Softball notes: Conant's Spaitis coming up big in circle, at the plate

Senior pitcher Natalie Spaitis surely won't forget last week when she looks back on her career for the Conant softball program.

First, she recorded the 400th strikeout of her three-year career (COVID-19 pandemic canceled her freshman season) and belted her first homer of the season in a 9-8 loss at Elk Grove.

Two days later, Spaitis tossed a no-hitter with a 12-0 shutout over Rolling Meadows.

Spaitis had 178 strikeouts as a sophomore and 147 last spring.

She is averaging 2 strikeouts per inning and hitting over .650.

"She is a competitor who loves this game and has worked very hard outside the lines to get to this point," Conant coach Allie Bauch. "She has been fun to watch and has started this season extremely well.

"As a team, We are continuing to work hard to back our pitchers up with confidence in the field and consistency in the box. We took advantage of the nice weather this past week to get a lot of reps in and I look forward to seeing our defense continue to improve."

Marsh dominance:

Kaitlyn Marsh enjoyed one of her best performances on the mound last week when Maine West defeated Maine East 7-3 for their first CSL North win.

Marsh had 17 strikeouts and did not walk a batter.

"She was dominant on the mound," said Warriors co-coach Jim Dvorak.

Alondra Contreras led the Warriors offense by going 2-for-3 with a single, double and 2 RBI.

Elk Grove update:

Junior third baseman Lexi Goeringer got off to an excellent start in the Grenadiers' first six games with her batting average of .583 and 15 RBI.

Goeringer also belted her fourth homer in a 6-3 win over Maine South last Saturday. Teammate Ariana Trausch had 2 homers in the game.

"It's been an uneven start injury-wise in the early part of the season," said Elk Grove coach Ken Grams, the second winningest coach in IHSA history with 1,011 wins.

On a roll:

Fremd (9-3) has been one of the hottest teams in the area, heading into this week with wins in its five of its last six games and four straight.

The big surge includes a 1-0 eight-inning win at state power Buffalo Grove, which gave the Bison only their second loss in nine games.

Sophomore Hailey Lucas (5-1) fired a 1-hitter at BG, and also going 1-for-3 at the plate.

Lauren Sheedy (1-for-3) belted a homer for the game-winner while Lauren Graham (double) and Ryanne Goodwin also went 1-for 3 in the game.

The Vikings came right back with a doubleheader sweep over Libertyville 7-4 and 12-3 in Palatine last Saturday.

Maine East leaders:

During its first eight games, hitting leaders for Maine East (5-3) have been Jayden Coppe (.655 18 RBI, 16 runs), Natasha Czajkowski (.522, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 16 runs) and Emma Asien (.500, 3 HR, 13 RBI)

On the mound, Coppe is 2-3 with 71 strikeouts in 33 innings.

"We have lost a few games of late to some great competition," said Blue Demons coach Len Lobanar. "Our athletes are fighting and showing improvement with every outing. We are excited to get going in conference play."

Lions competing:

St. Viator coach John Scotillo likes the competitiveness of his Lions even though they have dropped eight of their last 10.

For example, Grace Gerdes-Grabowy threw a 1-hitter in a 3-0 loss against Prospect.

ln another tough loss (7-5) at Marian Catholic, Hannah Grossman, Jillian Bollard and Katie Stevens all homered. Grossman has hit .417 over this span.

Jillian belted her third homer in a win over IC Catholic Prep with Gerdes-Grabowy throwing a 3-hitter with 6 strikeouts.

During a doubleheader loss to Joliet Catholic, Grace Ardito hit her first homer.

"We are only a few timely hits from a reversal of fortunes," said Scotillo.

Prospect update:

After an 8-5 triumph over Schaumburg, Prospect upped its record to 9-4 and 2-1 in the MSL East.

Going up against state power Barrington, the Knights fell 8-3 on the road.

"Riley Depa had a great outing on the mound against a tough Barrington team," said Knights coach Krystina Mackowiack. "She kept us in the game and unfortunately we didn't capitalize on our base runners enough."

Emily Scolaro pitched a shutout against Hoffman allowing only 1 hit with 4 strikeouts.

Molly Gilhooly, Sara Hasan, Erin Pinter, Ashley Simon and Georgiann Crudele have led the Knights in RBI since returning from Florida.

Carley Jagiello (double) and Sara Hasan (homer) have each had 7 hits in the five games since Prospect's Florida trip.

"We are looking forward to continuing conference play," Mackowiack said. "We have a tough schedule ahead and plan on taking one game at a time."

Strong start:

Palatine has begun the season at 7-2 and after its first five games, the Pirates were hitting .445 as a team with 56 runs in five games.

Leaders included Jolie DeValk (10 hits, 9 RBI), Nicole Marcaeu (2 homers, team-high 9 runs) and Lauren Dettloff (leader in stolen bases). Grace Adame had 10 hits and has been a leader behind the plate, catching two runners trying to steal.

Holly Steffus had 32 strikeouts and Paige LaSalle compiled a 2.54 ERA.

"We consistently hit through our lineup," said Pirates coach Nicole Pauly. "Our girls play aggressive and have the ability to make adjustments during the game to give us the best chances to score runs for our pitchers. Our pitchers are consistent and trust their defense behind them.

"No matter what the score is, our goal is to win every inning and put pressure on the defense. I am really happy with the way this team responds to pressure situations. They remain calm and confident because they know offensively, we are dangerous."

Dolecki double:

In a 12-6 loss to Jacobs, Schaumburg's Madison Dolecki belted 2 homers with 4 RBI.

Other key Saxons hitters were Sydni Ellis (double) and Alexa Evans (3 singles).

Teammates Allyson Caldwell, Taylor Dolecki and Madison Linnemann each had singles.