League races look wide open

It's early in the softball season, but not too early to see both the Upstate Eight and Western Sun Conference races look like they are going to be up for grabs.

Clear-cut favorites are missing. That's the opposite of last year when Bartlett went undefeated to win the Upstate Eight and Glenbard South did the same to win the Western Sun.

In the Western Sun, Glenbard South already is 0-2 after losing last week to Kaneland and Batavia. The Raiders had won 33 straight WSC games entering the season. Geneva is off to a great start at 2-0. Batavia and Kaneland are 1-1.

"I think it will be wide open this year," Batavia coach Leon Pedraza said. "Everyone has had their highs and lows. It's going to be a fun season for the Western Sun."

Pedraza is pleased with how his young Bulldogs have started the year.

"The girls have played well," Pedraza said. "We talk about let's keep building, keep improving and learn from past errors and learn from our positives. Our goal is long term."

Geneva's two wins came at the perfect time for a team that had been 0-5 in nonconference games.

"We were bruised and battered but we did talk about we get a fresh start with conference play and it is part of a new season for us," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said.

Senior Deirdre Phalon said the Vikings had a good week of practice, which translated to the two Western Sun wins and then a victory over Oswego East Saturday.

"We tried to build up our confidence," Phalon said. "We've been trying harder at practice, focusing more."

Senior outfielder Nikki Davis agreed.

"We've been really focused in practice," Davis said. "It's really important to us to get a fresh start in conference."

The Vikings were scheduled to play 9 games this week, including key conference games against Batavia and Glenbard South. That would be 25 percent of the season in six days.

"It will be a busy week if the weather holds up but that's OK," Dierks said. "We're in a good mood right now so having more games will be great. We'll continue to improve."

In the Upstate Eight, Bartlett already has losses to South Elgin and Neuqua Valley before bouncing back to beat Lake Park. Their coach Jim Wolfsmith said he expects a tight race between those four teams with both St. Charles schools not far behind.

"The Upstate Eight is going to be brutal," Wolfsmith said. "I don't anticipate anyone doing what we did last year (going unbeaten). We're all going to be beating each other up. This could be a 1- or 2-loss season. Could be a tie. Then teams like St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Waubonsie Valley, they are all capable of taking a win from that top group. I think the Upstate Eight is one of the top softball conferences in the state."

St. Charles North gets its shot against Bartlett today. The North Stars started 0-3 before pounding Elgin last week and losing to a strong South Elgin squad. On Thursday, the North Stars will play another contender, Neuqua Valley.