Lisle pitchers on shutout streak
Bekka Houda and Melanie Early couldn't pitch much better than they did Saturday.
Lisle opponents are used to it.
Houda and Early fired three straight shutouts, Houda's second a no-hitter to beat Geneva in the Byron Invite championship game.
“Mel was great in the first game, and Bekka pitched phenomenal,” Lisle coach Jen Pomatto said. “Three shutouts that day; you don't need to say anything more.”
Counting a conference sweep of Westmont, Houda and Early have thrown five straight shutouts, six on the season for 13-1 Lisle. Houda is 9-0 with a 0.97 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 34 hits allowed in 58 innings. Early, also hitting .581 with 12 RBI, is 4-1 with a 0.22 ERA, with 37 strikeouts and 16 hits in 32 innings.
“I don't remember the last time I had a team ERA of 0.70. Pretty impressive,” Pomatto said. “I definitely think it's the mental game. They know they have their defense behind them, and I've seen that fire in Bekka. If somebody gets on, she gets mad. Grace (Riley) is calling a great game, and they are hitting their spots and keeping batters off-balance.”
Not to be outdone, Lisle's offense is scoring more than 6 runs a game. Valparaiso-bound shortstop Mackenzie Buchelt is hitting .458 with 20 RBI. Pomatto said the girls didn't get caught up in beating a good Class 4A opponent.
“We know we have a job to do, no matter who we're playing,” she said. “We can't control what other teams do and who they are.”
Nice turnaround for Hilltoppers:Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane has preached since Day One that Hilltoppers bring a fresh attitude this spring.She was preaching to the choir with Emily Rooney.Rooney, who stole 16 bases last year as primarily a courtesy runner, is hitting a team-high .536 from her No. 9 position. Glenbard West is 10-3 after 13 games, compared to 4-9 at the same point last year.#8220;She showed up and was determined to start,#8221; McGrane said of her senior right fielder. #8220;I always tell the kids they have to earn their positions, and she showed up with the right attitude and busted her butt. I'm proud of her sticking with it.#8221;Second on the team in batting average is Taylor Steinhilber at .484 with 9 RBI, also the staff ace with a no-hitter of West Chicago on her resume. Steinhilber is even better with runners in scoring position, hitting .692.#8220;I'll be honest, in all my years around softball I've never seen a kid like that who consistently hits the ball up the middle like Taylor,#8221; McGrane said. #8220;She makes the adjustment pitch to pitch. Nothing fazes her, which is great.#8221;Measuring stick for Trojans:On the heels of winning a program-record 28 games last year, 13-0 Downers Grove North is poised to smash that mark.Now the Trojans get their toughest test to date.On Friday No. 3 Downers Grove North visits No. 1 Elk Grove, Class 4A semifinalist last year. Grens coach Ken Grams emailed some 40 schools this week looking for a game, and Downers Grove North's Mark Magro jumped at the chance.#8220;I wondered how the girls would react when I told them,#8221; Magro said. #8220;They were all excited. This is the kind of game that will only help us down the road.#8221;No pitching combo in DuPage County has been better this season than Trojans senior Kendall Ryndak and her sister, freshman Dale. Kendall is 7-0 with a 0.71 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 49 innings and Dale 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 47 innings as Magro alternates their outings almost to a T.Backing them up is a lineup Magro calls his best in six years at Downers North. Kendall Ryndak is hitting .550 and Dale Ryndak, Sarah Anderson, Rachel Bradley and Brittany Nagy are all hitting over .400. #8220;I've always said if we can just score a few runs,#8221; Magro said, #8220;our pitching is good enough that we'll win.#8221;Montini finally gets full deck:Mother Nature has made this a frustrating, strange spring season for every softball team in DuPage County.Montini takes the cake, though.Monday's 10-2 win over Wheaton Academy was the Broncos' first game with its full complement of 12 players. Seven of Montini coach Richie Costante's dozen kids have missed time due to injuries, sickness, school retreats, vacations, etc. The absences have hurt an already green team with three freshmen and three sophomores.Montini, 21-16 Suburban Christian Blue co-champion with St. Francis last year, is 4-8 and three games back of St. Francis. The Broncos had the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh but couldn't score in a 2-0 loss to St. Edward, and second and third in the last inning of a 9-8 loss to Immaculate Conception.#8220;Inexperience bit us in the butt in some games we should have won,#8221; Costante said.Costante sees a light at the end of the tunnel, though.Emily Barg, a nice surprise hitting, has carried Montini's pitching, and the Broncos finally scored for her Monday after going 28 innings without a run. Freshman Christina Barrett, who missed the first week and a half with a concussion, was batting .400 and leading the team in RBI before hitting her head in gym and missing games to get her wisdom teeth pulled.#8220;I'm gonna put a bubble around her,#8221; Costante joked.All kidding aside, Montini hosts St. Francis in a big one next Wednesday, and Costante knows they also need some help to get back in the conference race.#8220;I think we're going to be a tough team to beat the rest of the season and come playoff time,#8221; Costante said. #8220;All we can worry about is us. Let the chips fall where they may.#8221;