Fremd relies on Z-force

Fremd sophomore standout Lauren Zaworski, or "Z" as she's called by her teammates and fans, has been taught the principles of winning softball over her years of playing the sport.

Fans and teammates alike agree that Zaworski is not only talented on the field, but has an unparalleled softball mind as well.

So when asked what makes a team succeed, "Z" was quick to respond.

"Having solid defense is what wins game," Zaworski said with no hesitation.

While Zaworski certainly speaks the truth, having an overwhelming amount of offensive firepower doesn't hurt a team's cause either.

With the help of a Zaworski 3-run homer in her first plate appearance of Saturday's 4A regional final at home against No. 7 Lake Forest, the Vikings offense came alive.

Fremd (28-3) would put a 5-spot on the scoreboard in the first inning, and cruised from there to a lopsided 10-0 regional title victory over the Scouts in 5 innings.

The No. 2-seeded Vikings will face No. 12 Carmel (15-17) in Thursday's semifinals of the Barrington sectional at 4:30 p.m. at the Fields of Dreams.

"I just try and get a good swing on the ball every at-bat," Zaworski said confidently. "I just went with the pitch and drove it."

With the home-run not only did "Z" jumpstart an already scorching offense, but she also swung her way into the Fremd record books. With her eighth home run, Zaworski (2-for-2) now holds the Fremd softball single-season home run record.

But to her, the win is all that matters.

"I don't think about (the record)," she said. "I just go out there and try to hit."

Fremd certainly hit on Saturday.

Senior shortstop Stacey Stutzman started things off in the first with a hard single, followed by a Kelly Voigt double to the gap in left-center. Zaworski cleared the bases with her record- breaking long ball, putting the Vikings up 3-0.

Fremd didn't stop there. After base hits from Alexa Cinquegrani and Jenny Schneider and a walk to Tess Dinterman, junior first baseman Jessica Tackett's single knocked home a pair of runs. After just one inning the Vikings were up five.

"To put 5 (runs) up early made it a comfortable ride," Fremd coach Jim Weaver said. "The kids had two excellent days of practice and it was good to see that preparation pay off today."

While having 5 runs made for a less stressful outing, sophomore ace Lena Brottman, she was out to prove that 1 run would have been all the Vikings needed.

Brottman (21-2) was dominant as usual, striking out eight and allowing just 2 hits in 5 innings of superb pitching for the Vikings.

"We all came so pumped up and ready to go today," Brottman said. "We got some awesome hardware with the win, but that's not the hardware we're looking for."

The Viking bats went back to work on Lake Forest starter Lauren LaDuke in the third. Jessica Tackett, Stacey Stutzman and Cinquegrani all picked up RBI with well-placed singles and were causing havoc on the base paths with a barrage of stolen bases.

"It always feels great to jump on the other team early, and play our type of game," Brottman added.

With the win, Fremd will now advance to Tuesday's Barrington Sectional where they plan on continuing to justify their No. 2 seeding.

"We play every game like it could be our last," Zaworski concluded. "That's the way we've been doing it all season."

It certainly has worked so far for the Vikings.

Barrington 1, Zion-Benton 0: Kim Cygan knew exactly what she had to do Saturday morning.

"I just had to keep holding them to zero," said the Barrington softball ace. "Until our offense could get us some runs."

Cygan did her job and her offense finally came through in the bottom of the seventh.

With one out and the bases loaded, freshman Kristin Kuhn hit a ground ball that was backhanded by the Zion shortstop, who threw home to try and get the force.

But Michal Jane Maropis beat the throw and the Fillies left the Zion-Benton diamond with the Class 4A regional title.

Top-seeded Barrington edged the host and No. 8 Zee-Bees 1-0 to advance to its own sectional.

It was the Fillies' seventh straight regional crown and 12th in school history, nine under coach Perry Peterson.

The Fillies (27-6) and Cygan (26-6) will face No. 5 Stevenson (19-17) at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the sectional semifinal at the Fields of Dreams.

"I'm excited," said Cygan, who struck out 12 and walked only two while tossing a 2-hitter. "We can't wait."

The Fillies had to wait a long time to get their first run Saturday.

After one out, Maropis and Cygan drew back-to-back walks to start the seventh.

Zion brought in Aleaha Hallgren to replace starter Jessica Munda (0 strikeouts, 2 walks, 4 hits).

Senior Jessica McGurn greeted Hallgren by hitting a line drive that deflected off the pitcher and went to the shortstop for an infield hit.

Then Kuhn came up with her game-winning fielder's choice.

"I was waiting for that run the whole game," Cygan said." We just knew we had to come out and play hard against Zion."

