National Highlight Reel: Nicole Pihl sets Illinois state home run record

Nicole Pihl the pitcher did not have a good day Saturday.

However, Nicole Pihl the hitter had a historic day.

The super sophomore from Seneca (Ill.) stepped to the plate with a runner on first in the last of the ninth inning and hammered a 3-2 pitch high over the center field fence for her state-record 19th home run and a dramatic 6-5 Class 2A sectional semifinal softball victory over Chicago Christian (Palos Heights, Ill.).

She told MaxPreps, "After coming off kind of a poor pitching performance (she gave up all five runs in two different appearances), I knew I had to make up for it. I wasn't really swinging for it. I'm extremely happy I hit it, but more happy that we won."



Seneca coach Dan Stecken called the ending "very story book. When it left her bat, I knew it was gone. A lot of teams have been pitching around her (she has 33 walks). She hadn't seen too many pitches to hit. Today they went after her. She is a special player. Big-time players make big-time hits in big-time games. She hits rockets all the time."

The 6-foot slugger responded with a 3-for-4 day which also included a booming double and single.

Pihl also has 79 runs batted in and has a shot at that state record (81) on Monday when the Fighting Irish (30-8) play for the sectional crown against Momence. She is batting a lofty .531 with 18 doubles and has struck out just six times in 113 at-bats. She is 26-8 on the mound with a 1.94 ERA.

Pihl has been playing softball since age eight and travel ball since age 11. She helped the Sun City Sharks place second in the national 14-and-under tournament.

Her freshman year produced a .330 batting average, but just six home runs.

During the off-season, Pihl took hitting lessons from former Michigan All-American Sam Findlay.



"I spent a lot of time over the winter working the kinks out of my swing," she pointed out. "She gave me a lot of confidence. Home runs come with hard swings and I try to get hard swings every time. If they (home runs) happen, they happen."

Pihl doesn't recall pressure from chasing the home run record.

"It was a lot of positive energy – basically from everyone who knew about it," she related. "There will probably be (more pressure next year) and I'm up for that challenge. I hope to get steadily better as the years go on."

More softball notes:

* El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) senior Dani Gilmore tied the state record by scoring 182 runs during her brilliant career, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The Oregon State University recruit also had 206 RBIs (third), 46 home runs (fourth) and 202 hits (seventh).

* Andrean (Merrillville, Ind.) senior Nikki Steinbach struck out 15 and drove in both runs during a 2-1 victory over Griffith (Ind.).



* Elyria (Ohio) defeated Brunswick (Ohio), 7-1, to give coach Ken Fenik his 400th career victory.

* Lake Catholic (Mentor, Ohio) nipped Padua (Parma, Ohio), 1-0, as junior Bonnie Zappitelli struck out 16. She has not allowed an earned run during his last 50 innings.

BASEBALL: Sons follow the path of famous dads (next page){PAGEBREAK}On Saturday Walt Weiss, who won a World Series ring with the Oakland A's, watched his son, Brodie Weiss, help Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) win the Class 5A state title with a 15-10 victory over Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.). Brody hit a double during a decisive seven-run sixth inning. Walt also is an assistant coach at Regis.

On the same day, Barry Helton, who owns a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers, watched his son, junior Brett Helton, spark No. 23-seeded Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to the Class 4A crown.

Helton was the winning pitcher and drove in six runs during a 13-7 semifinal victory over Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) to set up the title game victory, 12-0, over Wheat Ridge (Colo.).

* East Ridge (Woodbury, Minn.) blanked Woodbury (Minn.), 6-0, as senior Mitch Luebbe pitched a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts.



* Senior Paul Voelker fanned 16 in eight innings to lead Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) to a 3-2 victory over St. Louis Park (Minn.).

* Turlock (Calif.) poured across 16 runs against five pitchers in the third inning of a 23-2 rout of Merced (Calif.). Twenty-one batters went to the plate during the 40-minute inning.

BASKETBALL: Hunter to play for his father (see next page){PAGEBREAK}One of Indiana's top juniors, R.J. Hunter of Pike (Indianapolis, Ind.), has rejected the likes of Wake Forest, Iowa and Virginia Tech to play for his father-coach, Ron Hunter, at Georgia State, according to the Atlanta Journal & Constitution.

The 6-5 guard, who averaged 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds this year, said his decision was cemented after talking to Bryce Drew about his experience playing for his father, Homer Drew, at Valparaiso University.

* Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) blue chipper Justin Anderson, a 6-5 junior, has switched his commitment from the University of Maryland to the University of Virginia, according to Montrose coach Stu Vetter.

* Doherty (Colorado Springs, Colo.) head coach Dan McKiernan is looking for a new job, because the school could not promise him job security despite his 48 years of experience and election to the Colorado High School Coaches Hall of Fame.



McKiernan told the Denver Post, "I'm egotistical. I consider myself a rock star. I am. I'm good at what I do. For somebody to tell me that they're not even sure they're going to have a position for me next year (ticked) me off. I said, ‘That's fine. I'll go some place else.' ''

FOOTBALL: Deion Sanders Jr. switching (next page){PAGEBREAK} Deion Sanders Jr. is expected to play wide receiver this fall at Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), according to the Dallas Morning News. His experiment as a junior quarterback resulted in 30-of-64 passing for 473 yards and seven touchdowns, with just one interception. He also ran for 322 yards and nine touchdowns.

* Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) junior offensive lineman Max Tuerk (6-6, 296) has committed to the University of Southern California, according to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times. He is considered one of the top three linemen in Southern California.

* Hampton (Va.) coach Mike Smith has fooled a lot of opponents while winning 419 games and 12 state titles. But his wife, Lisa, turned the tables on him with a surprise party to celebrate his outstanding 40-year career. A couple hundred attended, coming from as far away as Texas, Florida and Minnesota.

SOCCER: Gatorade honors Morgan Brian

Frederica Academy (St. Simons Island, Ga.) senior Morgan Brian has been named Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. The 5-7 University of Virginia recruit had 186 goals and 95 assists during her outstanding five-year career. She also has a 3.81 GPA.

* Marc Pelosi of Sunnyvale, Calif., considered the No. 1 junior in the country, has made a commitment to UCLA, according to the Los Angeles Times.



GOLF: Spieth ties for 32nd

Dallas Jesuit (Texas) senior Jordan Spieth shot 286 to finish in an eight-way tie for 32nd during the annual Byron Nelson Championships in Irving, Texas. The three-time Class 5A state champion and 2009 Rolex National Player of the Year finished six-over-par following a final round of 77. He had tied for 16th last year.

The University of Texas signee, who missed his high school graduation, had shot earlier rounds of 69, 68 and 72.