DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Morgan Hembarsky is still learning a pitcher’s vocabulary.

The Sage Hill School junior pitched a complete game, six-hit shutout against rival St. Margaret’s on April 11, in one of the first few starts of her high school career.

But it took her dad, Mark, to tell her exactly what had transpired.

“I didn’t even know they didn’t score any runs until the day after, when my dad told me,” Morgan Hembarsky recalled. “He’s like, ‘You got a shutout.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know what that means,’ because I don’t know pitching terms or anything. He was like, ‘That’s really good,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ It was exciting. I felt pretty proud, but it wasn’t just me. It was my team.”

Hembarsky can be forgiven for not knowing the term. Add “pitcher” to the growing list of positions where the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week has excelled.

Not bad for an athlete who said basketball is her favorite sport. Hembarsky, who averaged 7.7 points per game in helping lead the Lightning girls’ basketball team to the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA quarterfinals last winter, also plays club basketball for Laguna Beach-based TSIN. But her journey in softball has been an adventure.

She started out freshman year as a catcher for her older sister, Rebecca, then a senior pitcher. Rebecca Hembarsky, who batted a team-best .412 her senior year, was a two-time Daily Pilot Dream Team honoree.

“We had that special connection, so if she was down I could get her up easily,” Morgan Hembarsky said. “It worked. We bounced off each other.”

But Hembarsky suffered a knee injury during basketball her sophomore year, and it made it difficult to withstand all the crouching required of a catcher.

“I had to change my position, and all the spots were already taken because I came in later because the injury took time,” Hembarsky said. “There really wasn’t any place for me to be put. They put me wherever they needed me. I would play infield or outfield, anywhere.”

This season, she has also played third base, but has stepped in to a pitching role for first-year Coach Beckie Gomez. Gomez’s daughter, senior Katie McKeon, has also pitched, but the Lightning value McKeon’s defense at shortstop.

“It really has allowed us some flexibility,” Gomez said. “Having Morgan be able to pitch, it allows Katie to play shortstop. It gives us a different look that does help us. My goal for Morgan has been to throw strikes and get ground-ball outs, and she’s done that.”

Plus, the team now has another standout at catcher, in sophomore Sadie Hoeschen.

Hembarsky was adept at changing positions; she’s always been a quick learner. She played softball in the sixth grade, but stopped after that when the family moved from North Carolina to Orange County.

As she entered Sage Hill, her softball experience was limited, but Hembarsky said she joined the team partially so she could play with her sister.

Morgan Hembarsky has continued to improve. Now, she typically hits in the middle of the Lightning lineup. She hit her first home run of the season in an 8-1 win over Brethren Christian, in the Academy League opener on April 8.

As one of three juniors, she’s one of the most experienced members of the softball team. McKeon, a two-time Dream Team honoree in softball, is the team’s only senior.

But after Hembarsky’s win over St. Margaret’s, the Lightning had won their first two league games.

“Our coach, she tells us that people are expecting us not to do well because we’re a young team, but everyone on the team wants to prove that wrong,” she said. “That’s a good drive for us.”

And, the next time she pitches one, Hembarsky will know that she did indeed pitch a shutout.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].