There aren’t many places on the field that Paxton Hoop hasn’t played for Oak Forest.

The Ave Maria recruit has been in the outfield.

The infield.

Behind the plate.

Hoop has three gloves and is ready to use any one of them when Bengals coach Katy Dammer makes out the lineup card.

“Paxton will go wherever you tell her to go,” Dammer said. “She’s a versatile kid who can do it all. Whatever is going to help the team win, she will do it.

“She’s just a good, positive kid.”

Hoop has kept a positive outlook despite two serious injuries that threatened to derail her career.

She missed her entire sophomore season after breaking her left wrist diving for a ball on the first day of practice.

Last summer, Hoop was playing shortstop for her travel team when a bad-hop grounder broke the index finger on her throwing hand. It was a serious break, requiring three hours of surgery.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to play again,” Hoop said. “There was a lot of crying, a lot of nights I didn’t feel I would come back from it. But you have to keep a positive mindset.

“Now my finger is bending. It’s working. It’s not as good as it used to be, but it’s better than nothing.”

Hoop’s bat, meanwhile, is better than ever.

Through two games, both victories, she is 6-for-7 with a sacrifice, a walk and six runs.

Dammer has installed Hoop as the starting catcher, her favorite of all positions.

“I’ll be loud anywhere on the field, but when I’m catching I feel like I’m the general.” Hoop said. “I’m just glad to be back to the field. I’m ready to show what I’ve got.”

Speed merchant:Now you see her, now you don’t.

Ella LeMonier is 9-for-9 in stolen bases in seven games for Andrew. The sophomore outfielder is hitting .409 with a .519 on-base percentage, three doubles, a triple and a home run.

“She has really turned it on,” Thunderbolts coach Matt Fish said. “We give her the green light, use her speed to our advantage.”

LeMonier batted in the leadoff spot as a freshman, hitting .442 with 15 stolen bases. She was named all-conference and third team all-state in Class 4A.

“I like to compare her to (former Andrew standout) Kelly Christner,” Fish said. “Not power-wise, but the way she came in as a freshman, very confident, very poised with a lot of maturity.

“Ella’s a quiet kid, but she has a swagger about her like, ‘Hey, I’m going to try to get on.’ Whether she slaps or hits for power, she’ll find a way. She’s definitely a competitor, and I love having her in that leadoff spot. She kind of sets the tone for the team.”

Weather woes: Hour-by-hour temperatures. Wind chill factors. Precipitation probabilities.

If nothing else, coaches in the Southland have become more well-versed than ever this spring in reading about the weather on their cellphones.

On most days, the conclusions have been the same: Cancel the game.

“We were hoping to play on Saturday, but it was supposed to be 35 degrees at game time,” Sandburg coach Jim Fabianski said. “I wanted to push the starting time as far as 2 o’clock, but it still said 35 degrees.

“Myself and our athletic director were looking at three different sites. The one I looked at said it would reach 38, but the site he was on said it would feel more like 26 or 27. I was like, ‘OK, forget it.’ That’s just not right for softball.”

Lincoln-Way East was forced indoors during the past week every day except Monday.

“It was just too cold,” Griffins coach Elizabeth Hyland said. “It’s like the season never started. All you can do is go back to skills and basics in the field house or gym.

“The girls are antsy. They need to get outside. Once they do, we’re going to hit the ground running. We’ll have makeup game after makeup game. A lot of teams will be booked solid for the next two months, with very few practices.”

abaranek@tribpub.com

Twitter @TBaranek