Foothill High School, located in Tustin, Calif., is about 2,000 miles from Evanston.
But the distance didn’t stop the Northwestern softball program from recruiting two of Foothill’s prized products — junior Lauren Schwendimann and freshman Erin Mobley.
“They have a very good understanding of each other,” NU coach Kate Drohan said. “When you play with someone and you know how they perform on the field, you want to be their teammate. And that’s huge.”
The two former Foothill Knights are now teammates on a squad which boasts seven California natives. Schwendimann and Mobley also make up two-thirds of the Orange County contingent, with junior Brett Nakabayashi hailing from neighboring Irvine.
Mobley, who had just completed her second year on the Foothill varsity team when Schwendimann graduated, holds her teammate in high regard.
“I have great respect for her,” the second baseman said. “Her being at NU really helped me consider this school. It definitely influenced me.”
Mobley, who selected NU over Stanford and Notre Dame, kept in touch with Schwendimann. But their friendship wasn’t the only reason she decided to come to Evanston.
“The recruiting trip made me realize that everything fit,” Mobley said. “Stanford had been my dream school, but it just didn’t feel good there, or at Notre Dame.”
For Schwendimann, their history has made things easier on the field. As a pitcher, she has no qualms about having Mobley behind her in the field.
“I think that having known her in the past and knowing what kind of player she is helps me to have confidence in her,” Schwendimann said. “I think we have a foundation of trust that nobody else on this team has.”
The trust began three years ago at Foothill, which has been the No. 1 softball team in the country for the past few years.
“We both come from the same tradition of softball,” Schwendimann said. “At Foothill, we had a lot of pride in our sport.”
Drohan also values Foothill’s strong reputation.
“I really like the program,” Drohan said. “(Foothill coach) Joe Gonzalez is great because he’s so good with the fundamentals.
“What they learned at Foothill was the tradition of success. And that’s really appealing when recruiting because you want players that have the experience of always being in the big game and winning the big game.”
Drohan said playing ability comes from within but Mobley said she relies on Schwendimann to help her reach her personal goals.
“We both have very high expectations for ourselves,” Mobley said. “And we help support each other.”
But the relationship between Schwendimann and Mobley goes beyond the diamond.
Even with the two-year age difference, Schwendimann and Mobley are at ease with each other — they even went on a road trip to Arizona.
Schwendimann said she got the chance to bond with Mobley and her parents during the trip. Next year, the two will have a chance to bond with someone else from their hometown.
Catcher Jamie Dotson, currently a senior at Foothill, will join the Cats next season.
“We have a little string of Foothill kids coming along,” Schwendimann said. “It’s going to be fun.”
