15th Larkin Slugfest has strong field again

An area original is celebrating a milestone Saturday.

The Subway Larkin Slugfest softball tournament will hold its 15th annual edition at the Larkin Sports Complex starting at 10 a.m.

Larkin, which has won the title 4 times (last coming in 2004), is in a field that also includes top-seeded Plainfield Central, defending champion Lincoln-Way Central (No. 2 seed), Palatine (No. 3), Maine South (No. 4), Chatham Glenwood (No. 5), Oak Lawn (No. 6) and Hersey (No. 8). Larkin is the No. 7 seed.

"We try and get the best teams we can," said Larkin coach Larry Hight. "We stretch it out throughout the state. We like to keep that variety. I think we've had this field for the last 3 years."

Hight, who helped start the Slugfest along with former Larkin athletic director Val McPeak, is also impressed with the talent in this year's draw.

"The first and second seeds are teams that are ranked (in the Chicagoland area) and the other teams will battle," said Hight. "To show the strength of the tournament, Hersey was 1-11 after losing on a (game-winning) homer to Elk Grove. Elk Grove is 16-1 and is a Top 10 team."

The Slugfest will once again use its unique pitching regulation that limits each pitcher 14 innings of work in the tournament.

"You have to come here with two pitchers at least," said Hight. "When Val and I (when Hight was assistant AD at Larkin) got this going, a lot of schools had just one pitcher and they'd burn them out. We didn't want that reputation on our tournament. You should use two or three pitchers. That rule has chased a couple of teams away. But the coaches like the rule because they get to use other pitchers."

Teams also like the idea of playing an in-season tournament for a variety of different reasons.

"We like it because we get to play teams from different areas," said Plainfield Central coach Anne Campbell. "We like the tournament atmosphere and getting three games in one day is great. It is a very well-run tournament -- quality teams and quality umpires."

"I like the fact you are playing teams you don't play all the time," said Oak Lawn coach Pat Mayer whose team is back in the tournament after a 1-year hiatus (conference rescheduling conflict last year). "It's fun there. It's a full-day tournament. We'll bring a grill and have a good-old time. The girls look forward to it."

Top-seeded Plainfield Central was 12-1 overall to start the week and will face No. 8 seed Hersey (1-11).

Plainfield Central holds key wins over No. 2 seed Lincoln-Way Central and Stagg. The team's only loss came to Sandburg.

Senior shortstop Stephanie Kirkpatrick was hitting .511 to start the week, while junior second baseman Taylor Tooley was batting .468. Senior pitcher Brittany Adcox had a 0.45 ERA. Senior Julia Fink had a 0.25 ERA and was hitting .268 (she also plays first base).

"This team has played very well to this point," said Campbell. "We have some strong pitching and have had some great, timely hitting."

Defending champion Lincoln-Way Central was 10-4 to start the week with key wins over Lockport, Stagg and Joliet Catholic. Second baseman-pitcher Gabe Gavoni was hitting .461, while shortstop Cassie Redman was hitting .489.

Larkin (3-9) will be Lincoln-Way Central's first-round opponent.

"We're young and inexperienced," said Hight. "We're learning the ropes. We've got three freshmen starting on the varsity. It's a youth movement. Hopefully we'll get some good experience and turn this thing around and get going in the second half."

Leadoff hitter Ellis Hatchett, a third-year varsity player, was hitting .371 to start the week. Third baseman Regina Cozzone was hitting .303, while Sophie Sterricker and freshman shortstop Corinne Wimmer (.390 on-base percentage) have also been key contributors.

Hight's pitching staff includes senior third-year player Sarah McCleary, Heather Graff (2-4, 2.94 ERA) and freshman Megan Johnson. Hight anticipates all three getting work Saturday.

The Royals have been without freshman catcher Victoria Nino (broken finger).

Palatine and Oak Lawn will face off in another first-round game. Palatine was 6-4 to start the week and had beaten conference foes Hersey (6-5), Conant (10-0), Schaumburg (15-1) and Hoffman Estates (1-0).

Senior center fielder Nikki Linares is one of 4 Palatine hitters batting above .400. Freshman Joanne Jabonski (.478), senior Nikki Linares (.441, 10 stolen bases), junior Anne Wcislo (.417) and senior Bre Quaritsch (.414) lead the way for the Pirates. Senior catcher Catilin Carperter was hitting .394 with 10 RBI. Wcislo was 4-2 with an 0.7 ERA and 35 strikeouts earlier in the week.

Jill Postregna (.396, 2 HR, 21 RBI), Jessica Finnigan (.367, returning from injury) and Noelle Federico (.336) pace Oak Lawn (6-12 to start the week).

The other first-round game features Maine South and Chatham-Glenwood.

Maine South was 5-5 earlier this week. Junior pitcher Baily Patt and junior catcher Emily Epifanio lead the way for the Hawks. Maine South has had a staggering 11 games rained out and will have played (barring any late-week weather) 11 games since April 14 heading into Elgin.

"This tournament is great competition," said Maine South coach Emmy Pasier. "You look at the lineup and you could be looking at teams that are Downstate that you have played at this Larkin Fest. It's an honor to be involved. We're looking forward to it. It's going to be a battle."

Chatham-Glenwood sported an 8-9 mark earlier this week and held a victory over Williamsville, a highly touted Class 2A team. Coach Vondel Edgar's team features 3 players hitting over .400. That group includes Erin Driskell (.446, 10 stolen bases), Kim Franke (.435, 17 RBI) and Jennifer Saucier (.404, 15 RBI). Kaitlyn England (.392, 12 RBI) and Alyssa Esperum (.364, 11 RBI) are also key contributors.

SCN off to impressive start: Almost half of the St. Charles North softball team's roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores.

It's a rebuilding and learning year, right? Not exactly.

The North Stars are 11-2, yet have experienced a few learning bumps along the way.

"We are getting there," St. Charles North coach April Stary said. "We are slowly progressing…(but) I'm not going to complain a whole lot after last year."

The North Stars went 14-19 overall in a surprisingly disappointing year. That's certainly not the case this year -- and most likely the next few years -- as most of this year's starters are barely old enough to drive a car.

"If they all stay healthy and come back, I get these guys for three more years," Stary said. "There's also a bunch more on the JV team that will come up eventually."

The class of 2011 includes leadoff batter Natalie Capone and the heart-of-the-order in twins Sydney and Taylor Russell, outfielder Loren Cihlar and on-the-rise pitcher, Amanda Ciran. Another Amanda -- Engel -- is another youngster on the mound.

Engel has struck out a team-best 34 batters and has an ERA of 1.12. Ciran has a sparking ERA of 0.76 and has fanned 29 batters. Both have seen equal time on the mound.

Pitching is sound, but so is hitting. As a team, St. Charles North has 6 players who are batting over .300. Capone leads the way with her .381, followed by Sydney Russell (.355), Cihlar (.345), Kristin Damm, Christine Roggemann and Jackie Devitt (all .333).

Sydney Russell (.429) and Devitt (.467) have an on-base percentage of over .400 as well.

"They are probably the best hitting team we've faced all year," Rosary coach Tara Tattersall said of the North Stars, who posted 18 hits in the doubleheader sweep last weekend.