Tri-Cities softball season wrap-up: Look at Aurora Christian next year
Years in school for 2009-10 school year
Aurora Christian
Final record: 5-23.
Seaon ended: Lost 16 to Westmont in Class 2A Westmont regional quarterfinals.
Top returnees in 2010: Shannah Morris (sr., C/SS).
Season skinny: The Eagles will make the move to the Suburban Christian Conference next year, and they'll have one of the top players in the league to build around in Morris. Shefollowed up a .532 average as a sophomore by hitting over .430 as a junior.
Aurora Central
Final record: 9-22.
Seaon ended: Lost 3-2 to Sandwich in regional semifinals.
Top returnees in 2010: Katie Callahan, Crysta Hoffman, Kendra Bradley
Season skinny: The Chargers willbuild their team around speed next year led by seniors Kendra Bradley and Ashley Bohr, sophomores Kendall Adams and Abbey Larios and junior Crysta Hoffman. The power hits will come from sophomore all-conference catcher Katie Callahan. Junior Taylor La Voy, sophomore Kendall Adams and incoming freshman Elisa Eckert will pitch.
Batavia
Final record: 15-17.
Seaon ended: Lost 5-0 to Glenbard North in Class 4A St. Charles East regional semifinals.
Top returnees in 2010: Brooke Nelson (jr., P); Katie Luetkens (sr., CF); Emily Dorjath (jr., C); Katie Coleman (so., LF/P);
Season skinny: The Bulldogs jumped from 9 to 15 wins and stayed in the Western Sun race until the final week of the season. They will look to make a similar improvement next spring with a strong nucleus returning. Nelson should be one of the top pitchers in the area while Luetkens, Dorjath and Coleman will be key contributers at the plate and on a defense that made major strides this season. A late-season hitting slump hurt Batavia against some good teams in the stretch run this year, so look for the Bulldogs to try to improve their consistency throughout the lineup heading into next spring.
Geneva
Final record: 16-18.
Seaon ended: Lost 11-0 to St. Charles North in Class 4A Lake Park regional semifinals.
Top returnees in 2010: Melissa Barber (jr., SS); Kelly McCaffrey (jr., P); Kristyn Ruitenberg (sr., P); Dori Rogers (jr., 2B); Clare Stribling (so., C).
Season skinny: Geneva wasn't happy with how its season ended. The Vikings followed a 14-15 season by going 16-18 and are hungry to improve on those numbers next spring. They'll have one of the best bats around in Barber.
Kaneland
Final record: 27-9.
Seaon ended: Lost 1-0 to Burlington Central in Class 3A Burlington Central regional championship game.
Top returnees in 2010: Delani Vest (so., P); Rilee Vest (jr., C); Jessica Lubic (jr., SS); Andrea Potts (jr., C).
Season skinny: Watch out for the Knights next year. Delani Vest burst onto the scene as a freshman, winning 17 games. She also led off and batted .397. Her sister Rilee and Potts are both good catchers and bats Kaneland can count on, while Lubic will be a force at the plate after hitting .437 this season. The Knights handled a difficult situation this season and kept going, finishing second to Glenbard South on the final day of the Western Sun season, then losing a heartbreaker on an extra-inning miscue to Burlington Central in the playoffs. Both Glenbard South and Burlington Central wound up advancing to this weekend's Class 3A state tournament.
Rosary
Final record: 13-18.
Seaon ended: Lost 1-0 to Sterling in Class 3A Roselle sectional semifinals. Won Class 3A Rosary regional title.
Top returnees in 2010: Audrey Ruddy (jr., P/SS); Tara Pfeiffer (jr., SS/P).
Season skinny: The Royals peaked at the right time to win their first regional championship since 1994. They'll lose some key pieces including Courtney Classen, Andrea Deking and Jessica Fortier but return several sophomores and juniors who got a lot of varsity playing time under coach Tara Tattersall.
St. Charles East
Final record: 24-10.
Seaon ended: Lost 4-1 to Glenbard North in Class 4A St. Charles East regional championship.
Top returnees in 2010: Mary Kate Brooks (sr., RF); Steph Roan (sr., LF); RaeAnne Payleitner (jr., C); Katie Stengler (sr., P); Gabby Moe (sr., P); Jenny Niemiec (sr., 2B); Kayla Brooks (sr., 1B)
Season skinny: Other than their cross-town friends at St. Charles North, few teams bring back more than the Saints. Payleitner led the area in home runs (7) as a sophomore. Brooks, Roan and Niemiec also return to form what should be a strong lineup, plus give the Saints experience at key positions in the field. And on the mound? The Saints return their top two pitchers in Moe and Stengler, both of whom had their share of big wins throughout the 2009 season.
St. Charles North
Final record: 27-10.
Seaon ended: Lost 1-0 to Bartlett in Class 4A Lake Park sectional championship. Won Lake Park regional title and Upstate Eight Conference.
Top returnees in 2010: Loren Cihlar (jr., RF); Amanda Ciran (jr., P); Kristin Damm (sr., C); Amanda Engel (sr., P); Annie Korth (jr., C/LF); Juliaclare Plezbert (jr., 1B); Sydney Russell (jr., 2B); Taylor Russell (jr., 3B); Ashley Seering (jr., CF).
Season skinny: The North Stars broke through in a big way, winning the Upstate Eight championship for the first time, then bringing home their third regional crown with a 9-inning win over Lake Park. Nobody has more returnees the next two years. The sky is the limit. How the North Stars handle high expectations will be as important as anything, because with all this talent coming back they are going to be at the top of almost any ranking next spring. It also will be interesting to see how the players improve individually this summer and which make the biggest jumps during their junior years. Many juniors would just be making their varsity debuts - this group already has the experience of winning an ultra-competitive UEC race and reaching a sectional championship game.
West Aurora
Final record: 17-17.
Seaon ended: Lost 1-0 to Naperville Central in Class 4A regional championship game.
Top returnees in 2010: Devin Vaughn (sr., SS); LaRi Mitchell (so., 3B).
Season skinny: Blackhawks say goodbye to ace Steph Becker, after the dominating left-hander finished her career as the all-time leader in strikeouts and wins. She came within 3 of the single season strikout record this year, fanning 15 in both of West Aurora's regional games. She ended her career with 264 and 12, respectively, on a team that nearly upset Naperville Central to win a regional title. That's the same Naperville Central team that is still playing this weekend at the state tournament.
Mitchell made a quick impact hitting .333 and ranking among the area leaders in runs and steals while Vaughn also hit over .300.