Softball: Scouting the Class 3A/4A postseason in the Fox Valley

Class 4A DeKalb sectional

Barrington regionalPairings: Tuesday - Game 1) Barrington vs. Cary-Grove, 4:30 p.m.; Game 2) Crystal Lake Central vs. Crystal Lake South, 7 p.m. Saturday - Game 3) Championship, 11 a.m.

Outlook: Barrington (27-6) stands out as the overwhelming favorite to win its own regional behind senior pitcher Keenan Dolezal, who has won a school record 85 games in her career. Cary-Grove (10-19) has struggled to hold good offenses down this season but the Trojans do have run-scoring potential. Their offense is led by Caitlyn Adams (. 442, 18 RBI), Grace Pilz (. 396, 3 HRs, 27 RBI), Brianne Prank (. 357, 3 HRs, 21 RBI) and Sarah Purpura (. 347, 3 HRs, 13 RBI). On the other side of the bracket, Crystal Lake South (18-10) lost to its crosstown rival CL Central (20-8) by scores of 5-1 and 7-0 this season. Even though the Gators struggled to a 3-7 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division record, they also have shown the ability to produce runs and win games if they get solid pitching and defense. The offense is led by freshman Carly Chovanec (. 442, 3 HRs, 18 RBI). Other main contributors have been Lauren Gauger (. 364), Jenica Terry (. 300, 9 HRs, 28 RBI), Taylor Kassel (. 379, 2 HRs, 15 RBI) and Sam Burgard (. 368, 7 HRs, 23 RBI). Senior Hailee Massie leads the team in innings pitched and has a 9-6 record.

DeKalb regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Rockford Jefferson at Jacobs, 11 a.m. Tuesday - Game 2) Huntley vs. Winner Game 1, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) DeKalb vs. Dundee-Crown, 4:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship, 11 a.m.

Outlook: While Huntley (22-8) is the No. 1 seed here, DeKalb (16-12) has played an ultra tough schedule and has one of the best pitchers in northern Illinois in Illinois State recruit Morgan Newport. And, the Barbs have the regional on their own field. That said, Huntley is still the team to beat. The Red Raiders, who finished second to McHenry in the FVC Valley, had a 6-game winning streak snapped by Joliet West Saturday. A formidable offense is led by Megan Larson (. 470, 6 HRs, 29 RBI), Hayley O'Mara (. 420, 9 HRs, 25 RBI) and Jessica Shields (. 432, 22 SBs). In the circle, freshman Tiffany Giese (10-4) has taken over for the inured Kateri Conklin (10-3) but if Conklin can come back for the postseason it would give coach Mark Petryniec another option. The dark horse of this regional has to be Dundee-Crown, which at 16-10 is having its best season in coach Tracy Beatty's eight years in Carpentersville and its best since the 2002 team won 17 games. The Chargers have flourished with a bevy of freshmen in the lineup, including pitcher Sydney Ruggles, who has 138 strikeouts in 138 innings and is hitting .451 with 2 homers and 16 RBI. A team that is hitting .379 overall is also led by Andrea Conway (. 432, 2 HRs, 20 RBI), Claire Weeks (. 471, 3 HRs, 20 RBI), Deanna Origer (. 519, 1 HR, 23 RBI), Isabel Rodriguez (. 333, 3 HRs) and Megan Emerson (. 429, 4 HRs, 22 RBI). Jacobs (15-18) can't be counted out of this regional either. Under first-year coach Katie O'Brien, the Golden Eagles are another team that has proved to have a productive offense but has struggled to hold down the opponent at times. Jacobs' offense is led by Sarah Murray (. 396, 2 HRs, 12 RBI), Kerri Healy (. 341, 5 HRs, 24 RBI), Emily Borg (. 370, 6 HRs, 32 RBI) and Teagan Richman (21 RBI). Richman and Alexis Addante have 7 wins each in the circle.

Other regionalsOutlook: FVC Valley champion McHenry (26-6) is the No. 1 seed at the Grayslake North regional but No. 2 Prairie Ridge (20-6), which won the FVC Fox title undefeated, is a threat with Florida Gulf Coast recruit Haley Baker in the circle. Hononegah and Harlem are the top two seeds at Hononegah.

Advancement: The Barrington and Grayslake North regional winners meet Tuesday, June 2 in the DeKalb sectional semifinals with the DeKalb regional winner taking on the Hononegah winner the next day. The sectional championship is June 6 with the winner advancing to the Barrington supersectional June 8 to play the Glenbrook South sectional champ. Defending state champion Warren is the No. 1 seed in the Glenbrook South sectional.

Class 4A Rolling Meadows sectional

Schaumburg regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Glenbard North at Streamwood, 11 a.m. Tuesday - Winner Game 1 vs. Schaumburg, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) Willowbrook vs. Lake Park, 4:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship 11 a.m.

Outlook: Streamwood (8-22) gets a home game Monday and if the Sabres can get past Glenbard North they'll get a shot at No. 1 seed Schaumburg, the Mid-Suburban League champs who have a 28-1 record and a 27-game winning streak. Streamwood is led by pitcher Jessica Daley, who is hitting .464 with 28 RBI. Rebecca Daley (. 322, 21 RBI) and Natalie Filippo (. 318) have also been productive.

