The inside pitch on DuPage Co. baseball, softball
Getting defensive
Neuqua Valley surprised many by winning last year's Class AA state title. This season the Wildcats will sneak up on no one. They'll go for a second straight title with perhaps the state's best pitching staff. Ian Krol, Geoff Rowan, Mike McKinley and Jason David went a combined 26-3 last year. A return trip to Joliet - this time in Class 4A - hinges on the Wildcats' dominant pitching staff. "They're all good pitchers," coach Robin Renner said. "It's going to be hard to be better than they were last year."
Class struggle
While Neuqua Valley is a clear Class 4A favorite, the area will be well-represented in all four classes come playoff time. Driscoll, boasting two of the state's top players in catcher Adam Davis and David Schwabe, is a title contender in Class 2A. The pitching tandem of Andy Manson and David Suffern makes Glenbard South a player in 3A. And Immaculate Conception, with its entire pitching staff returning and only one position player graduated, is primed for a run in Class 1A.
Top-shelf talent
Here's the list of senior baseball players who will continue their careers at Division I college programs: Wheaton Warrenville South pitcher Nick Brown (Iowa), Driscoll catcher Adam Davis (Illinois), Downers Grove North catcher A.J. DeMarco (Toledo), WW South third baseman Nick Egan (Ohio), Hinsdale South shortstop Carl Fiebig (Villanova), Downers North pitcher and shortstop Sean Flanagan (Iowa), Benet pitcher Bryan Roberts (Illinois) and West Chicago shortstop Barrett Serrato (Purdue).
A good bet
On paper no softball team in DuPage County figures to benefit more by the move to four classes than Glenbard South, which looks to be a good pick to advance to state in Class 3A. Said Raiders coach Julie Fonda, "I don't see too many road blocks, and that's nothing against any teams around us, but we've been a competitive program in AA for a very long time, so to go down to the four-class system gives us a great opportunity."
Future Division I players
Here are the softball players who will continue playing at a Division I college: Benet shortstop Laura Canulli (Seton Hall), Downers Grove North third baseman Lauren McNulty (Butler), Downers Grove South center fielder Brooke Andresen (Loyola), Glenbard South center fielder Nikki Simpson (Illinois), Glenbard West shortstop Kathryn Lux (Notre Dame), Hinsdale South center fielder Kristy Brewer (Radford), Lake Park shortstop Lynsey Ciezki (DePaul) and pitcher Missy Mazur (Iowa), Naperville Central third baseman Lizzy Ploen (Boston College) and West Chicago catcher Linnea Detrick (Illinois).
Still the name of the game
Hitting has increased in softball in recent years thanks in part to livelier bats, but it still takes a top pitcher to reach state. Here are the five top ones: Downers Grove South's Karissa Habel, Glenbard North's Hannah Santora, Glenbard South's Jill Trzaska, Lake Park's Missy Mazur and Naperville Central's Natalie Wunderlich.