When your coach compares your hitting approach to one of the best hitters your school has ever seen, it doesn’t matter if you play softball and he plays baseball.
When he watches Kristy Prelgovisk swing, Messalonskee High School softball coach Leo Bouchard said he’s reminded of Sam Dexter. Recently named the national Division III Player of the Year by d3baseball.com, Dexter jumped right into the University of Southern Maine starting lineup after leading Messalonskee to the 2012 state championship.
“I’ve not seen a softball player in 10 years at Messalonskee practice her swing like she does. She practiced it so much, it’s almost like it’s in a computer bank. She’s locked in,” Bouchard said. “She reminds me of Sammy Dexter, the way she works on her swing.”
Like Dexter, Prelgovisk’s senior year ended with a state title. Her home run in the first inning of the Class A state championship game accounted for the only run in a 1-0 Messalonskee win over Scarborough.
“I’m always mentally ready to hit. That’s always been my favorite part of the game,” Prelgovisk said.
Throughout the season, Prelgovisk was an offensive force in Messalonskee’s lineup, leading the Eagles in numerous offensive categories. In the field, Prelgovisk played a strong center field, chasing down fly balls and preventing runners from taking an extra base with her arm.
For her part in Messalonskee’s championship season, Kristy Prelgovisk is the Morning Sentinel Softball Player of the Year. Madison catcher Aly LeBlanc also was considered.
Prelgovisk’s home run in the state championship game came on a full count with two outs in the bottom of the first, and there was no doubt it was gone the moment she made contact.
“The home run in the state game is probably the biggest anything I’ve ever done in my softball career,” Prelgovisk, who played in the senior all-star game on June 25 in Augusta, said.
The state game homer was the ninth of the season for Prelgovisk, who also drove in 34 runs, had a .541 batting average, a .580 on base percentage, and swiped eight bases.
“If Kristy was up, the whole team thought we were going to score,” Bouchard said. “Her home runs, they don’t just clear fences. They’re gone.”
In an early season game at Mt. Ararat in Topsham, Prelgovisk showed off her power. Mt. Ararat’s softball field has two fences, a 200-foot fence inside a 260-foot fence. Her first home run of the day dropped between the two fences, Bouchard said. Her second bounced off the deeper fence.
Some of Prelgovisk’s power can be traced to her other sport, swimming. Prelgovisk has numerous Messalonskee and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference swimming records, and as a junior was the Class A state champion in the breaststroke. Muscles trained to power Prelgovisk through the pool, combined with her work on her swing, made Prelgovisk a perfect power hitter.
“A lot of my power comes from my legs and hips. When I hit, my arms just come through and hit the ball,” Prelgovisk said.
Defensively, centerfield was a relatively new position for Prelgovisk, who had played the corner outfield positions and first base in the past. She took to centerfield easily.
“I really liked centerfield the most. I was able to see the ball well,” Prelgovisk said.
Prelgovisk’s catch of a deep line drive hit by Scarborough’s Kaleigh Scoville leading off the top of the sixth inning of the state championship game ended the Red Storm’s last best chance to get a runner on base in the close game. Prelgovisk’s defensive ability may have been overshadowed all season by her offense, Bouchard said.
“Nobody ran on her this year, because she threw them all out last year. They don’t take an extra base. They didn’t dare to,” Bouchard said.
A bout of mononucleosis limited Prelgovisk’s swimming season this past winter, but healthy this spring, she became one of the top power hitters in the state.
“Her upper body is a whip. She uses her lower body for strength. She is built to play softball,” Bouchard said.
The thing is, swimming is Prelgovisk’s first love. That’s the sport Prelgovisk will focus on when she enrolls at Bates College in the fall. Prelgovisk, who worked at Bates’ swimming camp when the softball season ended, will join her older sister, Lindsey, who will be a senior, on the Bates swimming team.
“It might work out so I can play softball, too, but I’m focusing on swimming,” Prelgovisk said.
“This is her second sport. She has one of the best natural swings I’ve seen in a player in a long time, and she’s worked hard to get there,” Bouchard said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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