Cygan was 2-for-2 and senior Lisa Shandley also had a hit for the Mid-Suburban League champs.

Zion's best threat came in the fifth inning when Hallgren led off with a triple. But Cygan escaped with 2 strikeouts and a groundout to second baseman McGurn.

Glenbard W. 2, Elk Grove 0: It was only fitting that with the game on the line, Elk Grove's Stephanie Dolce ripped a solid liner to Glenbard West right fielder Melissa Noland.

After all, in a similar crucial situation earlier in Saturday's Class 4A regional title game at Willowbrook, the roles were reversed. In that first scenario Noland laced a 2-run triple over the head of right fielder Jessica Balzano to break a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning.

This time around, Noland made the catch to complete her team's 2-0 win over third-seeded Elk Grove (30-6) and earn a berth in the Class 4A Schaumburg sectional on Wednesday afternoon.

"I was like, 'Hold on to it. Do not think about dropping that,'" Noland said of the final out, which came with two Elk Grove runners in scoring position.

The Grens had plenty of chances off Hilltoppers hurlers Lauren Albrecht and Cassie Goggin but failed to deliver timely hits. Glenbard West's defense had a lot to do with it, as first baseman Flynn Moroni saved 2 runs in the third when she robbed Amy Charewicz on a hard grounder ticketed for right field with the bases loaded and two outs.

"That was a big play and we hit a smash," Elk Grove coach Ken Grams said. "We stranded all those runners, but we hit the ball hard. What can you do?"

Albrecht (13-2) started and worked the first 3 innings for the Hilltoppers (22-6) but had to work her way out of Elk Grove threats in each inning. Nikki Goranson got a 2-out double in the first but was stranded when Dolce grounded out.

Elk Grove then had two on and none out in the second but failed to get as far as third base. When Albrecht survived the bases-loaded scare in the bottom of the third, No. 6 seed Glenbard West delivered in the fourth with what proved to be the difference.

Kristy Borneman led off with a single, which was the first hit allowed by Elk Grove's tough-luck pitcher Stephanie Maday (19-5). Jayme Hefler then reached on an error when her sacrifice bunt went through the legs of a Grenadiers infielder. After No. 3 hitter Kathyrn Lux sacrificed the runners over with a nice bunt, Noland drove home the game's only runs with her shot to right.

"I felt real good today," said Noland, who lined out hard to second base her first time up. "I saw it just get over her glove and I just kept on running for that triple. It's my senior year and it's so nice to be regional champs."

Goggin has gotten used to her defense backing her up this season.

"It got a little nervous," she said of the Grens' 2-out rally in the bottom of the seventh. "I just wanted to focus on the hitter and I knew the defense could make that play. They had been doing that all day."

-- Stan Goff

Lake Park 3, Schaumburg 1: While attending the University of Iowa where she will play softball, Missy Mazur plans to become a physician's assistant.

For now, she is giving major assistance to the Lake Park softball team, which won the Class 4A Rolling Meadows regional championship with a 3-1 victory over Schaumburg.

Mazur (21-4) not only fired 3-hitter with 9 strikeouts (6 in the final three innings) to catcher Alexis Monaco, she also had a single to center for the Lancers' final run in a 3-run third inning.

Just before Mazur's RBI, sophomore Carly Willert drove in pair of runs with a one-out single to left.

Saxons ace Missy Anderson gave up only 6 hits and struck out four.

The junior right-hander got a 1-0 cushion in the top of third.

Caitlin Becker singled to right with one out, and freshman Brianne Lingl followed with a single to left.

A walk to catcher Rachel Borgman loaded the bases before Nicole Chase's long sacrifice fly to center drove home Becker.

"We hit the ball well," said Schaumburg second-year coach Erin Doyle. "Lake Park (30-4) is a really good team. They played well for seven innings, We played well for six.

"It was a fun game. Both teams hit well and played well defensively. We had two diving catches in the outfield."

One was by Meghan Fielmann when she went to her knees in shallow right field to take a hit away from Victoria Tomaka with Mazur on first base and one out in the third inning.

The other came in the next inning after back-to-back force plays from third baseman Nicole Benedict to shortstop Nicole Chase provided the first two outs.

Willert clubbed a ball toward the left-field line which Lingl ran down while falling on the grass. The freshman left fielder (2-for-3) also had 2 of the Saxons' 3 hits.

"Give Schaumburg (13-18) credit," Allen said. "They played 10 times better than when we've seen them this year. Coach Doyle had that team focused and ready to play. They could have easily packed in after losing to us last week."

"It was a fun season," said Doyle, who was without all-conference catcher Aly Poehlmann and teammate Theresa McGreevy because of confirmation services. "These are great kids who developed through the season. They played well together, and really started communicating and coming together toward the end of the season. We'll miss our seniors a ton."

