Lake County softball notes: Libertyville coming on strong; Vernon Hills takes lead in CSL North race
The Libertyville softball team is hitting its stride.
Coach Dar Townsend’s squad started the week winners of 10 of its last 12 and moved to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in North Suburban Conference action.
Senior Taylor Higham was leading the team in hitting with a .429 batting average, while racking up 27 total strikeouts in the circle in wins against Warren and Prospect.
Maddy Kleemann was hitting .385, while sophomore Jules Figurelli has been making “some unbelievable running catches in center field,” Townsend noted.
Vernon Hills update: The Cougars started the week in first place in the Central Suburban North at 3-0 and were 12-6-1 overall, the benefactor of a 6-game winning streak.
Ashley Fayard was leading the Cougars with a .431 batting average, while Maiya Andersen was hitting .400.
Coach Jan Pauly noted catcher Annie Zbylut has been a key defensive presence. “Annie is a force throwing runners out,” she said. Zbylut hit .571 during a recent 4-game stretch with a 1.214 slugging percentage (8 hits, 3 home runs and 10 RBI).
During that same 4-game run, sophomore Carolynn Bernard hit .600 with 9 hits, including a double, 6 RBI and 3 stolen bases. “Carolynn brings a steady presence to the infield,” Pauly said. “We look for her to maintain her batting average as we enter the second half of the season.”
Antioch update: The Sequoits (18-2 overall) were 6-0 in Northern Lake County Conference action to start the week. Antioch played a down-to-the-wire NLCC game against Wauconda recently where Samantha Hillner hit a go-ahead homer to lead off the sixth and erased a 4-3 deficit with a game-ending 2-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
Coach Anthony Rocco noted Claire Schuyler was perfect at shortstop last week, while hitting .429 with 2 doubles.
Brooke White was leading the Sequoits with a .489 batting average (.593 on-base, .766 slugging percentage) and was tied for the team lead in doubles with Tegan Schuler with eight. Schuler was leading the team in runs scored with 28, while HIllner was leading the team with 7 homers, 13 steals and 12 walks. Addison Webb was the team leader in RBI with 26.
Addison Osborne is 8-1 in the circle with 4 saves, while Pearl Wenzel is 7-0 with a save. Wenzel has 86 strikeouts in 51 innings, a 1.37 ERA and opponents are hitting .181 against her.
On the defensive front, Addison Webb had thrown out 9 of 10 baserunners and picked off three more as of earlier in the week. Hillner had allowed only 1 stolen base while catching.
“They both do a great job of calling the game and handling the staff,” Rocco said.
Webb also hadn’t committed an error between catcher and first base. Hillner sported a .970 fielding percentage while starting at first, catcher and third. Webb’s only stolen base allowed came after she gunned down 3 runners earlier in a game. As a team, Antioch has stolen 75 bases, while allowing opposing teams to steal 4 bases.
Antioch, which was in the midst of a 10-game winning streak to start the week, recently swept Lake Park in a doubleheader.
Carmel Catholic update: Grace King has not struck out at the plate through the Corsairs’ first 16 games. She’s hitting .553 with 21 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers and 14 runs scored.
“Grace King has been tearing it up recently both defensively and offensively,” Carmel coach Nicole Parney said. “Behind the plate, she has been a stabilizing force and leader for our pitching staff. Offensively, she has great discipline at the plate and finds a way on base each game.”
Bella Cameron has 46 strikeouts in 60 innings and sported a 6-4 record with a 3.50 ERA to start the week. Kate Buckingham was lauded for her exceptional play in the outfield.
“Kate has been making great plays,” Parney said. “She is covering a lot of ground consistently and her strong arm and accurate throws are keeping runners from taking extra bases.”
Grayslake Central update: The Rams went 4-1 during a recent 5-game stretch to move to 7-12 overall and 3-4 in Northern Lake County play.
“The conference has been very competitive so far with quite a bit of back and forth over the last 2 weeks,” Central coach Jim Plaza said. “The last few weeks should determine quite a bit in terms of standings as we play each other a second time.”
