Softball: Alt powers Schaumburg past Wheaton North

Wheaton North softball coach Danielle Soraghan was well aware of the power owned by Schaumburg's senior Paige Alt.

Soraghan even heard about Alt's 2 grand slams in one game against Hersey the previous week.

The Falcons coach got to see Alt's longball prowess with her own eyes on Thursday.

With an 8-0 shutout over Wheaton North, Alt and No. 6-seeded Schaumburg now have their eyes on Saturday's championship game of the Hoffman Estates Class 4A softball regional.

The Saxons (21-9) will face No. 3 St. Charles East (30-4) at 11 a.m.

Alt went 3-for-3 with her 16th home run of the season in Thursday's semifinal.

She added a double, single and walk and also threw a 2-hitter to raise her record to 11-6.

"She's unbelievable," Soraghan said of the Georgia Coastal recruit. "On top of her hitting, she's probably one of the best pitchers we have seen this season.

"Schaumburg is a great program and we've got to give them props."

Saxons coach Ellen Abreu watched her team fire on all cylinders, collecting 12 hits and playing flawless defense, including a terrific diving catch by center fielder Kaiden Jackson to rob Falcons No. 3 hitter Maggie Will of a single in the first inning.

That defense hardly went unnoticed by Alt, who struck out 11.

"I was confident because of the defense behind me," she said. "Kaiden with the diving catch, Michaela (Encarnacion) with the rolling catch (on a shallow fly to right field for second out of the fifth inning).

"It was a good team win. Everyone did their job. We got the bunts down and everything."

Junior Michelle Birkholz (3-for-4, double, 3 RBI), who led off the bottom of the first with a stand-up double to right center, advanced to second on Jackson's sacrifice bunt.

Alt then singled to right, scoring Birkholz for the only run the Saxons' ace would need.

"We were very clean on defense and we have been working on that," said senior shortstop and Butler recruit Christina Candotti, who went 1-for-3. "And the bats came with it, which was great."

"The defense was good - Kaiden made that nice catch," Abreu said. "The offense, too. We got bunts down and executed well."

Junior third baseman Natalie Napier enjoyed a fine day at the plate going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Also getting hits for the Saxons were sophomore catcher Janelee Lyke and senior left fielder Sarah Schwind.

Sophomore Lucy Gerry, a .391 leadoff batter with 6 home runs, had both hits for the Falcons (13-21).

"She battles," Soraghan said. "She's a great leadoff hitter for us who usually sets the tone of the game. She's really done a lot for us this season."

And the Falcons did a lot, winning nine games in the DuPage Valley Conference to take third place (9-7) behind Lake Park and Metea Valley.

Junior pitcher Sarah Gorzak, who struck out five on Thursday, won 11 games this spring.

"It was a great season," Soraghan said. "We had a lot of firsts in a positive way. We had one game where we came back by scoring 9 runs in an inning. We had a triple play in another game.

"Overall, we have been a team that never says die. We never surrender. That's pretty much been the mentality of this team all season long. We don't stop until the game is over. I've got to be proud of these girls. They've come a long way."