Softball: West Aurora's Lundberg, Geneva's Polcinski throw gems
Payton Lundberg did it again.
One week after striking out a school record 19 batters in her first varsity start, the West Aurora freshman on Tuesday threw a five-inning no-hitter, recording 14 strikeouts, as the Blackhawks defeated Glenbard East 14-0 in an Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division softball game in Lombard.
Lundberg walked only 2 batters and had plenty of offensive support, with Cara Jimenez leading the way with 4 hits including a double, a grand slam home run and 6 RBI. Also contributing for West Aurora (17-1, 10-0) were Hannah Beatus (2B, RBI) and Carley Frauenhoff (3 hits, 2B, 3 RBI).
Geneva 17, Elgin 0: Geneva's Emily Plocinski tossed a five-inning perfect game as the Vikings (15-6, 7-4) won easily in the UEC River. Rachel Fanella (3 hits, 2B, 4 RBI), Alissa Dierks (4 RBI) and Alyssa Kramer each hit home runs for Geneva while Megan White had 2 doubles and Annika Radabaugh added a double. Elgin fell to 5-17 overall and 2-9 in the conference.
Bartlett 8, West Chicago 2: Elyse Hickey, Taylor Rotondo and Dani Kleeman each had doubles and Danielle Kirby threw a 3-hitter with 7 strikeouts to lead the Hawks (16-7, 8-2) to a UEC Valley win.
South Elgin 12, East Aurora 0: Alexa Rogalla (3 hits, RBI), Hannah Gordon (3B, 2 RBI), Bailey McClure (2 RBI), Katie Koss (2 hits, 2 RBI) and Bryn Warrick (3 hits, 2B, 3 RBI) led the offense for South Elgin (12-12, 5-5) in this UEC Valley win. Koss was the winning pitcher, allowing 3 hits.
St. Charles North 11, Larkin 1: Natalie Walters pitched a 1-hitter and hit a home run and Amanda James added a home run to lead the North Stars (12-2, 7-0) to an UEC River win. Haley Bohne had 2 hits with a double and Alexa Urbanik an RBI for Larkin.
Burlington Central 17, Harvard 0: In the Big Northern East, Kristina Ahlers had 2 hits including a grand slam home run and 5 RBI and Danielle Yurgil added 4 hits with a double and 3 RBI to lead the Rockets (16-4, 9-1) to the easy win. Emily Kisch (2 hits, 2B, HR, RBI), Kelly Wiater (3 hits, 2 2Bs, RBI), Madison Leone (2 hits, 2 RBI), Gretchen Schrubbe (3 hits, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Ashley Ratliff (2 hits, RBI), Jill Neisendorf (2 hits, RBI) and Lindsey Jamrozek (2 hits) contributed to BC's 23-hit attack. Ratliff allowed just 1 hit with 9 strikeouts and no walks in earning her fifth win of the season against one loss.
St. Edward 13, Fenton 5: Lindsay Zdroik had 3 hits with a double and 3 RBI and Allison Stratman added 2 hits with a double and 2 RBI to lead the Green Wave (15-7, 7-3) to a Metro Suburban West win. Sarah Mendoza added 2 hits and 2 RBI and Mallory Rejman had 2 hits for St. Edward. Emily Stapay went 4 innings in the circle to earn the win. Zdroik pitched the final 3 innings and had 5 strikeouts. She is now 21 Ks shy of tying the career school strikeout record.
Morris 2, Kaneland 1: Courtney Davis allowed only 5 hits and had 5 strikeouts and no walks but Kaneland (14-9, 5-3) fell in this Northern Illinois Big XII matchup. MaryLynn Clausen had 3 hits and an RBI for the Knights and Lexi Abruzzo added 2 hits.
Hampshire 19, Woodstock 5: Payton DeChant had 3 hits with a double, home run and 5 RBI and Aly Snider added 4 hits with a double and 3 RBI to lead the Whip-Purs (11-12, 3-4) to a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division win. Morgan Haefling added 2 hits for Hampshire while Sarah Bowen had 2 hits with a double and 2 RBI, Renee Malecke 2 hits and an RBI and winning pitcher Joslyn Nelson 3 hits and 2 RBI.
Jacobs 11, Cary-Grove 1: In the FVC Valley, Emily Borg had 2 hits with a home run and 4 RBI for the Golden Eagles (7-8, 4-3). Also contributing for Jacobs were Kerri Healy (2 hits, RBI), Alexis Addante (2B, RBI) and winning pitcher Katie Armstrong (2 hits, 2B), who allowed 4 hits with 6 strikeouts and no walks. Alyssa Gurgone, Colleen Kaveney and Anna Whitaker had doubles for Cary-Grove (6-13, 1-5).
Aurora Christian 8, Westminster Christian 5: Winning pitcher Tori Camarano had 3 hits with a double and 2 RBI and Callie Britt added a double and 2 RBI) to lead the Eagles (3-12, 2-5) to a Northeastern Athletic Conference win. Sophia Hopkins (2 hits, 2B), Sarah Schmitt (2 hits, 2B, RBI), Drew Randazzo (2 hits, 2B), Kristen Mason (2 hits, 2 RBI) and Rachel Schmitt (2B) led Westminster (6-10, 4-4).