Pittsfield’s Henry hammers another home run — this one a grand slam — in 11-1 victory over Payson Seymour

PAYSON, Ill. — Intimidation begins to ooze from Grace Henry the moment she steps into the batter’s box.  

“I like to hit the ball real hard,” she said.

And far.

And often.

Henry, the right-handed slugging catcher for Pittsfield, is in the midst of an eye-popping senior season. Her performance Thursday only enhanced her numbers.

Henry blasted — in every sense of the word — a long grand-slam home run, highlighting a three-hit, six-RBI performance in leading Pittsfield past Payson Seymour 11-1 in a five-inning, run-rule shortened contest. The Saukees have now won five in a row against the Indians. 

The victory actually gave the Saukees a doubleheader sweep. They also topped Payson 11-4 in the completion of a game that was originally halted by rain in early April in Pittsfield.

Henry is hitting .532 this season, a mark that includes eight home runs and 53 RBIs in 26 games. Her grand slam came in a six-run second inning that staked the Saukees and eventual winning pitcher Lila Simon (5-1) to a 7-1 advantage.

“I’ve got pretty good power,” Henry understated. “And it helps when my teammates get on base in front of me.”

Pittsfield coach Ariana White, whose club has scored 10-plus runs in 12 different games this season, looks at her everyday lineup and cannot help but smile.

“Everyone hits the ball,” she said.

White and her players alike are anxious for the postseason to arrive later this month. The Saukees, now 18-7-1 and in the midst of a four-game win streak, are firing on all cylinders. They have outscored their opponents 51-12 during their streak.

“We’re right where we should be at this point of the season,” said White, whose team opens Class 2A regional play with a May 19 home game vs. New Berlin.

Henry agrees.

“Yeah, we’re right where we want to be, especially offensively,” said Henry, whose twin sister, Emma, plays first base and is hitting a team-leading .539 for the Saukees, who have hit 23 home runs and are batting .355 as a team.

Emma Henry, Taylor Peebles and Presley Brown all collected two hits for Pittsfield.

Payson Seymour coach Joe Fessler had nothing but praise for Saukees.

“Credit to them. They can hit the ball extremely well,” he said. “I told our girls to shake it off. We’ll be back at practice tomorrow and try to learn from this game.”

Ella Archer homered for Payson (12-12-1) in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1, but that was followed by Pittsfield’s six-run outburst in the top of the second.

Grace Klitz was the only Pittsfield player with two hits. 

Simon limited the Indians to four hits while striking out seven and not walking a batter.

Highlighting Pittsfield’s victory in the conclusion of the early April game was a home run by Josie McClintock and a route-going performance from pitcher Emma Wombles (9-4).