51黑料

While Taylor Hochman is talented and smart and amazing, she actually isn鈥檛 related to me.

But the 51黑料 University pitcher makes all of us Hochmans look good with her softball success. The native of Frankfort, Illinois, helped lead the Billikens to their first NCAA tournament.

The program started in 1978.

To earn the NCAA bid, the SLU senior pitched valiantly in the Atlantic-10 Conference tournament while her biggest fan watched from the highest seat.

鈥淢y dad passed away two and a half years ago,鈥� Hochman said, 鈥渟o my teammates and I wear orange ribbons because he passed away from appendix cancer.鈥�

Frank Hochman, Taylor shared, was a Chicago White Sox fan and 鈥渢he biggest bucket dad, for sure,鈥� an endearing term for softball fathers who are extremely involved in coaching their daughters. 鈥淚 just remember always being in the front yard, pitching to him on the grass. Ages 10-16. ... He got sick my sophomore year of high school, so I was 16.鈥�

In sports, we throw around terms like 鈥渂rothers鈥� and 鈥渟isters鈥� a lot. But when an athlete鈥檚 father dies, and her teammates rally around her and uplift her and write individual letters to her to personally share how much they care? Well, 鈥渟isters鈥� fits.

鈥淭here is so much love for each other,鈥� Hochman said. 鈥淲e love to play for each other.鈥�

Coach Christy Connoyer鈥檚 Billikens have been talented in previous season, but annually 鈥� always painfully, sometimes brutally 鈥� had their season end during the double-elimination conference tournament.

And sure enough, in the first game in this year鈥檚 tournament, Hochman got rocked.

So she entered last Thursday鈥檚 game with a 2.22 ERA, but allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings. No. 2-seeded SLU lost to No. 3 Fordham.

If the Billikens were going to win the tournament, they would have to win four straight games 鈥� in two days.

鈥淲e were all upset that we lost that first one because we knew how important winning that first one was going to be,鈥� Hochman said. 鈥淎nd so at dinner, everyone was kind of a little quiet. We knew what we needed to do to come back from that 鈥� and just knew it was going to be a long path.鈥�

SLU lost that first game by one run.

SLU proceeded to win each of the next four by one run.

Utilizing her curveball last Friday, the righty Hochman pitched with poise in the first of four SLU wins. She allowed just two runs and five hits in a full seven-inning victory against No. 5 St. Joseph鈥檚. Later in the afternoon, SLU鈥檚 Isabel Royle preserved the season, pitching an incredible 10 innings of shutout softball 鈥� and SLU took the lead in the top of that third extra inning on a homer by Karsen Jany.

So SLU made it to Saturday. Championship Saturday. But because they were coming out of the losers bracket, they had to win twice.

Against Fordham.

The team that tallied hit after hit on Hochman.

But just like Hochman鈥檚 previous start, she allowed only two runs in seven innings. And the Billikens won it in the eighth 鈥� again thanks to a RBI by Jany, again the extra-inning victory going to Royle.

In three games in three days, Hochman threw 302 pitches.

Royle pitched the title game 鈥� which was 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh.

鈥�(In the dugout), she was kind of freaking out a little bit,鈥� Hochman said of Royle. 鈥淎nd she was like, 鈥業 need you standing right here next to me!鈥� And so we鈥檙e just like holding hands in the dugout in the bottom of the seventh inning.鈥�

Teammate Abby Rallo鈥檚 hard-hit grounder drove in the winning run.

鈥淎ll of my teammates ran to the field, but me and Isabel were in the dugout. We just embraced each other and cried to each other because we were the two keeping us in games and just pitching the whole weekend. And so it鈥檚 just kind of like that 鈥榳e did it鈥� moment. Just so happy. And then the two of us ran out and hugged Abby Mallo. Super-happy and just filled with so much pride and joy for everything that we鈥檝e done this whole entire season to this point.鈥�

Thursday is the day of Hochman鈥檚 SLU graduation.

鈥淚鈥檓 an education and a mathematics major,鈥� Hochman said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be teaching high school math. ... I鈥檝e always just been really good at math.鈥�

(Incidentally, that was the moment I knew for sure we weren鈥檛 related.)

But she won鈥檛 be able to attend the ceremony 鈥� her team is traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where they鈥檒l play Friday against Arkansas of the Southeastern Conference (the fourth seed overall in the tournament). The Billikens (34-22) will face the Razorbacks (40-12) at 5:30 p.m. in their first game of their double-elimination NCAA regional.

It happened. NCAAs. It finally happened in her final year. And while speaking about her team during our interview, Hochman smiled her smile 鈥� the same one, except for the missing teeth, that she smiled in her cherished childhood photo with her dad at a Chicago White Sox game.