18U Illinois Impact team places 1st, 2nd in national tournaments
The Illinois Impact 18U team recently took first and second place in two national travel softball tournaments.
The team went 7-0 to win the championship at the Heartland Shootout, an ASA National "A" Qualifier in the Quad Cities.
Head coach Kent Szarabajka said his players performed as a true team all weekend. He said each of his athletes played a key role in the tournament.
"They played tight defense and had big hits from everyone in the lineup," he said.
Stevenson High School seniors Vera Pflugradt and Emma Oriatti each had 10 hits in the 7-game series, Pflugradt with a home run, two triples and a double. Oriatti and Stevenson High School catcher Mic Faunce also hit home runs. Faunce caught every game in the two tournaments.
Jessica Vaughn of Grayslake North was 4-0 in the circle in the tournament. Alex Steffens, a senior at Wauconda High School, and Franny Quenan, a junior at Libertyville High School, each contributed with doubles.
The team took second place the next weekend in the PGF Midwest Regional Showcase in St. Charles with a 7-2 record.
Pitcher Claire Petrus, headed to Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the fall, ended the tournament with a .533 batting average with 16 hits, including three home runs and three doubles. The ace from Carmel Catholic High School also pitched nearly 46 innings over the weekend.
Danny DeLozier, Carmel High School, attending Bowling Green in the fall, doubled and tripled in the tournament. Brooke Bauer, a senior at Palatine High School, and Kenzie Craver, a Palatine graduate attending Messiah College in the fall, contributed 3 doubles each in the tournament.
Lindsay Vela, a senior at Zion-Benton, contributed two doubles over the weekend.
"The girls have been working hard and they are putting it all together on the field," Szarabajka said. "They are playing for each other and that's what's fun to watch," he said.
Illinois Impact works out at Players Edge in Mundelein and attracts players from many high schools in Lake, Cook and McHenry counties.
Tryouts are coming up, beginning Aug. 4 for next season's 16U and 18U teams. Check out the team website at www.illinoisimpact.com for details.
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