Both FVC divisions should be up for grabs

Most coaches will tell you that while conference championships are nice, walking off the field with IHSA postseason hardware is the ultimate goal.

So while Jacobs went 15-0 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division softball race last season, the Golden Eagles' early exit from the postseason in a regional championship took some of the luster off a 27-4 season.

Meanwhile, there was Crystal Lake South, a team that entered the postseason 15-12 and had a slightly better than average conference season. Yet, the Gators got on a roll and ended up nearly beating eventual Class 4A runner up Barrington at the NIU supersectional.

South may have lost pitching ace Jessica Gable to graduation (UW-Lacrosse), but the Gators have welcomed back two of the three Hardie sisters from injury and have a more than suitable replacement for Gable in the circle in senior Emily Mahoney.

So while that gives South the nod as the prohibitive favorite to unseat Jacobs as the division champ, nobody will count out Cary-Grove, a perennial contender, or McHenry and Woodstock, which both have aces in the circle in Sarah Boyer and Taylor Schulty respectively, as being in the race. Even Dundee-Crown, which won just 3 games last season, appears to be improved as the Chargers have jumped out to a 2-1 start this spring.

Here's a look at how FVC Valley teams in the Daily Herald's coverage area stack up this season.

CL South: Fifth-year Gators coach Scott Busam knows better than to let his team rest on its postseason success of 2008.

"People talk about our postseason run but at the end of the season we were only three games over .500," Busam said after his team beat Larkin earlier this week. "The Valley Division is going to be tough; it's a real logjam. Cary and Jacobs will be good as always, McHenry will be tough and Woodstock has Schulty."

The Gators have one of the league's best in the circle as well in Mahoney. In the No. 2 role as a junior, she went 7-1 with a 0.99 ERA and 57 strikeouts in as many innings.

South also welcomes back senior shortstop Kaitlin Hardie and her triplet sister Megan, who will predominately play first base but can also catch and play third. Kaitlin Hardie missed her entire junior year with an ACL injury, while Megan went down with the same thing 11 games into the season. She was hitting .485 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI when her season ended. Both have signed with NCAA Division II Winona State and expect to be leaders for the Gators this season, although Megan is currently sidelined for a few games after getting 14 stitches in her mouth, a result of a collision at second base in the Larkin game. Samantha Hardie, who has opted not to play in college, stayed healthy last season and is back to contribute again this season for the Gators.

Also returning are second baseman Vicki Pyan (. 283, 17 RBI), outfielder Tori Maule and utility player Lauren Swanson (. 273). Busam has also called up freshman P/OF Sam Golf and freshman catcher Liz Adams.

"Kait's getting back to varsity speed, Meg's getting back and we have some new girls who are coming along," Busam said. "We're just hoping to be competitive. Our main goal is to get better every day."

"We have two freshmen and two sophomores up and we also have seven seniors we're expecting a lot of leadership from," Busam said.

Jacobs: The Golden Eagles' method of winning games this season might change some, but coach Jeremy Bauer still expects his team to rack up the victories.

"We're hoping to beat people by a couple of runs instead of 10-running everyone like we did last year," Bauer said. "It's going to be a learning experience. We've got a lot of young talent and when we mesh we could be pretty good."

The Eagles lost a big chunk of their 6.7 runs per game scoring clout with the graduation of all-area co-captain Lauren Arceneaux (. 565), who now plays at Loyola and Lizzie Andrews (. 433), now at Heartland Community College. Becky Wilson, who went 11-2 in the circle, has also graduated but sophomore Kara Arceneaux (12-2, 0.76 ERA) is back to anchor a talented pitching crew that includes sophomore Marissa Lombardo and could include, at times, freshman Katie Kirker.

Bauer looks to returnees Sara Jacobson (Jr., OF/C, .333), Casey Bencal (Sr., C), Sam Vojtsek (Sr., 1B), Jenna Tesson (So., SS, .333), Kelsey Peterson (OF) and newcomer Gigi Mueller (So, 2B) to lead the offense.

Cary-Grove: The Trojans are coming off an 18-14 season in which the bulk of their pitching innings went to the now graduated Kristen Bauer (Taylor University) and Julie Clemment. Now, those duties will go to girls such as Lindsay Marshall and Emma Gaulke, both untested at the varsity level.

Cary-Grove, though, should be its usual strong self offensively with seniors Mckenzie Vaughn (2B), Jen Wirth (3B) and Katie Berg (C) leading the way along with junior Amy Palminteri (SS/OF) and sophomore Alexis Haley (OF) leading the way. Coach Tammy Olson, now 255-201-3 in her 16th season, also points to junior first baseman Abbe Wienkowski as a top newcomer.

"This year it is our goal to become stronger every day we are together," said Olson, who is assisted by her husband Mark as well as two former Trojan greats, Kelli Gallas and Mindy Niemet. "We have four seniors we are looking to for leadership when the going gets tough. We are a relatively young team but we're developing quickly."

Dundee-Crown: The Chargers have started the season 2-1 and that's two-thirds of the way to bettering last season.

"I'm optimistic because we have a little more pitching depth this year and hopefully that will help us get over the hump," said second-year coach Tracy Beatty.

Senior Emilie Kerkman returns to the circle for the Chargers, and will be backed up by senior Melissa Summaria, who will also play shortstop. Summaria sat out last season with an injury. Beatty also hopes to bring along freshman Melanie Love in the circle as well as at third base.

Also returning for the Chargers are senior center fielder Alexa Demetriou, senior left fielder Alex Lococo, and senior catcher Dayna Schultz. Beatty also expects contributions from sophomore 1B Tiffany Rawlinson and senior 2B/OF Lisa Mowcomber.

"We just need to improve every game," Beatty said. "We want to play fundamentally strong every game."

Fox Division: After a co-divisional championship and a Class 3A regional title a year ago, Huntley looks to be in good shape again this season. The Red Raiders were 23-11 last season and 13-2 in the Fox.

"We're looking forward to competing for our second conference championship and we're excited about competing in the Class 4A playoffs," said Red Raiders coach Mark Petryniec, now in his sixth season as the program's head coach.

Huntley returns eight starters and has four fourth-year seniors to lead the way in pitcher Samantha Clemons (20-7, 1.98 ERA, .280 batting average, third baseman Deanna DeBosschere (. 377), who recently committed to Kankakee Junior College, SS/2B Alex Albanese (. 327) and CH Sarah Clancy (. 321), who is returning from a knee injury.

Also back for the Red Raiders are juniors Jenna Mychko (C, .513), who has verbally committed to Illinois, SS/LF Amanda Wisniewski (. 306), 2B/1B Arianna Albanese and sophomore 1B/OF Kelsey Hagan.

"We're stressing defense to go along with our hitting," said Petryniec. "Our young new players will be counted on to make immediate contributions at the varsity level."

Petryniec expects a dogfight in the Fox Division with his team, Johnsburg and Prairie Ridge battling it out. Johnsburg has Amanda Daly returning to the circle and PR sends Erika Trojan to the circle again, making both formidable foes.