Scouting the Mid-Suburban League championship
Scouting the 39th annual Mid-Suburban League Softball championship
Where: Conant High School
When: 4:45 p.m. today
Who: MSL West champion Conant (28-2, 16-0) hosts MSL East champion Elk Grove (25-7, 14-2).
Defending champion: Conant defeated Elk Grove 5-1 last year.
History: Elk Grove is making its 18th appearance in the game (12 of the last 13) while Conant is making its second straight and third overall (1974 under coach Barb Bostian).
Coaches: Elk Grove’s Ken Grams (771 wins in 32 seasons) is assisted by Dick Trent; Conant’s Cathyann Smith (215 wins in 11 seasons) is assisted by Kelly Wolff.
First meeting: On April 14, Conant led 6-1 after five innings and then held off the Grens’ seventh-inning rally in which they scored 3 runs.
“We’ve got to come out early in this game like we finished in that game,” said Grens senior pitcher Dani Goranson (1.44 ERA, 222 strikeouts in 151 innings). “Playing against Conant is always challenging but we accept the challenge. It’s going to be a good competitive game. It’s always fun. After the last game, we were hoping that would not be the last time we’d play them. So now we get another chance. It should be a fun game.”
Goranson had 12 strikeouts in that game. Cougars senior pitcher Briana Cavin threw a 6-hitter and had 4 strikeouts. Her team gave her 5 runs after three innings, including a 2-run homer by first baseman Telly Hunter. “We definitely know Elk Grove is one of the toughest teams to play,” said Brian Cavin (1.19 ERA, 231 strikeouts in 170 innings). “We know we need to be focused and have our minds in the game. We need to come out strong and make sure we score first. We must play strong as a team. There’s definitely talent on both teams. So that makes for great competition.”
The hitters: Elk Grove’s .300 hitters: senior Dani Goranson (. 462), senior Megan Keegan (. 420), senior catcher Devan Parkison (.418), sophomore Becca Maher (. 377), senior Krista Soesbe (. 356), senior Carly Danek (.337), senior Tori Liewergen (. 338), junior Elisa Payne (.333), senior Andrea Starr (.321), senior Becca Walz (.307); Conant’s .300 hitters: junior catcher Miranda Cavin (. 546), sophomore second baseman Rachel O’Malley (. 404), senior shortstop Allie Bauch (.396), senior third baseman Kim Jacobson (. 371), senior pitcher Briana Cavin (. 366), junior center fielder Sarah Thompson (. 349) and senior pitcher Shannon O’Connor (. 310), who also owns a 3-0 record on the mound.
Playing long ball: Conant has set a school record this season with 33 home runs. Leading the way are Miranda Cavin (9), Rachel O’Malley (8), sophomore first baseman Telly Hunter (5), Briana Cavin (5), Kim Jacobson (4), Allie Bauch (1) and senior Megan Reff (1). Leading Elk Grove are Dani Goranson (6), Megan Keegan (3), Becca Walz (3), Devan Parkison (1) and Andrea Starr (1), who also owns a 5-1 pitching record.
Stat leaders: Conant is led by Allie Bauch in runs (41), Miranda Cavin in RBI (57). Following Miranda Cavin in RBI are Rachel O’Malley (36), Kim Jacobson (32), Briana Cavin (26) and Telly Hunter (22). Dani Goranson leads Elk Grove in on-base percentage (561), runs (39) and doubles (9). She is tied with Devan Parkison for the team lead in RBI (24).
Top-of-the-line talent: Seven players in the game have committed to Division I programs: Briana Cavin (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Miranda Cavin (Oklahoma State), Kim Jacobson (Creighton), Rachel O’Malley (Radford), Dani Goranson (Michigan State), Megan Keegan (North Dakota) and Carly Danek (Villanova).
Coaches corner
Conant’s Cathyann Smith: The girls are very excited to be playing for the second year in a row. They set a goal to be playing again in the conference championship game for this season right from the start. Elk Grove is a truly talented team. We know that in order to play with them, we need to be focused and sharp for all seven innings. You cannot let down ever against Elk Grove. Staying disciplined at the plate will be a key factor.”
Elk Grove’s Ken Grams: “Going back to last year, we split our two games with Conant and the girls would like to be able to do that again this season. We felt like we were right there last time. We fell by only two runs and we were sitting there at the end with a chance to tie or get the lead. It was a good, close game. We just look at this as another opportunity to play a meaningful game against a good team.
“We are familiar with Conant and its abilities. In order to beat a team like Conant we have to have full concentration and pay attention to the task at hand on every pitch offensively and defensively. You just can’t relax against them. I think you’ve got two very talented teams with dominant pitchers. It will be a matter of which team is able to take advantage of the opportunities it gets because those will be limited with these type of pitchers.”
The mottos
Elk Grove players have T-shirts stating Play one. Win one. As one. “We try to preach that we are all in this together and the girls believe it,” said Elk Grove coach Ken Grams. “That’s how it has gone for us this season.”
Conant’s theme has been It takes all 12. “We have really utilized that motto,” said Cougars coach Cathyann Smith. “It’s been things such as getting Elisa Ambrose’s game-winning hit against Palatine (in the tenth inning) or Megan Reff’s big contribution earlier in the season. These girls don’t believe in the possibility of defeat. They work hard in every practice and know how to pick each other up if things falter. We have strong chemistry. We have focused on taking each day one play, one inning, one game at a time.
— John Leusch