Fox softball notes: Ritter swinging hot bat at St. Charles North
The St. Charles North softball team made a big statement recently with a 5-1 win on the road against a strong Lincoln-Way East team that at the time was ranked No. 1 in the state.
Ginger Ritter (.714 batting average), Maddie Hernandez (.600), Mack Patterson (.529) and Abby Zawadzki (.529) all are swinging hot bats for coach Tom Poulin’s squad, which started the week 5-0. Zawadzki has 3 doubles, 2 homers, 11 RBI and 5 runs scored to go with a 1.638 OPS, while Patterson has a 1.535 OPS to go with a homer, 8 RBI and 8 runs scored. Hernandez has a 1.600 OPS, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 6 RBI and 7 runs scored.
Aurora Central Catholic update: The Chargers are off to a 12-2 start and a 5-0 mark in Girls Catholic Athletic Conference White Division play. ACC downed IC Catholic Prep 8-5 (ICCP was 11-0 at the time) and defeated St. Francis 5-4 on a Kate Gambro 2-run single with 2 outs in the bottom of the seventh. Gambro, a junior, is hitting .533 with 24 hits, 4 home runs, 24 runs scored and 21 RBI. She’s also 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 26 innings. Junior Ashley Moore is hitting .489 with 23 hits, 21 runs scored and 20 RBI, while sophomore Corina Miller is 5-1 in the circle with a 2.84 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 32 innings. Senior Amelia Lohrey has a homer, 2 doubles and 5 RBI, while junior Charlotte Brummel earned the complete game win against ICCP. ACC Is hitting .400 as a team and has a team ERA of 2.50 (1.15 WHIP).
Elgin update: The Maroons (2-8, 1-4 Upstate Eight) are led at the plate by Grace Tetrev (.435) and Abby Mutolo (.333). Pitcher Madison King is 21 strikeouts away from hitting 200 for her varsity career. Elgin downed Streamwood recently to earn its first conference win.
Harvest Christian update: The good news is the Lions (1-8, 0-2 Northeastern) are averaging more than 8 runs a game, led by freshman Makayla Richards, who is hitting .643 (.893 slug) with 12 RBI. Junior Mackenzie Richards is hitting .600 with a homer and 10 RBI and senior Chace Welsh is hitting .450 with 1 homer and 9 RBI. At the recent Larkin tournament, Makayla Richards hit .800 with 5 extra-base hits, while senior Mckenna Nestrick has been swinging the hot bat of late with 5 hits in an 11-at-bat stretch that included 2 extra-base hits. Coach Greg Richards liked the recent defensive effort against league-leader South Beloit with senior Riley Kate Butler at second and freshman Alayna Booras at third standing out.
Huntley update: The Red Raiders continue to perform against high-caliber teams, beating Lincoln-Way East 17-5 recently. Huntley started the week 11-4 overall and 3-1 in Fox Valley Conference action. Meg Ryan (.481, 3 homers, 21 RBI), Lyla Ginczycki (.426, 2 homers, 7 RBI), Ava McFadden (.483, 10 RBI), Alyssa Bonner (.440, 2 homers, 7 RBI) and Aubrina Adamik (.420, 22 runs scored, 14 steals) are providing plenty of offensive firepower against a challenging schedule, coach Mark Petryniec noted.
Larkin update: Kenya Ventura is hitting .462 with 6 doubles, a triple, homer and 14 RBI for the Royals (5-7, 2-2 Upstate Eight). “Kenya has shown her true self this year after transferring in last season and having a year she was not personally satisfied with,” coach Anne Vogt said. “Kenya has come out extremely focused and is playing fantastic softball.”
Ali Herrick is hitting .452 with 3 doubles, 14 runs scored, a homer and 10 RBI. “Ali is having a stellar freshman season so far,” Vogt said. “She has done a great job for us at first and at the plate. We will continue to look for big games from her this year.”
Yesi Escobar has scored 19 runs in 12 games and is hitting .375 with 4 doubles. “Yesi has been a consistent performer all season both offensively and defensively,” Vogt said.
Kaneland update: Brynn Woods has fanned 52 in 35 innings, while Katie Congoran has 10 RBI and Sammy Dunne has 8 singles to lead the way for the Knights (4-4-1, 1-2 Interstate Eight). Coach Madison Mikos lauded Dunne’s defensive efforts at first base, as well as Woods’ progress in the circle. Kaneland shut out Ottawa Township 3-0 to earn its first conference win recently.
St. Charles East update: The Saints (9-4, 1-1 DuKane) worked overtime for a pair of recent wins, defeating Downers Grove North in 8 innings and Oak Park-River Forest in 9 innings. Katie Morgan (.432, 7 doubles, 2 homers, 13 RBI), Sam Gaca (.356, 4 doubles, 2 homers), Hayden Sujack (.326, 5 doubles, 3 homers), Alysa Price (2 homers) and Eden Corcoran (8 stolen bases) have been notable offensively. East has 14 home runs as a team. Grace Hautzinger has fanned 83 (23 called thirds) in 60 innings, while only walking seven. She’s 7-1 with a 1.52 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings). Gaca hit .440 with 2 homers during a recent 7-day span.
South Elgin update: The Storm turned things up a notch recently, pounding opponents last week to the tune of a combined 54-6 count and posting a 0.32 ERA during that span. South Elgin won all 5 games last week to move to 8-6 and 3-0 in Upstate Eight play. South Elgin defeated Neuqua Valley and Lockport (2-1 in 8) at its 3-team triangle event.
Anna Kiel is hitting a team-high .476 with 5 doubles, 1 homer and 20 RBI, while Mia Speidel is at .432 with 6 doubles, a home run and 16 RBI. Madison Hunt is hitting .379 with a .609 on-base percentage to go with 3 doubles, 20 runs scored and 16 walks. “Anna and Mia have been our biggest run producers and Madison has done a great job setting the table in her leadoff spot,” South Elgin coach Brad Reynard said. “We are playing really well as a team, 1-15.”