The main reason Marist freshman Maddie Rogers was brought up to the varsity and installed as the leadoff hitter can be summed up in two words.

Lightning speed.

Rogers is so fast, in fact, that when she gets on first base and second is open, free-swinging No. 2 hitter Bree Hanik thinks twice about even taking a cut at the first pitch.

“I know she’s going to get down there to second,” Hanik said. “I have all the confidence in her to lead us off, get a hit. I know she’s stealing. I don’t need to do protection. She’s going.”

Rogers flashed her speed Wednesday for the RedHawks in a 9-2 victory over visiting Lemont.

Power was still the name of the game for Marist (3-0). Hanik, Soleil Tate, Ellie Holmstrom and Layla Peters all hit homers. Bradley commit Gianna Hillegonds struck out 10 for the pitching win.

Ava Zdenovec also hit a home run for Lemont (0-1).

Rogers, meanwhile, had the first and last say in the home opener for the RedHawks.

The lefty slapper led off with a walk and stole second with Hanik, the Penn State recruit, at the plate. She went from second to third on a flyout to center field and scored on a base hit by Tate.

“I just keep on working, trying to stay in shape,” Rogers said. “Speed can bring a lot to the game, so I want to be fast on the bases.”

Rogers was on first base with one out in the fourth when Hanik connected for a hit down the left field line. The ball struck the foul pole and caromed back onto the field.

As the play continued, Rogers hot-footed her way all the way around to score. Hanik stopped at third, but following a discussion, the umpires ruled it a home run.

Rapid Rogers was waiting at the plate for another high-five. Then, she had her final say in the seventh, making a nice play on a grounder to second to end a bases-loaded threat by Lemont.It has only been three games, but Rogers has been full of surprises for Marist coach Colleen Phelan — starting with her personality.

“She plays the game fun and with confidence,” Phelan said, smiling. “One time she struck out looking at what really was a ball and she said, ‘Man, he’s taking me out of my juju.’

“I just thought it was a funny thing for a little freshman to say.”

She isn’t shy, either.

“Ha-ha, I did say that,” Rogers said, laughing. “It’s all about having fun, staying loose. It makes me a better player.”

It has already shown at the plate.

In the season opener at Naperville Central, the game was scoreless before her third at-bat when Rogers asked for some instruction.

“She came up to me and said, ‘What do you want me to do, coach? Slap or hit?’” Phelan said. “I told her, ‘I don’t fully know exactly what you can do yet but we need runs.”

Rogers did both.

“She slapped one over the fence in the center field,” Phelan said, beaming. “She has a lot of power in that little body. She would have done the exact same thing in our next game at Loyola, but the fences were like 240 feet.”

That one resulted in a triple.

On defense, Rogers has already played in left field, right field and second base. She has been given every opportunity to succeed — and has delivered.

Maddie is the much younger sister of 2017 Marist graduate Alexis Rogers. Alexis was the starting third baseman on the 2015 Class 4A state title team and the 2017 fourth-place finisher.

“I have more memories of running around the field than watching her play for Marist,” Maddie said. “But she was a big influence on me. A lot of my childhood was spent watching her play.

“She works with me a lot on my fielding and hitting. She’s been an inspiration to me through and through.”

The fun has just begun.

Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.