-- John Leusch

Maine West 3, Glenbrook N. 0: Maine West starting pitcher Emily Ott was on pretty much the whole morning in the Class 4A Glenbrook North regional against the host Spartans.

But with the Warriors clinging to a 3-0 lead in the top of the seventh the junior found herself in a bit of a jam.

No. 8 seed Glenbrook North (12-17) loaded the bases on a walk and 2 errors, bringing the winning run to the plate with only one out.

Ott promptly turned it back on, getting a strikeout and grounder to second to give No. 2 seed Maine West a 3-0 victory and regional title in Northbrook on Saturday.

"It makes everybody's heart beat a bit faster," said Maine West coach Mike Murin of the seventh-inning uprising. "I told them 'to settle down and play your game,' they persevered and its nice to come through with a victory."

Maine West (25-7) advances to Thursday's Glenbrook South sectional and will face No. 3 Lane Tech at 4:30 p.m.

Ott (18-4) allowed only 2 hits with 12 strikeouts and the junior was at her best with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, preserving the Warriors second regional title and first since 2003.

"We were shaking a bit, but we took a breath and cooled ourselves down," said Ott. "We were up 3 runs, so I was confident."

Jacki Janecek started the Warriors rolling with a triple to deep left-center with one out in the bottom of the first. Ott followed with a single to short center.

"We wanted to jump on them early and keep it going," said Janecek

Glenbrook North junior starting pitcher Sammie Kessler matched Ott for the next 3 innings, but the Warriors padded their cushion in the fifth as senior Michelle Braun opened the inning with a triple to right field and came home on a sacrifice fly by Katie Lowe.

Junior Kaleigh McGing singled home Ott in the bottom of the sixth with two outs for a 3-0 advantage.

And that was enough for Ott who worked herself out of a jam in the fourth by retiring the final two batters leaving a Spartan stranded on third.

"She's a great pitcher and very commanding on the mound," said Glenbrook North coach Jennifer Schultz after losing for the third time to Ott. "She works her counts and hits her spots."

-- Michael Eaken

Stevenson 5, Palatine 4 (8): Allison Micucci is just one part of the Stevenson girls softball team.

For the second straight regional game, Micucci led the Patriots -- not just on the mound but with a big hit in the eighth inning -- and she scored the game-winning run Saturday.

And her teammates contributed big-time in the dugout.

"Our big thing is rock your hips and that's all I wanted to do," Micucci said. "That's what we do in the dugout the whole time we bat. I knew I had to use my power and that's what happened."

Micucci's big swing led the fifth-seeded Stevenson past No. 4 Palatine 5-4 in eight innings to win the Libertyville Class 4A regional title.

Stevenson (19-17) plays top-seeded Barrington on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a sectional semifinal at Barrington. The Fillies edged host No. 8 Zion-Benton 1-0 with a run in the last inning.

The smash by Micucci brought home Tovah Schwartz from third base to break a 4-4 tie and put the Patriots ahead 5-4.

"I thought for sure she (the second baseman) was going to get it and I'd be out," said Micucci, as the ball took a wicked hop up and over. "I just ran my heart out. I just wanted to get there."

In the bottom half of the inning, Micucci (8-8) closed the door on Palatine (19-9) with 3 strikeouts

"I didn't want to take the lead lightly," said Micucci who had 7 strikeouts and walked one. "This part of the order, I was having the hardest time. I wanted to go right at them like any other hitter."

Stevenson had broken an eight-game losing streak Wednesday with a shutout over Libertyville.

"The advantage we've had is that we've lost some close games," said Patriots coach Larry Friedrichs. "Luckily, we've been in some close games. I think from that standpoint we can stay fairly composed. Things just fell into place so nicely."

The Patriots put a four-spot on the board in the fourth inning. Annalise Docel had an RBI single, Micucci followed with a 2-run single and later scored on a delayed steal for the 4-0 lead.

But the Pirates bounced back with 3 runs in the bottom half. Bre Quaritsch scored on an error for the first run, and Nikki Linares added a 2-run single that made the score 4-3.

Palatine tied the game 4-4 in the sixth when Steph Roto crossed the plate on an error. A double play ended the inning.

"Probably the way we came back, we just put ourselves into a bind," said Palatine coach Jeff Manz. "We made three mistakes in that third inning when they scored 4 runs. It made it tough when we did that. We did score 3 runs and another. Then we had a couple of calls go against us. Obviously, in the last inning, they got the hit getting the run in with two outs. Our kids played hard and it's tough to lose a game this way."

-- Rusty Silber