Elgin Heat girls softball team celebrates a great season
Familiarity breeds success.
That certainly was the case this year for the Elgin Heat 14U girls' softball team.
Coach Steve Cooper points out the majority of the Heat's players have been together since their 10U year.
"The core of the team has been together a long time," he said. "We've made some additions along the way, but the core has been with us four years. We know their strengths and can put them in positions that complement the entire team. The girls all get along great and we have a great group of players. They've been together for so long they are like sisters."
The Heat ended the 2016 season with a 46-15-2 record. Elgin finished the year at the USSSA National Championship Great Lakes (14B Division) held at Sportscore in Rockford where it went 2-2. The Heat scored wins over Elk Grove Heat and Energy and lost to the St. Charles Angles and Geneva Foxes at nationals.
Cooper lauded his team for the way it hit in Rockford and said a few miscues on the defensive end came back to hurt the team at times.
"With this caliber of ball, whoever makes the first mistake usually loses," he said.
The Heat receive strong pitching efforts from Emily Egger and Kayla Milligan (Cooper's granddaughter). Egger had a double and a triple at nationals. Also performing well at the plate at nationals were Riley Schrivner, Abby Egger, Ashley Miller and Mackenzie Alston.
Other contributors to the team's success this season were Kassidy Nagel, Kate Snow (new to the team this year), Claire Noland, Jordan Payne, Savanna Waghorne and Bianca Natali.
Cooper was assisted by coaches Julie Escareno, Craig Harvey, Jorge Perez and pitching coach Jim Harvey.
In addition to qualifying for nationals by taking third in the USSSA state tournament, the Heat won two tournaments in Algonquin and another in Plymouth, Indiana.
"We were well-rounded in all areas," said Cooper. "We had good pitching and hitting. We held teams down in runs with our pitching and we stepped up and scored runs. That and solid defense usually helped us go deep into tournaments."
Cooper added another key to the team's success was its high acumen for the game of softball.
"It's always fun to coach girls who want to improve," he said. "These girls have softball in their brains. If they go 2-for-3 at the plate, they hang their head and think about how they could have gone 3-for-3. They always are looking for ways to get better. They are harder on themselves than I could ever be on them."
The team also did not lack tenacity this season. Cooper noted in the tournament in Indiana, the Heat lost its first game on the final day and got knocked into the loser's bracket.
"We had to play six games in a row and had to beat an undefeated team twice to win it," he said. "We played six games to their three. When our backs were to the wall, we played well."
Cooper is already thinking about next season. All but one player on the 2016 roster is eligible to return to the squad.
"This was our first year essentially playing at 13U and we won three tournaments, took third in the state and advanced to nationals," he said. "Next year, all but one of these girls will have gone through a high-school season before coming to us. We could tell the teams that we played against who were in their second season at 14U. We're looking forward to next year. These girls are dedicated to playing softball."
Cooper helped start the Elgin Heat program 20 years ago. This year the Heat fielded teams at the 12U and 14U levels. Cooper is hoping to field teams at the 10U, 12U, 13U and 14U levels for the 2016-2017 season.
Tryouts for the 2016-2017 season occur Aug. 5, 10, 11 and 13 at the Elgin Sports Complex. For information visit www.eteamz.com/elginheat.