Junior outfielder Autumn Aliff was leading the team with a .482 batting average (.592 on-base percentage) with 27 hits, 6 doubles, 4 homers and 28 runs to go with 13 RBI. Sophomore catcher-third baseman Cameron Marshall and junior shortstop Reese Comerford were tied for the team lead in RBI with 17 each to start the week, while freshman pitcher Hadley Deets had 35 strikeouts in her first 31 2/3 innings of work in the circle.
Defensively, junior catcher Ava Deinken had thrown out 6 of 13 baserunners so far, while Aliff and Marshall have led the team defensively all year, Plaza noted.
Senior infielder Kaitlynne Faust hit .500 last week with 2 homers, a double and 6 RBI. Marshall hit 2 homers and had 10 RBI in the same span while hitting .462. Aliff scored 9 runs, stole 10 bases and hit .417 last week.
Plaza pointed out the Rams scored 47 runs over the five-game run last week and hit 8 homers. Freshman pitcher Abbie Cashmore threw a complete-game, 2-hit shutout against Grayslake North on only 65 pitches, picking up her first varsity win. Plaza added Central’s three pitchers (Deets, Cashmore and sophomore Evie Evert) combined to go 4-1 last week with an ERA just over 3.00, while striking out 28 in 33 innings.
Lake Zurich update: The Bears (9-7, 6-2) kicked off the week in the midst of a tight North Suburban Conference race (Warren started the week in first place with Mundelein in second followed by Lake Zurich).
Riley DeVoss was hitting .435 and also sported a 0.72 ERA in the circle, while Brooklyn Barber was at .395 with 5 home runs.
“Brooklyn has done a great job at shortstop,” Lake Zurich coach Nicole Pieper said. “She has a good range getting balls in the hole to balls up the middle. She is quick on her feet and reads the ball well.”
Claire Kohlman went 2-for-3 in a recent game against Mundelein and “has been solid on defense at third base,” Pieper said.
Cam Lewandowski went 2-for-3 in a NSC game against Warren.
Round Lake update: Panthers coach Dan Berry said freshman third baseman Maihte Larios “is starting to figure things out for us,” he noted. “She has been working hard on her defense all season. She has improved so much. She’s knocking balls down to keep them in the infield and has made some really nice plays in the last 2 weeks.”
Sophomore pitcher Piper Berry has fanned 104 in 55 innings of work. “Piper is pitching very well and fields her position even better,” Dan Berry said. “Her bat is starting to heat up.”
Piper Berry had 5 doubles during a recent 6-game stretch with a 1.308 OPS during that span for the Panthers (0-13, 0-7 Northern Lake County).
Stevenson update: Jasmine Lucero started the week leading the Patriots offensively, hitting .538 with 7 homers and 25 RBI, while Sofia Seyugenc hit .500 (.667 on-base percentage) with a homer and 2 RBI during a recent 2-game span.
Coach Brandon Simmons also lauded the play of center fielder Alyssa Shimanski. “Alyssa is an absolute ball hawk in center field,” he said. “The girls refer to it as a no-fly zone.”
Stevenson started the week 13-3 overall, 5-3 in North Suburban Conference play and on a 2-game winning streak.
Warren Township update: The Blue Devils were in first place in the North Suburban (11-5, 7-1 NSC) to start the week.
“We are working our way through the second round of games with 1 loss through the first go-around,” Blue Devils coach Jenna Charbonneau said. “The NSC is a tough one this year with a lot of experience returning in the top teams. We are hoping for another competitive second time through.”
Sophomore shortstop Cassie Gabbianelli was hitting .368 and slugging .684 with 15 RBI and 11 runs scored, while senior outfielder Annalise Stich was hitting .366 (.634 slug) with 8 RBI and 14 runs scored.
Senior pitcher-first baseman Camryn Guldberg started the week with a 1.000 fielding percentage with 9 assists and 67 putouts when she is at first base. “Camryn does a great job bringing that group together to play as one unit,” said Charbonneau, whose team was on a recent 3-game winning streak.
Also of note, Lauren Jaronik went 3-for-3 with 2 homers and 4 RBI against Lake Forest. “Lauren had a great game,” Charbonneau said.