Fox Valley softball notes: Nolan closes in on St. Edward’s strikeout record; Tight battles in both FVC, DuKane

Some history is about to be made in the St. Edward Central Catholic softball program.

Pitcher Alaina Nolan recently went over the 700-career strikeout mark and Green Wave coach Jerry Kublank noted she’s closing in on St. Edward Athletic Hall of Famer Lindsey Zdroik’s school record of 781. She was at 762 to start the week.

Nolan fanned 35 in 2 recent Chicagoland Christian Conference games against Timothy Christian, including 19 in the series finale in Elmhurst.

Sarah Gurley is hitting .698 (30 hits) with 5 homers, 3 triples, 17 RBI and 24 runs scored from the leadoff position. She also has 10 steals.

“Sarah is having a terrific year,” Kublank said.

Kendall Pemberton is hitting .405 with 12 RBI and has made 1 error at first base in the last 2 years, Kublank pointed out.

Other key contributors for the Green Wave (7-5, 5-2 CCC) include Francesca Buono (.364 hitting with 1 homer and 12 RBI), Mackenzie Fitzpatrick (.387 with 10 runs scored), Layne Dawson (.336 with 11 runs scored) and Taylor Dawson (.287 with 11 RBI). St. Edward had won 3 in a row and 4 of 5 heading into this week.

Aurora Central Catholic update: Corina Maratea earned her 38th career pitching victory, which is an ACC record and notched her 400th career strikeout. She has struck out 100 more batters in each of the last 3 seasons.

Grace Grunloh was hitting .391 with 3 homers to start the week, while Morgan Vaghy was at .327 with 3 homers and a .673 slugging percentage. Maratea had a 1.30 ERA with 122 strikeouts and was also leading the Chargers (4-14, 1-7 Girls Catholic Athletic White) in RBI with 12.

Coach Gab Drager noted Karen Bohr has never played competitive softball and decided to join the team for her senior year and has started at second base.

“Karen has caught onto the game fast, and has been a solid wall in the middle infield,” Drager said. “She plays with confidence and gets it done in the field. She has become someone that we trust the ball being hit to and has proven herself despite the lack of training and softball knowledge.”

Harvest Christian-Westminster Christian update: The Harvest-Westminster co-op team had 6 players (Alayna Booras, Natalie Simon, Madelin Basak, Kayla Brokke, Leslie Uriostegui and Haley Miller) hitting over .400 to start the week.

Uriostegui, Basak, Ellyse Condrea and Brooke were the team-leaders in RBI, while Clair Scheir, Uriostegui and Condra were leading in steals.

Harvest-Westminster (3-4, 2-3 Northeastern Athletic), which started the week on a 3-game winning streak, also has received strong defense play from Miller, Brokke and Basak. “They are constantly being asked to play multiple positions and they play them extremely well,” assistant coach Jeff Chrastka said.

Freshman pitcher Fiona Godke, Chrastka noted, has kept the team in games, allowing it a chance to win. She was 3-2 in the circle to start the week.

“Overall, there is a difference between measurable output and an intangible team culture,” Chrastka said. “This group has clicked together through emotional and social bonds, providing trust, passion and resilience that go way beyond softball.”

Huntley update: The Red Raiders (14-5, 7-1 FVC) were tied with Hampshire for the Fox Valley Conference lead to start the week. Hampshire won the first meeting, 14-4.

Defensively, shortstop Aubrina Adamik (University of Akron commit) has a 1.000 fielding percentage on 38 assists and 27 putouts.

Larkin update: Royals pitcher Mackenzie Wemken fanned 17 in a game against Rolling Meadows recently, which breaks Larkin’s last-known strikeout record as of the early 2000s, Larkin coach Megan Johnson Morado pointed out.

Johnson Morado’s squad was 8-11 overall and 3-4 in Upstate Eight West play to start the week. Ali Herrick was hitting .489, while Wemken was at .453.

Rosary update: Abby Klish was hitting .300 and had a .962 fielding percentage to start the week, while Lily Baer was hitting .286. Junior Katelyn Schuitema, who plays first, third and pitches, started the week with a 1.000 fielding percentage for the Royals (0-10, 0-8 Girls Catholic Athletic White).

