Scouting Northwest softball sectional championships
At Schaumburg
Who: No. 1 Elk Grove (32-4) vs. No. 2 St. Charles North (29-3)
When: 11 a.m. today
Where: Connie Rahn Field at Schaumburg High School
How they got here: Elk Grove beat No. 16 Schaumburg 2-0 and No. 8 Glenbard West 4-2 to win the Proviso West regional and beat No. 5 West Chicago 1-0 in the sectional semifinal; St. Charles North beat No. 18 Glenbard East 5-0 and No. 7 Lake Park 11-1 to win the St. Charles East regional and beat No. 6 Leyden 3-2 (10 innings) in the sectional semifinal.
What to watch for: Elk Grove is looking for its fourth sectional crown and second in a row under Hall of Fame coach Ken Grams, a veteran of 31 seasons with 743 wins. The Grens’ No. 2 hitting Devan Parkison (.386, 17 RBI) doubled sharply to left field with one out in the bottom of the first in Wednesday’s sectional semifinal win and came home on two illegal pitches for the game’s only run. Among the other key hitters for Elk Grove are pitcher and Michigan State-recruit Dani Goranson (batting close to .500 with 29 RBI), Kristen Cetkovic (.394, 35 RBI, 7 home runs), Megan Keegan (.357, 9 home runs, 36 RBI) and Jessica Balzano (.386). Goranson (29-4 has tied the school record for single-season wins and owns an 0.80 ERA with 245 strikeouts in 183 innings. Balzano will be facing two of her future Loyola teammates in St. Charles North pitcher Amanda Ciran (21-1, 0.96 ERA, 136 strikeouts, 155.1 innings) and North Stars catcher Annie Korth (.351, 2 home runs). Other .400 hitters for St. Charles North are Taylor Russell (.470, 42 RBI), Ashlky Seering (.469, 38 RBI), Sydney Russell (.455, 20 RBI) and Loren Cihlar (.390). Cihlar scored the winning run in Thursday’s 3-2 sectional semifinal win when she came home on Nicole Capone’s bunt in the bottom of the 10th inning. Ciran threw a 5-hitter with 6 strikeouts. The North Stars are looking for their first sectional crown.
Advancement: The winner advances to Monday’s 6:15 p.m. DeKalb supersectional at Northern Illinois University against the champion of the Rockford Guilford sectional between Cary-Grove and DeKalb.
At Warren
Who: No. 1 Fremd (28-5-1) vs. No. 3 Lake Zurich Zurich (23-7)
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Warren High School in Gurnee
How they got here: Fremd beat No. 17 Libertyville 11-1 and No. 10 Mundelein 4-3 to win the Mundelein regional and beat No. 4 Barrington 4-1 in the sectional semifinal; Lake Zurich beat No. 14 Hersey 6-2 and No. 11 Carmel 7-1 to win the Hersey regional and beat No. 2 Palatine 4-0 in the sectional semifinal.
What to watch for: Lake Zurich is seeking its third sectional crown in school history and first since 2003. The Bears feature senior pitching standout Megan Mattera (18-7, 1.67 ERA, 163 strikeouts), who can also hit (.408, 8 home runs, 29 RBI, 7 doubles and .845 slugging percentage). Another top hitter is senior catcher Paige Goldberg (.405), who has been injured with an ankle sprain the past three weeks but returned last Saturday for the regional championship. Freshman third baseman Maria Schroeder is batting .385 with a team-leading 29 runs. Junior Alli McGinnis is hitting .375 and freshman second baseman Carlee Parsons is at .368 with 9 doubles and 22 runs. Junior Kelly Neises is sidelined with a high ankle sprain. She was a leader in the outfielder and hit .411 with a team-leading 39 hits. Fremd (28-5-1) avenged 2 regular-season losses against Barrington to win its sectional semifinal 4-1. Now in his 10th season, Vikings coach Jim Weaver has directed his team to 24 or more wins nine times, back-to-back sectional crowns and eight regional crowns. The Vikings were a state finalist the last two seasons in East Peoria (second last year and third in 2009). Weaver has received double-digit wins from junior Rachel Doering and sophomore Ashlynne Schwantz. Doering threw a 5-hitter with 2 strikeouts in the Vikings’ win over Barrington.
Advancement: The winner advances to Monday’s 4:30 p.m. Glenbrook South supersectional against the champion of the New Trier sectional between New Trier and Glenbrook South.