Cook softball notes: Barrington’s Kenny slams her way into elite company

Load the bases and watch out when Shannon Kenney comes to plate.

Her bat was making quite a bit a noise in a period of five days.

The Barrington senior shortstop clubbed a school-record three grand slam home runs, leaving her one grand slam away from tying the IHSA single season record.

Carmel's Jennifer Bahan (2014) and Oregon's Aleah Wight (2017) each hit four in one season.

"Shannon has been an incredibly consistent force for our Fillies team, both at shortstop and in the middle of our batting order," said Fillies hall of fame coach Perry Peterson. "She understands the game very well and supplies a power swing that consistently dials up extra base hits for our team."

Over half of Kenney's hits for the 2025 season have been for extra bases, while she has driven in 22 runs in the team's first 18 games.

Winning Bison: Buffalo Grove is 3-2 in its last five games despite having two starters on the sidelines.

Sammi Wolverton (concussion) returned to action this week and made a terrific diving catch in right field against St. Viator on Tuesday. Her replacement Hailey Barbakoff made a similar great diving grab while replacing Wolverton in right field against Evanston on April 19.

Coach Martha Kelly is hoping returning all-conference player McKenna Wagner returns soon.

During a five-game period heading into this week, four Bison hit better than .300.

Sophomore Erin Ryan has been leading the way hitting .500 with 2 doubles, 2 HRs, and 4 RBI. Junior Leah Hampton stepped into the leadoff spot in Wolverton and Wagner's absence hitting .333 with 2 doubles. Senior Paige Veller is hitting .312 with 2 doubles and a walk-off home run vs. Evanston during the Bison's only home game this season on their new field.

The Bison have been fortunate to see three different players take the mound this spring.

Senior Sammie Kosnoff has seen the most action with 37 innings pitched and 34 strikeouts. She had 11 strikeouts vs. Wheeling last week.

Sophomore Brooklyn Edler has seen 27 innings of work and recorded a 3-hit shutout against Evanston along with a 13-1 win over St. Viator on Tuesday.

Sophomore Natalie Whitson has seen some action as well (12 innings) including a big save vs. Conant a week ago.

Great start: Maine West co-coaches Jim Dvorak and Chris Addante had the Warriors off to a 9-1 start heading into this week and 3-0 in CSL North.

They went 4-1 the last two weeks defeating Vernon Hills, Maine East, Niles West and Prospect. Their only loss is to Hersey.

"We have been getting better and better each game," Addante said. "We are doing a much better job of executing offensively and defensively which has resulted to the positive outcomes."

Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Marsh is 4-1 in her first 30 innings with 44 strikeouts and 8 walks.

Kara Lindenmuth (583), Alondra Contreras (.500), Georgia Herman .(429) and McKayla Garnett (.400) are the Warriors' top hitters.

Surging Pirates: Heading into the week, Palatine (8-7-1) had won six of its last nine games.

"We have been focused on polishing up defensively and continuing to keep our bats alive on offense," said first-year coach Janalee Lyke. "The girls are working hard and showing a lot of improvement from the beginning of the season."

Soph success: Rolling Meadows' Caylee Del Boccio continues having a great season, going into this week batting .467 with a .545 on-base percentage. The sophomore center fielder has not struck out in her first 55 at-bats.

Chloe McQueen (first career victory) and Mary Linker combined for the second no-hitter last Saturday against Round Lake.

Excellent Emma: Emma Asien is getting it done on the mound and in the batter's box for Maine East.

The Blue Demons’ 5-foot-10 senior is batting .429 with 3 home runs while also enjoying a three-to-one strikeout to walk ratio.

"Our starting freshman first baseman Ellie Miller is fielding extremely well only having one error for the season," said East coach Kyle Eller. "Our freshmen continue to improve and we all look forward to being competitive in the upcoming games."

First-place Knights: Prospect took a one-game lead in the Mid-Suburban East with a 2-1 victory over Elk Grove on Monday. Lina Calvacca earned the win with 6 strikeouts.

The Knights came back with another pitching gem on Tuesday as Madelyn Kura made her varsity debut on the mound with a no-hitter against Wheeling.

Among the offensive leaders for the Knights were Liz Aicher (2-for-2, 3 RBI, home run), Calvacca (2-for-3, 4 RBI, home run) and Gabby Dilan (1-for-4, 3 RBI, home run). Guina Fal and Gianna Catanzano each had 2 hits.