Glenbard West regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Larkin at Wheaton North, 11 a.m. Tuesday - Game 2) Winner Game 1 vs. St. Charles North, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) Bartlett vs. Glenbard West, 4:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship, 11 a.m.

Outlook: Bartlett (20-10-1) had its 4-game winning streak snapped by Antioch Saturday night but the Hawks have been hot, having scored 43 runs in the 4 previous games. "I really like the way we're playing right now," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith after his team's 7-1 win over South Elgin Friday. "We're doing the five things you need to do. We're hitting, we're pitching, we're fielding, we're running the bases and we're cheering. We're loud in the dugout." First baseman Elyse Hickey leads the Hawks with her .468 average. She also has 3 home runs and 25 RBI. Danielle Kirby (. 424), Katie Fornoff (. 393, 17-for-17 SBs), Alyssa Nowak (. 386, 5 HRs, 27 RBI), Lauren Janczak (. 371, 5 HRs, 34 RBI), Nina Pavell (. 352), Suzie Miceli (. 345, 21 RBI), Amber Pagan (. 333, 23 RBI) and Sarah Schmitz (. 329) have all been instrumental in the Hawks fashioning a .358 team batting average. Kirby (13-8, 2.59 ERA) has been the workhorse in the circle but as of late Wolfsmith has had her and Pagan (3-1) split several games. Should the Hawks and St. Charles North advance to the regional final it would be a rematch of an April 15 game Bartlett won 9-6 in nine innings.

Fremd regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Elgin at Glenbard East, 11 a.m. Tuesday - Game 2) Winner Game 1 vs. Fremd, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) Elk Grove vs. South Elgin, 4:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship, 11 a.m.

Outlook: The host Vikings (26-6) are the top seed in this regional and the No. 3 overall and await the winner of Monday's play-in game between Elgin (3-28) and Glenbard East. The Rams defeated Elgin 7-1 on April 17. On the other side of the bracket, No. 10 seed South Elgin (12-17) faces an Elk Grove (26-8) team that has hit 52 home runs this season. The Grens, coached by the legendary Ken Grams, are the No. 6 seed in the sectional field. South Elgin has shown it can score runs but, like many teams in the Fox Valley area, has lacked the pitching and defensive consistency. The Storm's offensive leaders include Stacy Bellack (. 415, 15 RBI), Rachel Ziemba (. 362) and Cassidy Westlund (. 397, 3 HRs, 18 RBI).

Conant regionalOutlook: St. Charles East, the overall No. 4 seed and Upstate Eight River champion, is the favorite here but figures to be pushed by No. 5 seed Conant.

Advancement: The Schaumburg and Conant regional winners meet in the sectional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. June 2, with the Glenbard West and Fremd regional champs meeting at 7 p.m. that same day. The sectional title game is at 11 a.m. June 6 with the winner advancing to the Rosemont supersectional at Bandits Stadium June 8 to play the Niles West sectional winner. York is the No. 1 seed at Niles West.

Class 3A Montini sectional

Glenbard South regionalPairings: Tuesday - Glenbard South vs. Guerin, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - St. Edward vs. Aurora Central Catholic, 4:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship, 10 a.m.

Outlook: St. Edward (20-8-1) drew the overall No. 6 seed and will meet Metro Suburban rival ACC in the semifinals. The Green Wave split with ACC this season, winning 13-1 and losing 4-0. In the loss, junior standout Lindsay Zdroik (14-6, 1.51 ERA, 190 Ks in 125 innings) did not pitch. Zdroik, a Valparaiso recruit, also leads the St. Edward offense at .533 with 4 homers and 26 RBI while senior Ryann Scully (. 443, 4 HRs, 24 RBI), junior Allison Stratman (. 432, 5 HRs, 29 RBI), sophomore Devyn Ernst (. 393, 20 RBI) and senior Megan Strong (. 368, 12 SBs) have also been major contributors to their team winning 20 games for the first time since 2005. If the Wave makes it to the title game, they figure to see Glenbard South (21-8) for a third time this season. The Raiders won the two Metro Suburban matchups, 8-2 and 14-0.

Advancement: The Glenbard South regional winner meets the Ridgewood regional winner June 3 at Montini in the sectional semifinals.

Class 3A Belvidere North sectional

Genoa-Kingston regionalPairings: Tuesday - Burlington Central vs. Genoa-Kingston, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - Hampshire vs. Sycamore, 4:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship, 11 a.m.

Outlook: Burlington Central (16-16) is the No. 1 seed in a regional that promises to be competitive. The Rockets beat Genoa twice, 1-0 and 6-3, and also own a 5-4 win over Sycamore but they figure on needing junior Emily Kisch (8-5, 2.71 ERA) healthy to pitch if they are to advance. BC is led offensively by Kisch (. 515, 14 RBI), Amanda Ratliff (. 337), Courtni Neubauer (. 429), Kassi Gaylord (. 316, 25 RBI) and Kristina Ahlers (. 417, 6 HRs, 31 RBI). Hampshire (12-16) also has shown its capable of playing with anybody behind senior pitcher Haley Widmayer, who has 219 strikeouts in 175 innings. Aly Snider (. 394, 3 HRs, 20 RBI) and Peyton DeChant (. 379, 3 HRs, 19 RBI) are the Whip-Purs' offensive leaders.

Advancement: The Genoa regional winner plays the Sterling regional champ on June 2 in the sectional semifinals.