BRIMFIELD — When Brimfield/Elmwood coach Kurt Juerjens first met Sawyer Drury, she was an undersized yet strong-minded 8-year-old just beginning to fall in love with softball.
Fast forward nearly a decade later, and Juerjens is in awe of his starting pitcher.
“You’d never would have guessed she would have come this far,” the 12-season coach said, “just because she was so tiny. With that work ethic, I guess anything is possible.”
Drury, a junior right-hander, has helped lead the Class 2A Indians to an 11-2 start. This record is highlighted by wins over Class 3A East Peoria along with a pair of victories over Class 4A teams Pekin and Normal Community.
She’s 5-1 with 91 strikeouts, seven walks and a 0.88 ERA in nine appearances over 39.2 innings, including a 17-strikeout, perfect game in a 1-0 win over Knoxville to open the season.
“My goal this year for me,” Drury said, “and my team is to make it to state at least. I think we have great potential to do that.”
Drury’s ability hasn’t been inhibited one bit by being born with a hearing impairment. She has Mondini malformation, an incomplete development of the cochlea in her ears, causing hearing loss.
Hand gestures, signs and lip reading are her main forms of communication on the diamond.
“Her hearing doesn’t really define her when I’m catching her,” freshman catcher Reese Legaspi said, “because I call pitches with my hands. She doesn’t actually have to listen to me.”
So, what makes Drury so effective?
“It’s her determination,” Legaspi said. “She wants the best for everyone – the team, herself. … She’s always just determined to do her best and when she’s not doing well, she always pushes herself.
“She understands what I want to call and what my thought process is, and I understand hers.”
According to Drury, her hearing loss is definitely tough, but she’s learned to adapt over the years, especially when she’s hitting.
“I tend to not hear a lot of things on base, especially when there’s a lot going on,” she said, noting that loud crowds and opponents makes listening difficult. “It’s hard to hear my teammates, so they do a really good job of letting me know, ‘Hey, I’m staying back on a bunt’ or they just get my attention really well.”
And Drury just seems to be scratching the surface of her talent. She caught the eye of several Division-I college coaches playing travel summer softball with the Peoria Sluggers.
Creighton ended up moving to the top of her list after attending a camp and visiting the ‘very beautiful’ campus. The Bluejays then offered her a scholarship in the fall and Drury’s commitment to the Big East program came on Oct. 1.
COMMITTED!!💙💙@BluejaySoftball@CoachKristaWood@GarrettFurnal
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