Go your own way.

South Elgin senior Adriana Jimenez is doing just that in high school, despite having followed in the footsteps of older sister Sammy by competing in both softball and cheerleading.

“She’s had a nice career and been a staple for three years now,” Storm coach Brad Reynard said of Adriana. “I’ve been fortunate to have her play both third base and catcher for me.

“Sammy probably caught a bit more than Adriana, but both have the same skill sets — cannons for arms, hit for power.”

Jimenez didn’t flex that power Monday for host South Elgin in a 6-2 Upstate Eight Conference win over West Aurora, but she did execute a sacrifice bunt with two runners on to key a four-run first inning that was all the support senior pitcher Anna Kiel needed.

Kiel and sophomore first baseman Jenna Sheehan produced RBI doubles and senior second baseman Amber Gnutek added a two-run single for the Storm (22-4, 14-0), who are staging a strong defense of last year’s conference title.

South Elgin owns a two-game lead over Riverside-Brookfield, Reynard’s alma mater, with four left to play.

“We like where we’re at,” Reynard said.

Kiel (10-3), a Loyola recruit, is swinging a hot bat. She went 3-for-3 to lift her average to .571 and checked the Blackhawks (14-14, 11-5) on three hits with nine strikeouts.

West Aurora (14-14, 11-5) was held scoreless until the seventh when Ohio State-bound senior shortstop Sara Tarr drew a two-out walk and came home on a triple by senior outfielder Keira Hayton, a Missouri-St. Louis commit. Hayton scored on a single by sophomore outfielder Gracie Del Toro.Jimenez, meanwhile, did much of the research and legwork before signing with Gaston, a Division I junior college in Dallas, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. She’s three years younger than Sammy, who’s playing at NCAA Division II Tusculum in Greeneville, Tennessee.

“I was on a search of schools and was interested in Belmont Abbey,” Jimenz said of the NCAA Division II program, also in the Charlotte area. “I went there for a camp and decided to tour a lot of the schools in the area. I found it, met the coach and loved it and thought it was for me.”

Jimenez, who also plays shortstop as well as third base and catcher for her travel team, continued to send Gaston coach Michael Steuerwald video and eventually received an offer.

Gaston’s program is in its third season and recently qualified for its second NJCAA World Series by winning region and district titles.

Jimenez, who is hitting .319 with seven doubles and two home runs, is second on team for South Elgin with 26 RBIs. She hit .383 last season and earned all-conference honors. She has been a member of Storm competitive cheerleading teams that won one state title and placed third twice.

“Hopefully, we can do the same,” Reynard said.

Last season, the Storm lost 2-1 in nine innings to Lake Park in a regional final and to the same Lancers 6-3 in a sectional final the previous season.

“I have confidence we’ll make it further in the playoffs than we have,” Adriana said. “I feel like this team, we like to have fun. In the past, it’s been a little bit more businesslike.

“This team, it’s more like we trust each other and we want to have fun all the time. Maybe we put more pressure on ourselves. This dynamic is different than any other year.”

Reynard is enjoying the ride.

“Having seven years of Jimenz helping our program out has been a blessing,” he said. “I joke with her parents (Oscar and Renee) about it. Next year, what am I gonna do now at third base?”