Verdun signs letter of intent to attend DePaul
By Mark Johnson
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mjohnson@morrisdailyherald.com
Last spring, Kirsten Verdun helped take the Coal City Lady Coalers to East Peoria, where they finished third in the IHSA Class 2A Softball State Tournament.
Beginning with the 2010-11 school year, Verdun will head in the opposite direction. She has signed a national letter of intent to attend DePaul University in Chicago, where she will play softball for the Blue Demons and coach Eugene Lenti.
A left-handed pitcher and first baseman, Verdun has already been to the biggest stage of Illinois High School softball, and has a chance to go again with the Lady Coalers this spring. Next up on her agenda is helping DePaul qualify for the College World Series for the fifth time since 1999.
"I was looking at Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, DePaul and Loyola," said Verdun. "It wasn't just that [DePaul] was close. They also had some things I wanted to make sure I had, especially in the softball program. First of all, I wanted the chance to play in the College World Series. DePaul is a top-20 team consistently, and playing there will give me that chance."
Three other recruits signed with the Blue Demons this month. One is Hannah Penna of Miami, Fla., who is a right-handed pitcher. Left-handed position players Allie Braden of Chino, Calif. and Megan Coronado of Pearland, Texas also signed with DePaul.
"Potentially, this is the type of recruiting class that can help us win a national championship," said DePaul coach Eugene Lenti in a university release. "Penna and Verdun give us depth at pitching accompanied by strong hitting."
Lenti has coached at DePaul since 1980, though he took two years off in the late 1980s. His assistant coaches are Liz Jagielski, Cat Osterman and Samantha Findlay. Jagielski played at DePaul and also professional softball for the Chicago Bandits. Osterman is an Olympic medal winner and three-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Findlay excelled at Lockport High School and the University of Michigan.
"Another reason is they have a great coaching staff," said Verdun. "Obviously Cat Osterman is there. Sam Findlay is there. And Eugene Lenti has done a lot of great things and had a lot of success. I really like his coaching philosophies. I will be pushed there, and I think maybe that is something I needed."
The two-time defending Morris Daily Herald All-Area Most Valuable Player, Verdun batted .528 with six home runs and 42 RBI for the Lady Coalers as a junior. She also handled almost all of their pitching duties, working 244 innings and going 31-3 with an 0.28 ERA and 447 strikeouts.
"She's a power pitcher with a really good rise ball and lots of movement on all her pitches," said Lenti in the release. "She can drive the ball and is a power hitter who can also run the bases."
In addition to Penna, there are two other pitchers that will compete with Verdun for mound time when Verdun is a freshman. Current senior Becca Heteniak will graduate before then, but junior Lindsey Dean and freshman Bree Brown should remain. The only player on the roster listed as exclusively a first baseman is Annie Demas, a senior.
"I will pitch, but I will play first base mostly," said Verdun. "I love pitching. It's great. I love being able to control the game and so many different factors that are going on. At the same time, I love first base. My passion is hitting. If you gave me the option to just hit or just pitch, I would definitely say hit.
"It is going to be different. Like, I won't be throwing 36 games in two months or whatever I have done in high school. I think it gives me more time to play first base. That was another thing when I was talking to schools. I wanted to go somewhere where I could hit. A lot of D-1 coaches say that if you pitch, then that's all you do. I wanted to make sure I could play other positions and do the things I wanted to do, and I have that opportunity [at DePaul].
Versatility is encouraged in the DePaul program.
"We like our pitchers to be able to hit and play other positions," said Lenti in the release.
While playing 2A softball at Coal City, Verdun has compiled numbers that she will be hard-pressed to duplicate while facing NCAA Division 1 competition. She feels that she has already faced top-shelf opposition while playing for a suburban travel softball organization.
"The Stone City Sharks, they have always been pushing me," said Verdun. "They're the ones who got me to where I am. They do have a lot of talent for me to go against, and I've had that opportunity since I was in their program."
Although Verdun has enjoyed considerable success at every level of softball she has played, she believes improvement is needed before she takes the field for the Blue Demons.
"I do think I need to bring my game up to play D-1, big-time softball," she said. "Especially if I want to start my freshman year, I definitely need to step it up and improve my game. Getting a more consistent change-up is one thing I need to work on, and I think that it's definitely attainable. That was one of the things I wanted. I didn't want to settle for somewhere where I could be less than my best, and it would be almost like high school. I wanted to be pushed and be somewhere were people are going to be fighting to take my spot every day."
Verdun was a 2009 MDH All-Area first-team selection in basketball, but she never truly considered playing basketball at the next level.
"I don't think basketball was ever an option," she said. "I love basketball a lot. Some coaches, especially since I tore my ACL my freshman year, have been asking me why I'm still playing basketball at all. Since I was 10, I've always wanted to play college softball. That was always my goal."
Though Verdun has officially committed to DePaul for softball, she is currently playing basketball as a senior member of the Lady Coalers.
"I love basketball, too, and that's why I've stuck with it," said Verdun. "It's a question I still get a lot, if I'm going to play basketball now that I've signed with DePaul, and the answer is yes. I still want to have fun, and I feel like I'm stronger than I have ever been. I want to have fun, and it helps keep me in shape, so I don't think it's a problem."
Academically, Verdun has goals in mind, much as she has them on the softball field.
"Communications and media is the name of the major," she said. "I want to go into editing, maybe into broadcasting. Some people think I mean ESPN, but it could be anything like the news or that type of program. Basically I want to do something along the lines of journalism. I love to write."
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