Charlotte Chelich already was one of the most dominant pitchers in Naperville North history.

But she wanted more.

“I’ve never wanted to be a pitcher only,” she said. “I’ve always loved doing more things.”

Chelich did more — much more — during a senior season that will likely be remembered as the best all-around performance in program history. She was the DuPage Valley Conference’s player of the year and pitcher of the year, a rare double befitting someone who dominated in the circle and at the plate.

Chelich, a Truman State recruit, went 10-4 with a 2.00 ERA and five shutouts in 19 appearances. She walked 23 and struck out 198 in 94 ⅓ innings.

Those numbers, while impressive, were not surprising. Her hitting was the revelation.

Chelich, the 2023 Naperville Sun Softball Player of the Year, batted .553 with a team-high 25 doubles, five home runs, a team-high 40 RBIs and 23 runs scored in 29 games.

“It’s a pretty special season,” Naperville North coach Jerry Kedziora said. “She’s one of the main reasons why we were back-to-back conference champions.”

Chelich put more emphasis on hitting in the offseason.

“Last year I knew that, as much as I was hitting, I wanted stronger hits,” she said. “So I focused on doing weights this year a lot, and I worked with my dad a lot on hitting. You get maybe three at-bats every game, so you’ve really got to focus in. And that’s one thing I love.”

Chelich’s focus will leave a lasting imprint in Naperville North’s record books. She ranks second on the single-season list for doubles, slugging percentage and multi-hit games, ranks third in home runs and batting average, and ranks fourth in RBIs and on-base percentage.

In addition, Chelich is the career leader in batting average and OBP, is second in doubles, home runs and RBIs, and is third in total hits.

“She’s a big, strong kid who practices all the time, so she’s very competitive when she goes up there and takes pride in what she does,” Kedziora said. “She’s really conscientious about her approach.

“Any type of pitcher, she’s been able to hit. Even pitchers that don’t have the velocity that she’s used to seeing, she’s done well against those pitchers too. That’s what makes her special.”

Chelich, who plays first base when she’s not pitching, is also special in the circle. She set the single-season program record for strikeouts as a junior and is the program’s career leader in opponents’ batting average while ranking second in strikeouts and saves and third in wins and shutouts.

Chelich did all that in just three seasons. Had her freshman season not been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, she could have surpassed Jackelyn Diekemper, who played four seasons for the Huskies and later pitched at Illinois, in most of those categories.

But Chelich did what Diekemper did not, leading the Huskies to DVC titles in two straight years. That included a 10-0 conference record this season that put them at least four games ahead of every other team.

“That was crazy,” Chelich said. “I didn’t know that we went 10-0, and then I was thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’”

Chelich’s graduation will leave a gaping hole on the team.

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“We’re going to miss her presence,” Kedziora said. “Everybody felt pretty confident when Charlotte was in the circle, so our defense settled down. When you’re striking out 14-15 people in a game, it takes so much pressure off your defense. A girl who can throw as hard as she does, those are things that you just can’t replace unless you have another big, strong girl.”

Although Naperville North’s season ended in an upset loss to Metea Valley in the Class 4A Oswego East Regional semifinals, Chelich said she enjoyed this season more than any other.

“It was hard to re-create what we had last year, but halfway through the season we all came together,” she said. “Toward the end, everybody started to pick it up. I’m really glad this was the team I ended out on.”

Chelich is only now starting to reflect on all of her accomplishments in high school.

“I think it would make my younger self proud,” she said. “Sophomore year I always questioned myself: ‘I’m working so much, so why isn’t it showing off?’

“I’m happy that I had my dad with me to push me past what I thought I could do. It makes me happy that I actually put in all that work and finally got something out of that.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.