Another bad break for Hardies

There's snakebit and then there's snakebit times three.

The Hardie triplets at Crystal Lake South definitely qualify for the latter.

With results of an MRI earlier this week showing that Megan Hardie has a torn ACL, the Gators' junior triplets -- Megan, Kaitlin and Samantha -- have now completed the circle of torn ACLs as Megan's was the third.

But that's not all. Consider the following over the last two years with these three talented athletes: 3 ACLs, a broken thumb, a broken ankle, one eye almost popped out diving into a fence, a cortisone shot to the hand, multiple doctor and physical therapy appointments … nice list huh?

"You can't even imagine what this is doing to us as a family and to the South team," said the girls' dad and South assistant coach Mark Hardie. "I;m just crushed. It's unbelievable. I could write a book about these last two years. We walked into Dr. Cox's office with Megan and I looked at him and said 'Well, I'd like to say I'm happy to see you but I'm not.' "

Megan Hardie's injury was sustained against Fremd in a nonconference game.

"She was just putting the brakes on while running the bases," Mark Hardie said. "It was just a freak thing. They've all been freak things."

Samantha Hardie tore her ACL during the fall softball season of her freshman year. Kaitlin tore hers playing defense on the Gators' basketball team just before Christmas. But the latest one with Megan came at a most inopportune time.

"She was putting together a heck of a season," said Mark Hardie of Megan, who was hitting .485 when she got hurt. "That's why it's even more disappointing."

It's not like the Hardie sisters just lace up the shoes and play. They have always put monumental effort into training as well.

"What's funny is there couldn't be a group of players that does more to prevent injuries," Mark Hardie said of his daughters. "The girls have been doing speed, strength and agility workouts with a trainer for over a year and a half on top of their regular conditioning and weightlifting at school."

All three Hardie girls were set to play for the Northern Illinois Lightning summer travel team, and all three have college potential, which makes the injuries prior to their senior years a little easier to take. But now Samantha appears to be the only healthy one for summer.

And the Hardies are hoping it stays that way while Kaitlin and Megan travel the rehab road.

Long layoff: Until Tuesday's 18-1 win over Richmond-Burton, Burlington Central hadn't played a game in 8 days due to bad weather and prom. So what did the No. 1 ranked team in the Daily Herald Top 20 do to kill the down time?

"All we could do is practice hard," said Rockets' coach Scot Sutherland. "We took a lot of swings. Even after we got called off last Thursday (against Marengo) we went in the gym and got some work in because they had Friday through Sunday off for prom. We had a good practice (Monday) but I was still cautious going up to Richmond because we hadn't played in so long."

The Rockets were set to host North Boone Thursday and play Winnebago today before hosting a nonconference doubleheader with Glenbard East Saturday.

Top-seeded Wave: Despite a record hovering around .500, St. Edward was awarded the No. 1 seed in one sub-sectional of its Class 2A sectional, which still does not have a host. St/ Edward is assigned to the Driscoll regional, which begins the week of May 12. The Wave will play either Woodlands Academy or Luther North in their regional opener and likely face Driscoll -- a team they've beaten twice in Suburban Catholic Conference play -- in the final. Driscoll, the No. 4 seed, takes on No. 7 Willows Academy in the regional opener.

Meanwhile, Hampshire is a No. 2 seed in the same sectional and will play in the Walther Lutheran regional. The Whip-Purs will face either Francis Parker or Chicago St. Benedict in their postseason opener.

In Class 1A, Westminster Christian's first-year program will travel to Newark for regional play, but will host a play-in game at the Elgin Sports Complex on May 12. The Warriors earned the No. 6 seed and will host No. 7 Paw Paw in a play-in game to determine who faces No. 1 seed Earlville at Newark the next day.

Class 3A and 4A pairings are expected to be released on the IHSA Web site today.