Maisto ties Burlington Central's wins record
The one thing, above all, that Erica Maisto has been for the Burlington Central softball program the past four years is exactly what the two girls who pitched for the Rockets before her were.
A team player.
Over Friday and Saturday, Maisto surpassed Jill Henson's career win total of 69, and then tied Heather Wendt's school record of 70, but the BC senior was quick on Saturday to deflect the credit as she stands 1 win from becoming the school's all-time wins leader.
"It's a major accomplishment to win 70 games, but if I didn't have the teammates I've had the past four years this never would have happened, so I have to say thank you to them," said Maisto after she 2-hit Glenbard East in the Rockets' 13-0 win in Game 2 of a nonconference doubleheader at Rocket Hill Saturday.
"I really didn't think about it until afterwards. I just went out there and did my thing."
The 70 wins ranks 43rd in reported IHSA history. Saturday's shutout was the seventh of the season and 42nd of Maisto's career, which ranks 29th in state history. She improved to 10-0 this season.
"There's nobody more deserving," BC coach Scot Sutherland said of Maisto. "Erica is pitching solid. She's getting the corners and that's what makes her so good."
The Rockets, ranked No. 1 in the Daily Herald Top 20 as well as in the ICA Class 3A state poll, extended their winning streak to 11 with Saturday's sweep. They won a competitive first game 4-2.
"We got the experience of playing the top-ranked team," said Glenbard East coach Valerie Pinzker. "We still have eight conference games to play so this experience was good for us. The second game was hard to watch but the first game was competitive.
In Game 1, BC (19-1) took a 2-0 lead in the third inning as Ashley Scheffler doubled in a run. Glenbard East (7-13-2) closed the gap with a run in the top of the fourth but BC answered with 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the inning off losing pitcher Abby Petersdorf.
Junior Mackenzie Scott (9-1) allowed just 3 hits and had 13 strikeouts with 3 walks to earn the win. Senior Brooke Porto had 2 hits for the Rockets, while Alyssa Gianatasio had a triple and Paige Gerstner added 2 hits for Glenbard East.
"It was good to have some pressure on us defensively," said Sutherland. "Other than a stolen base we fell asleep on we responded well and Mac threw well. She pitched a very good game again."
In Game 2, the Rockets took advantage of Glenbard East's inexperience in the circle as Rams' freshman Megan Shannon struggled with her control, walking 12 in the five-inning game.
Maisto was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI for Burlington, while Sam Gruner had 2 RBI and Kayla Oranger, Lindsay Lange and Abby Morrow each picked up single RBI. The Rockets put the game away with a 10-run third inning.
Maisto struck out five and didn't walk anyone and will likely get her first shot at the school wins record at home on Tuesday in a Big Northern East game against Harvard.
Baseball
St. Charles East 10-12, Elgin 0-2: In Game 1, Steve Schenck batted 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Andy Grunewald scattered 6 hits and struck out nine over six innings.
Game 2 saw Mike Hoscheit nail his fourth homer of the year and Schenck add three more hits for the Saints (10-11-1, 9-6-1).
Softball
St. Charles North 3-6, West Chicago 2-2: The North Stars (16-6) swept the Wildcats in a nonconference doubleheader in St. Charles.
In the opener, Taylor Russell had 2 RBI and Amanda Ciran pitched the final 2 innings for a save. The second game saw Loren Cihlar collect 3 hits and steal a base. Christine Roggemann improved to 5-0 on the mound.
Girls soccer
West Aurora 6, Bolingbrook 0: Rachel Rodriguez scored the first four goals of the game for the Blackhawks (14-5-1). In goal, Michelle Castaneda made 10 saves for her ninth shutout of the season.
Girls track
Mooseheart Relays: Monica English won the shot put for Rosary with a distance of 37 feet, 1 inch and placed second in discus. The Royals also won the 400 relay and 800 relay.
Aurora Central Catholic won the 3,200 meter relay and Ashley Patterson won the discus at 119-2½ and also took second in the shot put. For IMSA, Julie Eagle won the high jump and 400 dash.
Aurora Christian got wins from Anna Morgan in the 800 run and Ann Schuette in the 1,600 run.
For the host Red Ramblers, the meet provided a showcase in their 33rd annual Mooseheart Relays, a meet that brought 13 girls teams and 12 boys squads to the Child City campus.
"Everybody, the boys and the girls, looks forward to this meet," Mooseheart boys track coach Curt Schlinkmann said. "It's one of the biggest meets of the year. They get to run in front of the home crowd and they're quite excited to do it."
Mooseheart's boys team had a pair of first-place finishes. Senior Mike Tovar cleared the long jump with a 19-8 jump and reached 39-9 in the triple jump.
Floyd Mays came narrowly second twice. He was just second to Aurora Central's Steven Bohr in the 100 and came second again to Bohr in the 200.
"They came out and ran their best and ran with style," Schlinkmann said.
Mooseheart's girls team had a series of strong results as well. The Rambler girls continue to benefit from a turnout of more than 30 girls this spring, a number that represents more than half the girls in the high school.
"This is my third season coaching, and we have twice the number of girls out as we had the past two years," Mooseheart girls track coach Doug Groters said. "It does a couple of things. It creates a little more competitiveness. It also gives us enough depth that, when we have injuries, we have people we can put in and cover for them."
Mooseheart's Ruthfee Kollie set a personal best 12.46 in the 100 and finished second to Rockford Christian's Molly Ellis. Groters said the school's 400 relay also performed well. The Ramblers ran 53.80 and were third behind Rosary.
As with the boys team, the Mooseheart girls were excited about their chance to run before their home fans.
"I don't have any trouble getting people to volunteer to run events in this meet," Groters said.
-- Darryl Mellema