SANBORN —When Lindsay Tylec steps up to the plate, she takes a couple deep breaths to stay calm, focusing only on her swing.
Then, when she sees her pitch, the sound of the ball connecting with the bat echoing through the ballpark to let everyone know she did her job as Niagara Wheatfield’s lead-off hitter.
Tylec became a mainstay in the Falcons’ batting order last season as a freshman on their way to the Class A1 championship. She hit .536 with an .841 slugging percentage, along with three home runs, 24 RBIs and a team-high 34 runs.
Against pitchers, Tylec is an enigma at the plate. No matter where and how the ball reaches the strike zone, Tylec is ready to deliver in a multitude of ways.
“I like swinging for power, but also, I need to have a bunch of contact as a leadoff hitter, so, I always have that mindset to contact the ball,” Tylec said. “Sometimes, it goes, so, I like that too. … My approach, always, is just have a solid contact on the ball and put it to the outfield.”
The hot hitting has carried over through Tylec’s first three games this season. She drilled her first home run of the season in the opening at-bat of Niagara Wheatfield’s 4-1 win against Hamburg Tuesday and is batting .444 and has scored three runs.
Even during volleyball season, Tylec still has an eye on how to stay softball ready by taking swings in her free time. And as she got older, Tylec developed a multi-layered routine to keep working on her hitting craft.
In the offseason, Tylec spends hours a day practicing her swing in the batting cages with either her coaches or father to stay sharp. And, Tylec had hour-long weight-lifting sessions three times a week to build more power in her swing and still does so once a week during school ball.
Plus, Tylec spends time watching her game film while also building off the swing of other hitters, like those playing for Florida and former Oklahoma slugger Jocelyn Alo. Alo had a .445 batting average along with 122 home runs and 323 RBIs in a five-year career from 2018 to 2022.
“I like looking at my own film to see my swing compared to top (Division I) athletes, just so I can compare myself to see where I have to be to compete at that level,” Tylec said.
Going into last season, Niagara Wheatfield had some holes to replace offensively, including Elanna Lysiak, who batted over .500 with 10 home runs and 65 RBIs over her final two seasons. But when it came to finding a new lead-off batter, Tylec’s speed, talent and knowledge stood out to Niagara Wheatfield’s coaching staff instantly.
As a result, Tylec showed flashes in the lineup of where she could be in the future last season. This included a pair of three-hit and driving four total runs in two wins against Niagara Falls and working a 16-pitch at-bat into a walk against Grand Island’s Isabelle Pezdek.
With the numbers Tylec produced, there isn’t much head coach Kevin Schucker has to say. With Tylec, his main help is by encouraging her before at-bats to keep her out of her own head.
“She’s been a huge asset,” Schucker said. “… I think, with her work ethic and her skills, the sky’s the limit. Whatever she wants to do, she’s going to be able to accomplish because she has that kind of mindset.”
The grind to become a better hitter — and overall player — didn’t stop for Tylec after completing her first varsity season last year. Tylec competed in numerous travel tournaments during the offseason, including in the Scenic City College Camp in June in Tennessee and later the PGF Nationals in California in August.
Facing out-of-state opponents helped Tylec not only stay ready for this upcoming season. The experience also helped her gauge where she wants to go in the near future, with the hopes of playing at the Division I level.
“Just how fast the pitchers are throwing, you really just adjust to that and get the bat on the ball,” Tylec said. “That’s really what I focus on, because hitting is, I’d probably say, my main aspect… So, I really just got to work on that, if I want to go to college.”