Column: Years later, former pitcher Corinne Pugh thrives behind plate for Kaneland. ‘I could get used to this.’

Try it, you’ll like it.

Hey, at least it didn’t involve tasting a strange-looking vegetable.

So in seventh grade, when pitcher Corinne Pugh heard her travel coach suggest moving to the other side of the plate to give catching a try, she didn’t turn up her nose at the first mention.

Now, look at Kaneland’s senior catcher.

A third-year varsity player for the Knights, Pugh is getting ready for the next level after committing in July to Wisconsin-Platteville.

“I was a little iffy about it because it was something new,” Pugh said of catching. “Then, the more I started playing it, I was thinking, ‘I could get used to this.’ I liked being involved in every play.”

She was at it again Tuesday afternoon, working with sophomore pitcher Ellie Peck during a 5-4 nonconference loss at Hampshire in what has been an up-and-down season.

The right-handed Peck weaved in and out of trouble, scattering six hits, walking six and striking out seven with just one 1-2-3 inning. She was done in, however, by a throwing error that allowed the unearned winning run to score in the bottom of the seventh for the Whip-Purs (18-12).

Pugh, however, sparked Kaneland’s seven-hit attack with an RBI double into the right-center gap to break a 1-1 tie. It was hit into the teeth of a strong wind that made every fly ball an adventure.

“I just try to hit it and not worry about the wind,” Pugh said. “I think I could have gone to third if I could have picked up the ball quicker.”

Senior second baseman Katie Congoran , a Viterbo recruit, also ripped a two-run single down the left field line in the fifth to give Kaneland (9-12-1) a short-lived 4-3 lead.

Sophomore second baseman Allison LeBlanc came through with two hits for Hampshire. Junior shortstop Bria Riebel , a South Dakota State commit, added a double.

“Offensively, we’ve been struggling a little bit to string hits together,” Kaneland coach Madison Mikos said. “That’s been our biggest issue. Being able do do that (Tuesday) was good for us.”

Injuries and postponements haven’t helped

The Knights close out the regular season with Wednesday and Friday home dates against Morris and Burlington Central, respectively, and won’t come close to the regular-season maximum of 35 games as the Class 3A playoffs begin next week at home.

“The Morris game has been rescheduled three times,” Mikos said.

Pugh was promoted to varsity as a sophomore by former Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler. She has taken private catching lessons from him since eighth grade.

“I’ve never seen her pitch,” said Mikos, who’s in her second season. “She’s a good leader on the field. Granted, they all have stuff they can work on, but all my pitchers trust her to catch them.”

Occasionally, Mikos will even turn over pitch-calling duties to Pugh.

“She’s smart behind the plate,” Mikos said. “We can trust her. Corinne calls a great game. It’s nice sometimes to let go of the reins and see if it’s any different.

“A lot of times, it’s that little refresher that you need and it works.”

Pugh said developing a relationship that can calm a struggling pitcher might be a catcher’s biggest challenge.

“Getting her to believe I understand it’s going to be fine and just move on to the next play,” Pugh said. “Just getting the pitcher out of that troubled mindset.”

Framing the ball, Pugh confirmed, is one of her strong suits.

And it was her hitting that caught the eye of Wisconsin-Platteville coach Becca Runde.

“They saw me at a tournament swinging at all these rise balls and missing,” Pugh said. “Then, I got a hold of one and lined out hard to center. They liked that I made adjustments.”

She hopes to continue to, majoring in health science and biology and then becoming a trainer.

Try it, she’ll like it.