EDWARDSVILLE – Olivia Hemmerle has emerged as one of the top players for the softball team at Belleville East High this spring, and will be a key player as the Lancers enter the stretch run of the season.
Hemmerle pitched a competitive game against Edwardsville on Apr. 15, 2025, going 7.1 innings and allowing seven runs, three earned, on 11 hits, walking four and striking out one in a nine inning 8-7 loss to the Tigers, an exciting, see-saw affair that saw the Lancers tie the game in the seventh, then go ahead on a two-run homer in the eight, only to see Edwardsville tie the game in the bottom on the eighth, and winning the game in the ninth.
Hemmerle has posted a 14-4 mark inside the circle, with a 1.61 ERA, walking only 28 while fanning 179. At the plate, she’s performed just as well, hitting .497, with no home runs and 10 RBIs.
In her postgame interview that followed the loss to the Tigers, Hemmerle still was very upbeat and very personable, crediting her team with fighting throughout the whole game.
“My team fought hard the whole time, and they were behind me the whole time, which I was so happy about that,” she said that evening.
It was your typical Southwestern Conference softball game, full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and complete unpredictability, a type of game she loves to play in.
“It was so much fun,” Hemmerle said. “I love games like this, because it gets you prepared for the postseason, and how everything’s going to go after the actual season starts.”
It was also a game where both teams fought for everything they earned that day, and Hemmerle gave high praise to the Tigers afterwards.
“Edwardsville is such good competition, and they’re also very good sports,” she said. “They’re very good with sportsmanship and all that. I love them. They’re great.”
Hemmerle does indeed feel she’s having a good campaign, and knows she can’t do it alone, heaping much praise on her teammates, in particular her catcher, Zoe Peters.
“I feel like things for me have been going well,” Hemmerle said, “but I couldn’t do it without my team. I love my Zoe. I love Zoe, my catcher. She’s awesome and has my back the whole time, and I wouldn’t do it without her.”
As far as the remainder of the season is concerned, Hemmerle has some simple, yet ambitious goals in mind for herself and the Lancers.
“I hope that we can do good in the conference,” Hemmerle said, “and hopefully, win the conference championship, and we’ll see how everything goes. But we’ll see if we can keep the losses to a minimum.”
The game against Edwardsville was one of the better games of the year, with plenty of positive things to take away from for herself and her team.
“We know what we need to work on now to get better the next time we play them,” she said, knowing they will likely tangle with the Tigers in the postseason, too.
