Jaclyn Donnelly never played lacrosse.
But lacrosse helped play a part in her softball career.
Sandburg’s senior pitcher/first baseman is strong in the circle and strong at the plate.
She is also capable of playing some pretty good defense when she is playing first base.
But last week there was a wrinkle in her game that came in handy.
With speedy Zoe Trunk on third base in the first and fifth innings of an April 20 home game against Riverside-Brookfield, Donnelly laid down two successful squeeze bunts to bring home Trunk with a pair of runs.
Those turned out to be huge as the Eagles fended off a comeback attempt and hung on to beat the Bulldogs 5-4. R-B was ranked 12th in Class 4A by the Illinois Coaches Association at the time and had won 13 of its first 14 games before running into Sandburg.
The Eagles (12-11, 5-4 SouthWest Suburban) went on to beat Lyons 12-1 on April 21, but lost 5-4 to Bradley-Bourbonnais the next night and 8-6 to Lincoln-Way West on April 23.
Donnelly’s bunting abilities came from doing drills with her father, Ed, using a lacrosse stick when she was 12.
“I owe a lot to my dad because growing up I was using a lacrosse stick to catch the ball in the net to keep my head down,” she said. “Nowadays I keep up my mechanics during bunting practice.”
Where did her father come up with the idea?
“He saw it online,” she said. “And he used me as a guinea pig.”
Donnelly has impressed Eagles coach Amanda Allison with her versatility
“She brings stability on the field, in the circle, with her teammates and has grown so much from last year,” Allison said of Donnelly. “This year, she has ice in her veins and she’s fun to watch.
“She’s willing to do whatever she has to do for the team, whether that’s playing first base or putting a squeeze down. She’s a hot hitter and having the opportunity to put that squeeze down twice shows he has no fear. She’s extremely selfless.”
This will be Donnelly’s final year on the softball diamond. She is going to Arkansas to study business and hopes to own a restaurant or bakery when she gets older.
He picked Arkansas because she was at that campus as a youngster when she visited her grandparents.
It will be tough to give up softball, she said.
“I’m going to miss it a lot,” Donnelly said. “But I want to go to college with a clean slate and try new things and try to focus on my academics.”