Scouting the Fox Valley area's sectionals

Class 4A Lake Park sectional

Semifinal pairings: St. Charles North (26-9) vs. Glenbard West (22-14), today at 4 p.m.; Bartlett (20-14) vs. Glenbard North (25-8), Thursday at 4 p.m.

Outlook: Bartlett is getting hot at the right time, as evidenced by its wins over Schaumburg and No. 2 seed West Chicago to win the Schaumburg regional. The Hawks, the No. 7 seed, run into their third straight top pitcher in Glenbard North's Hannah Santora, who led the Panthers to the DuPage Valley Conference title. "If we're lucky enough to advance like we did two years ago we'll have done it against some pretty darn good pitching," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith, whose team beat West Chicago's Mary Connolly 8-6 to win the title game at Schaumburg, after handling Schaumburg's Missy Anderson in the semifinals. "It's never easy, but anything worth having shouldn't be easy," said Wolfsmith, whose 2007 team advanced downstate. "Glenbard North is playing some of the best softball in the area right now and it all starts with Santora on the mound. She's been lights out the last few weeks. They're the hottest team in the state right now. We're excited about the possibilities and hopefully we'll continue to play well." The Hawks have been led offensively by senior Illinois State recruit Elizabeth Kay (. 397, 5 HRs, 24 RBI) and in the circle by junior Butler recruit Callie Dennison (16-11, 1.76 ERA). Glenbard North knocked off the Upstate Eight's St. Charles East 4-1 to win the SCE regional. Today's semifinal pits Upstate Eight champ St. Charles North against Cinderella Glenbard West, a No. 9 seed. Then again, seeds mean little when you consider SCN is a No. 5. The North Stars topped UEC runner-up Lake Park 3-2 in nine innings to win the Lake Park regional while Glenbard West upset top-seeded Elk Grove 1-0 to win the Addison Trail regional. The championship game of this sectional is set for 11 a.m. Saturday and the winner of the sectional advances to Monday's Benedictine University supersectional to play the Neuqua Valley sectional winner. Lockport plays Hinsdale South and Naperville Central takes on Benet in the semis at Neuqua.

Class 4A Woodstock sectional

Semifinal pairings: Prairie Ridge (31-6) vs. South Elgin (23-12), today at 4 p.m.; Huntley (24-12) vs. Hononegah (26-9), Thursday at 4 p.m.

Outlook: An interesting matchup today between South Elgin and Prairie Ridge. The Storm hammered PR and ace Johanna Turner 14-8 in Game 1 of a doubleheader sweep back in April but neither coach puts any stock in that now. "That's been a while ago," said Storm coach Jason Schaal. "(PR) is a very good team. Turner's a very good pitcher and (Erika) Trojan is very solid at shortstop." South Elgin, which has tied the school record for wins, is in the sectional for the second straight year while Prairie Ridge won a regional for the first time in program history under veteran coach Mike Buck. The Wolves won the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division title and have set a school record for wins as well. "I think that 14-8 game was a little uncharacteristic for both teams," Buck said. "It was at the end of a long week and everyone was tired, especially the pitchers. But I'll tell you what, South Elgin is one of the better hitting teams I've seen in a while. The key will be Jo. If she can mix speeds and keep the ball down, our defense has been pretty solid." Offensively, the Wolves are led by left fielder Anna Patras (. 522), Trojan (. 353) and sophomore catcher Lauren Seegers (. 367). Bucks also lauded the defense of second baseman Katie Schillinger, who has made only 3 errors all season. Turner is 29-4 with a 1.48 ERA, 237 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 203 innings. And, she's just a junior. PR won the tough McHenry regional. South Elgin, meanwhile has an explosive offense that is hitting .342 as a team. The Storm are led by senior center fielder Kim Pierce (. 553, 7 HRs, 43 RBI), senior first baseman Lauren Vitiello (. 451, 6 HRs, 36 RBI) and junior shortstop Courtney Bosteder (. 436, 5 HRs, 40 RBI). But to get those run producers producing, the Storm's 1-2 hitters, junior Kaitlyn Stonecipher .310, 13-for-13 SBs) and Caitlin Stredde (. 313) need to get on base. They have scored 62 of South Elgin's 236 runs. "They key to us is keeping their 1-2 off the bases," Buck said. Senior Cary Thereon (9-6, 2.72 ERA) has been solid in the circle for South Elgin, which also has the potential to throw some leather. "We told the kids that right now everyone is 2-0 and you throw everything else out the window," said Schaal. "We have to come out with the excitement and energy we had Saturday. We'll have to be focused and ready to play." The Storm downed Larkin for the Streamwood regional title. Thursday's semifinal here pits Huntley against a Hononegah team that knocked off Machesney Park Harlem 4-3 to win the Harlem regional, a game in which the Indians had a 4-0 lead going into the seventh inning. Huntley won the Rockford Guilford regional by downing DeKalb 3-2. The Red Raiders are led by senior pitcher Sam Clemons (23-10, 1.97 ERA). Clemons has 72 career wins. Offensively, Huntley has some power and speed. The Raiders are led at the plate by junior catcher and Illinois recruit Jenna Mychko (. 483, 3 HRs, 34 RBI) and senior 3B Deana DeBoscherre (. 430, 2 HRs, 29 RBI). The winners meet on Saturday at 10 a.m. for the right to play in the Barrington supersectional against the Barrington sectional winner. The semis there pit Fremd against Zion-Benton and Barrington against Lake Zurich.

Class 3A Rochelle sectional

Semifinal pairings: Burlington Central (22-5) vs. Sycamore (24-12), today at 4 p.m.; Rosary (12-17) vs. Sterling (18-16), Thursday at 4 p.m.

Outlook: It would appear - emphasize appear - Burlington Central is in a good position to win its first sectional title since 1993. The Rockets already own a 5-0 win over Sycamore, and BC senior ace MacKenzie Scott (17-2, 0.20 ERA, 240 Ks) didn't pitch that game. But don't even bring up the word easy to BC coach Scot Sutherland. "Sycamore is a very solid team," he said. "They've got some good players and they're on a roll. It will take a good game for us to succeed." Sycamore beat Rochelle 8-3 to win the Rochelle regional. Leadoff hitter Anna Buzzard hit 2 home runs in that game as the Spartans won their first regional since 2002. Pitcher Rhianna Fleetwood had 8 strikeouts. The Rockets survived a nine-inning regional championship game with a 1-0 win over Kaneland. They are led offensively by junior 3B Ashley Scheffler (. 451, 25 RBI), senior 1B Brittany Priest (. 405, 23 RBI), senior left fielder Lindsay Lange (. 397, 22 RBI), Scott (. 388, 2 HRs, 23 RBI), senior SS and leadoff hitter Kayla Oranger (. 373, 35-for-26 SBs) and junior C Sam Gruner (. 343, 1 HR, 24 RBI). "Saturday, we didn't do what we wanted to do offensively but that's the first time we've had that happen in a while," Sutherland said. The Rockets have been frustrated over their lack of success in sectional play after winning six regionals in a row. "I don't feel any pressure," Sutherland said. "We've addressed the fact that none of this means anything until we prove something in the sectional. They just need to go out there and play their game." The Thursday game pits Rosary of the Suburban Catholic Conference against Sterling, which upset higher seeds Rock Island Alleman and Geneseo to win the Geneseo regional. The sectional final is at 11 a.m. Saturday and the winner advances to the NIU supersectional on Monday against the winner of the Marengo sectional. The semis there pit Vernon Hills against Marengo and Antioch against Grayslake Central.

- Compiled by John Radtke