St. Charles East update: Hayden Sujack started the week with 53 career home runs (tied for eighth all-time in state history) and is 12 homers away from the all-time IHSA record with 15 regular-season games plus the playoffs to go. Sujack was hitting .484 with 11 homers, 8 doubles and 28 RBI.

Morgan Beers is hitting .444 with a team-high 32 hits, while Kayla LaRose is at .386 with 27 hits, 7 doubles and 1 home run.

In the circle, Makalya Van Dinther is 11-1 with a 0.98 ERA and 79 strikeouts against only 10 walks, while Hannah Wulf is 5-2 with a 0.61 ERA and 82 strikeouts against only 13 walks.

East was 16-4 overall and tied with St. Charles North (5-1) in DuKane Conference action to start the week. After losing 1-0 to North, the Saints rattled off 5 wins in a row.

Coach Jarod Gutesha noted the Saints have played great team defense “behind our top-notch pitching staff,” he said. “One game last week, we slipped and didn’t play great defense against Batavia, but the girls have used that as motivation to keep working hard and playing sharp.”

St. Charles North update: The North Stars had a 12-game winning streak stopped after an 11-10 extra-inning loss to Lake Park. North started the week 14-1 overall and 5-1 in DuKane Conference action.

“Our conference is so strong,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Lake Park and Glenbard North are all good enough to win it.”

Ella Heimbuch was leading the team with a .522 batting average and also was tops in hits (25), runs scored (22) and steals (14), while Abby Zawadzki was tops in OPS (1.483), home runs (8) and RBI (35). North outscored its first 15 opponents by a 167-37 count.

Carrigan Rich was 8-1 in the circle in 45 1/3 innings of work, while Zawadzki was 6-0 in 47 innings. Zawadzki had 39 strikeouts and a 2.23 ERA to start the week.

Poulin noted Julianna Kouba has been a huge help at third base. “Julianna makes every play she is supposed to make and then makes the difficult plays look easy,” he said.

South Elgin update: The Storm (12-3, 6-0 Upstate Eight West) started the week having won 9 of 10.

Key contributors offensively for South Elgin have included Jenna Sheehan (.595, 5 doubles, 10 RBI), Ava Lazare (.543, 4 doubles, 18 RBI), Charlotte Rzenno (.500, 4 doubles, 4 homers, 20 RBI), Adreana Hauser (.500, 20 runs, 10 RBI), Liv Miller (.477, 4 doubles, 3 homers, 20 runs, 19 RBI) and Emma Bell (.426, 3 doubles, 17 runs, 9 RBI).

Coach Brad Reynard pointed out Lazare, a freshman shortstop, has helped solidify the infield and gives the Storm stability up the middle along with Millie Viruet and Molly Krabbe.

West Aurora update: The Blackhawks picked up key wins against Larkin and Glenbard South to move to 8-11 overall and 5-1 in Upstate Eight West action to start the week.

Bella Marzullo was leading West Aurora in hitting with a .567 average (30 hits), while Gracie Del Toro was hitting .426 with 27 runs scored and 17 steals. Bella Doyle and Kenzie Nelson-Wilmes each were hitting. 377 to start the week. Doyle had 18 RBI and Wilmes 14. Macie Spenny had 3 homers and 17 RBI. Ally Lambert and Bella Doyle pitched well in the two recent wins against Larkin and Glenbard South. West Aurora got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh against Larkin.

Coach Randy Hayslett noted the Marzullo, Del Torro and Spenny each play multiple positions and anchor the defense. “Bella plays short and third to help shut down opponents’ short game,” he said. “Gracie has made several diving catches in center field and has also played short when Bella shifts to third. Macie eliminated base stealers when catching and plays second to help the defense when needed.”

Hayslett noted Marzullo is flirting with a .600 batting average, which would be a program first. Del Toro is a perfect 17-for-17 stealing and is within striking distance of the school single-season steals record of 24, set by Sara Tarr last season.