, and I remember throwing the ball and him getting mad because I threw it too hard," Coonrod said.

Coonrod started out playing youth baseball, but switched to softball when she got older. She was a pitcher at one point, but switched to catcher.

"My dad never really wanted to play catcher, but then he saw me play it, and he's like, 'Wow, you're actually pretty good at it,'" Coonrod said.

Softball is subject of most conversations with her dad.

"We talk softball 24-7," she said.

Coonrod, 17, already has given a verbal commitment to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

She would like to become a special education teacher, and maybe a softball coach.

"When I was younger, me and my dad always had this goal that after I had graduated from college and had an established job, he and I were going to come back and coach a team," Coonrod said.

Francis, Strope and shortstop Adrienne Kruse also represented the Tigers on the All-Area first team.

Blade, whose career record now stands at 437-75, was selected Coach of the Year.