Quiet Competitor: You may not see the fire in the BND Large School Softball Player of the Year until you’ve been burned

Not everybody can see the competitive fire in Edwardsville’s Kallen Loveless, but it most definitely burns.

Just ask coach Lori Blade, who sent the unassuming student-athlete to the pitcher’s circle 76 times during a four-year career and watched her return with 70 wins.

Ask any one of the school-record 58 base runners who were driven home by Loveless during an incredible junior season in which she hit .508.

Ask the teammates who marvel daily at the extra work the hard-hitting pitcher puts in to make herself just that much better, any one of the countless opposing hitters who went 0-for-3 against her, or even the 568 of 580 EHS classmates who ranked behind her at graduation.

If you don’t recognize Loveless’ competitive fire, it just may be because it hasn’t burned you yet.

“This doesn’t really sound like a compliment, but it is intended as one — when you look at Kallen, you don’t see a competitor,” Blade said. “But she competes really hard at everything she does as an individual, whether she is pitching or hitting or in her academics.

“It’s just that her intelligence keeps her so grounded and focused.”

Loveless crashed her way into the Tigers’ starting lineup as a freshman, when another Edwardsville great, Amber Toenyes, was injured. She’s been a competitive contributor ever since and has capped her high school career as the Belleville News-Democrat Large School Softball Player of the Year.

As a pitcher, Loveless was 20-2 with a 1.39 ERA as a senior. She struck out 119 batters in 131 innings. At the plate, she batted .464 with a .536 on-base percentage, hit five home runs and drove home 33 for the 29-5 Tigers.

Loveless doesn’t like to compare her success as a pitcher with her enthusiasm as a hitter. She works just as hard at both, she says.

But both she and Blade admit her greatest evolution as a player has come in the pitcher’s circle, where Loveless has learned to match her intellect with her physical skills.

“Kallen’s intelligence is an asset she uses and it definitely helps her,” said Blade. “She has a changeup, a riseball and, lately, we’ve been working in a screwball. But 80 percent of the time, she works location and off-speed.

“She knows she’s not a power pitcher and that her success has a lot to do with being able to trust the defense behind her. That’s the first thing she will tell you. She fits really well with what we always try to teach, which is not to be a thrower, but to be a pitcher.”

In a phone conversation from a summer league tournament almost 2,000 miles away in Lake Tahoe, Nev., Loveless echoed her former coach as if by prompt.

“To be a pitcher, you have to think about what you’re trying to do and know what outcomes you expect,” Loveless said. “I try to be as efficient as I can. We’ve always had great defense at Edwardsville and what I try to do is pitch to contact and let the defense help me limit how many pitches I have to throw.”

The trust Loveless shows in the players behind her inspires them to improve as well, said teammate and BND All-Area shortstop Ari Arnold.

“A lot of the success of our defense comes from the excellent job our pitcher does inducing ground ball outs for her team,” Arnold said. “She spends non-stop, constant time training, which sets an example on and off the field. To do what she does against so many good-hitting teams that we play shows you just how hard she works.”

The only thing missing from Loveless’ time at Edwardsville was a state championship.

Edwardsville finished its 2015 season as champions of the Southwestern Conference, Class 4A Alton Regional, and Normal Sectional. But for the second year in a row, Loveless and the Tigers were beaten in the super-sectional.

A crushing 14-1, short-game loss to eventual state runner-up (Frankfort) Lincoln-Way East on the campus of Illinois State University ended the Tigers’ season and Loveless’ career.

“I don’t know if regret is the right word for it, because we worked hard and stayed focused,” she said. “But it was awful not to get to state because that was our goal. It was really hard after that super sectional game.”

Loveless will continue her playing career at St. Louis University, which she will attend on both athletic and academic scholarships. Ranked No. 12 in a graduating class of 580, says she plans to study biochemical engineering.

“They have two senior pitchers, so as a freshman I just anticipate having to be ready for whatever situation they need me for,” she said. “As a hitter, I hope to get some (designated player) time and get into some pinch hitting situations.

“Then, I think as a sophomore, if I earn it, I’ll get the chance to be a starter.”

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Quiet Competitor: You may not see the fire in the BND Large School Softball Player of the Year until you’ve been burned."