Frosh Abello, York providing plenty of torque for Benet

Twelve feet separate Benet coach Jerry Schilf from home plate when he’s throwing batting practice using a special contraption called the Total Control Ball.

It is, needless to say, not a comfortable distance when Emily York is in the batter’s box.

“It’s like rockets coming off her bat,” Schilf said. “Every time I pitch to her I’m freaking flinching.”

Opponents should shudder at the thought of Benet’s freshmen, too.

In a lineup already featuring two Division I commits and two sophomores being recruited heavily, freshmen Stephanie Abello and Emily York have opened eyes.

Abello, batting fifth and playing left field, is hitting .516 with a team-high 5 homers and 19 runs batted in; first baseman York, hitting behind her, is batting .531 with 3 homers and 23 RBI, tied for the team-best with Bradley-bound Kendall Duffy. As a team, 8-1 Benet is hitting .476 and averaging over 12 runs.

Abello, nicknamed “Slap,” hits left-handed but is anything but a lefty slap hitter. Schilf knew her from three of Benet’s camps last summer where “every other swing she seemed to put the ball over the fence.” He didn’t know as much about big righty York, but she’s made a huge first impression.

Against Neuqua Valley a week ago York hit two homers, the second banging hard off Benet’s scoreboard in left.

The sound even made the neighbors stir.

“She has hit some balls that have been unbelievably loud,” Schilf said, “because she hits them with such force. The homer off the scoreboard, I thought she was going to knock it down. Emily is scary to pitch to.”

York, who can also pitch but hasn’t thrown in a varsity game yet, has proven to be way better defensively than Schilf expected. He’s been downright awestruck, though, with some of the balls his hitters have struck the first nine games.

“There’s no way in the world I expected those two freshmen to hit like this,” Schilf said.

Tigers junior works her way to top:

Wheaton Warrenville South junior Cameron Briggs came into the season competing for a third outfield spot, and started off further down in the lineup.

Nine games in, where would the Tigers be without her?

Briggs, now hitting leadoff, is leading WW South in almost every statistical category, batting .577 with 3 homers and 12 RBI. Her speed makes her an ideal fit atop the order, but it’s Briggs’ work ethic that got her there.

“Since winter conditioning she was the first one to show up and the last one to leave,” said first-year Tigers coach Jeff Pawlak, who coached Briggs on the JV team last year. “She’s taken the lead and run with it.”

Pawlak noted that Briggs is probably his team’s most clutch hitter up to this point, bar none.

“And she is our best baserunner and the fastest girl I’ve got,” Pawlak said. “Truly a kid who has worked her way up. I couldn’t be happier for her.”

West Chicago raising eyebrows:

Those who thought West Chicago might be easy pickings this spring with Mary Connolly now at DePaul might be in for a rude awakening.

It appears the Wildcats still have plenty of game.

West Chicago is 5-2 so far, with good wins against a ranked Batavia team and St. Charles East.

Wildcats pitchers Tarah Rayos and Katie Wiest, if not overpowering, have more than held their own; in West Chicago’s last four wins they have allowed 3 or fewer runs with two shutouts. West Chicago’s defense has been solid for the most part behind them, which helps.

“They mix pitches up well and are doing that well,” West Chicago coach Kim Wallner said.

Wallner did bring back six seniors, led by Jessica Wood and Rachel Johnson, along with a pair of juniors with experience in Amanda Gosbeth and Morgan Dastych from a team that won the DVC and a regional last year. It is not like the cupboard was bare.

West Chicago should get a good gauge of where it’s at Wednesday when the Wildcats travel to Glenbard South.

“Even without Mary, we thought we’d be competitive,” Wallner said. “We’re going to battle. With our talent and experience we’re going to be in every game.”

Huskies Hahne aces early tests:

Naperville North’s pitching staff-by-committee seems to have found its chairman of the board.

Hard to argue with Kathleen Hahne.

Hahne beat a good Minooka team 3-1 on March 20, and four days later shut out Bartlett 5-0. Hahne, 2-3 a year ago pitching behind Emily Dieckmann, hasn’t allowed an earned run in 14 innings with 7 strikeouts, 3 walks and 10 hits.

“That was some big-time pitching against those two teams,” Huskies coach Jerry Kedziora said. “She’s getting ahead of batters and using all her pitches and moving the ball around like a pitcher should. She’s definitely establishing herself as our No. 1.”

The Huskies’ defense has held up behind her, even with a freshman at shortstop and another at first base. Alexis Solak does appear to be a good one at shortstop, Kedziora hoping she anchors the infield for the next four years.

Hahne’s hot start should be put to the text next week, when the Huskies play big-hitting teams Downers Grove South and Benet in back-to-back days.

“It’s been a pleasant surprise so far, the way she’s throwing,” Kedziora said.

Big Saturdays:

There were many noteworthy performances Saturday, but two stand out. Metea Valley’s Anna Petersen, who hit .625 in two games last week, went 3-for-4 with a 3-run homer against Plainfield East, delivering a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth of a 6-5 win. And Downers Grove North sophomore Rowan McGuire, the younger sister of Benet star Maeve, went 8-for-8 in a doubleheader sweep of Glenbard East with 4 doubles.