O'Fallon Patch Spotlight Athlete Of The Week: Lauren Geringer, Missouri Heat softball

Lauren Geringer can’t wait for her final year of high school to get started.

A senior-to-be at this fall, Geringer has waited her whole life for this year, which she expects to be “exciting and memorable,” to get here.

Girls softball fans in the area also can’t wait for the school year to get here either.

That’s when the fall season will start, and many are expecting another “exciting and memorable” season from Geringer, a top player for the Lady Jaguars last year, who was selected first-team all-conference in the GAC South.

“Lauren’s a dynamite kid, and a dynamite hitter,” Lindenwood University-Belleville head coach Charlie Kennedy said. “Lauren has tremendous power, and good bat speed and hand-eye coordination. She understands what she’s looking for, and does a good job as a hitter.”

Kennedy is also the head man for the Missouri Heat club team, which plays in the Chesterfield Baseball/Softball Association Girls Select League on Tuesday nights, and in elite tournaments all over the country.

This summer, Geringer, the O’Fallon Patch.com Spotlight Athlete of the Week, has been an absolute star as the clean-up hitter for the Heat, whom she leads in batting average, runs batted in, and on-base percentage.

“I go up there to the plate every time thinking I’m gonna mash the ball,” Geringer said. “I really try to go up there with confidence, because that’s what you’ve got to do to get a hit every time. I just think about what I can do to help the team.”

For Fort Zumwalt West last season, Geringer did just about everything she could to help the Lady Jaguars.

Then-a-junior, Geringer led West in hitting (.488 batting avg.), homers (5), RBIs (34), slugging percentage (.854), doubles (11), and runs scored (28), in what turned out to be an 18-9 season for the Lady Jags.

In fact, Geringer was one of only two players in the whole conference to rank in the top 6 in every important offensive category (except the speed categories, triples and stolen bases).

“I try to be a leader on my team, and not just in that stuff,” Geringer said, “but helping out the other players by just working hard. I don’t go up there looking for a home run. I just go up there and look to hit it hard somewhere.”

Geringer has also pitched some this summer for the Heat, after not doing so in several years.

But just as she did in youth league and middle school, Geringer’s been a star in the circle, with a 3-0 record, and a pitching touch that’s been unhittable at times.

“Lauren’s just a tremendous talent,” Kennedy said. “We’re in the situation (with the Heat), where we have too many first- and third-basemen. So Lauren’s had to play second base some, and pitch some, and just do a little bit of everything for us. She’s a really well-rounded kid.”

The 2011 fall season figures to be a very big year for the Lady Jags, who were knocked out of the 2010 playoffs a bit sooner than most expected last year.

West will not only have Geringer coming back, they’ll also have all-star pitcher Alyson Hahn, a fellow CBSA League player (St. Louis Classics) returning also.

So it’s quite possible, the Lady Jags will have both the best hitter and best pitcher in the league on the same team, making West one of the teams to beat, going into the fall season.

“We’ve got some quick runners and some other big hitters on our team too,” Geringer said. “I’m ready for us to have a great season.”

West High fans that’ll be in Chesterfield on Sunday, could get a bit of a treat if they stop by the CBSA that day.

Geringer’s Heat team will play Hahn’s Classics at 2:30 p.m., on Field #F4, in a college showcase event at the CBSA, where college scouts and recruiters from all over the country come to see the best players the Midwest has to offer.  

Going into her senior year, Geringer has only heard from St. Charles Community College and Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO, about potential scholarship offers.

But that interest figures to pick up once West’s slugging first baseman starts slamming the ball over the fence again this fall.

“I haven’t really thought too much about it,” Geringer said. “I just want to go somewhere where I can get a good education. I’m definitely keeping all my options open.”

Great talent. Fine leader. And a big-time home run swing.

And that’s why Lauren Geringer is this week’s O’Fallon Patch Spotlight Athlete of the Week.