DuPage County softball notes; IC Catholic Prep takes aim at long run in 2A postseason
And just like that, softball teams around the area are preparing for the postseason.
Class 1A and 2A seeding meetings were held earlier this week and IC Catholic Prep not only earned the No. 1 seed in its Class 2A subsectional but the Knights, who host a regional the week of May 15, would appear to have a clear path to at least a berth in a supersectional.
The Knights own a 17-2 record through Tuesday and are 7-0 in the Metro Suburban Conference, one game ahead of Elmwood Park, a team IC finishes the regular season with on May 15.
IC coach Sarah Palandri is hoping her team's strong schedule will pay dividends come postseason time. The Knights' only losses are to St. Viator, 6-3, and to Andrean of Merrillville, IN, on March 25. IC is currently on a 7-game winning streak.
"We have a packed schedule these next two weeks," Palandri said. "This weekend is our Knight Invite and we play in Rock Island at the Rockridge Spring Classic next weekend.
"We are playing competitively and are looking forward to finishing the regular season and starting postseason play."
Junior Analisa Raffaelli leads the Knights offensively. She's hitting .603 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI. She also has 22 stolen bases. Juniors Angelina Dwyer (. 569) and Kayla Carrillo (. 556, 28 RBI) are also top hitters. Senior Riley Venn has a team-high 36 hits.
On the mound, freshman Madelynn Dinino is 8-0 with a 2.23 ERA while Dwyer is 5-0 with a 2.81 ERA.
ICCP will host its annual Youth Night May 11. Youth players in grades 5-8 are welcome to stop in and meet the coaches and players. More information can be found on the IC Catholic Prep website.
More seeding news:
Westmont is the sectional host for local Class 2A teams. In addition to ICCP getting the No. 1 seed in its subsectional, Montini (10-8) is the No. 2 seed, Timothy Christian (8-6) is No. 3, Westmont (0-12) No. 4 and Lisle (1-17), a regional host, is No. 5. In the other subsectional, Chicago Rickover Naval Academy (8-2) is the No. 1 seed. On the other side of the bracket, in the Pontiac sectional, Herscher (17-4) and Beecher (22-2) are the top subsectional seeds that feed to the Benedictine supersectional.
Lake Park update:
The Lancers (14-6-1, 5-3 DuKane Conference) continue to get strong play from senior Michela Barbanente and junior Kylie Pytlak. Both have an OPS over 1.400. Barbanente has been on base 40 times and scored 33 runs.
"When Michela is on base our run production has been high," said coach Tom Mazzie.
Senior Mia Giammarese and senior Cailynn Gdowski have also been coming on strong offensively, Mazzie said.
"We have used sophomore Ari O'Connell all over the field and she is one of our best defenders regardless of the position she plays. Our senior pitchers (Mia Giammarese and Mia Savage) have kept us in games in the circle. In a brutal conference we have stayed afloat to this point and look to get on a roll this week."
That roll started on Tuesday with a 15-11 win over St. Charles East. The Lancers take on Batavia, Glenbrook North this week as well.
Glenbard East update:
The Rams (9-8, 5-6 Upstate Eight) have been led of late by junior Maddie Howell, who is hitting .583 over the last two weeks, with 14 hits in eight games.
Melissa Saldana pitched 5 innings in a rain-shortened game vs. Payton College Prep, with 12 Ks and 1 ER. She is also hitting over .500 during the two-week time frame. Sophia Opila is leading the team with a .636 OBP during the same two-week time frame.
"Although it took a little while for our players to find their footing, I am really proud of our growth this spring," said Rams coach Victor Swanson. "We are starting to play to our potential and I am excited to see where that takes us. Defensively Maddie Howell, Kylie White, and Melissa Saldana have been great."
Naperville Central update:
The Redhawks are 10-13 overall and 4-3 in the DuPage Valley.
Jamie Saran had 7 RBI against DeKalb in a 13-7 win recently. She went 4-for-4 on the day, with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and a walk. On the season, she is hitting .449, with 8 doubles, a triple, and 6 home runs Last year as a freshman, she hit 12 home runs in the month of April.
Naperville North update:
The Huskies (13-4, 6-0) continue to lead the DuPage Valley by 2 games and had a 7-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's DVC tilt at DeKalb. On Thursday, North plays at Naperville Central as part of DVC Cares Night, which supports Mutual Ground in Aurora.
"Shayna Woolwine is starting to hit her stride and making a big impact in games," said NN coach Jerry Kedziora of his senior pitcher. "It is good to see her pitching to her potential, even if she has had the to do this in the worst weather conditions.
"It has been a team effort in all these games as all 13 girls on the roster have contributed in some way, each game. Senior Ellie Goff has come in and made some big plays offensively and defensively when called upon."
Fenton update:
Fenton is currently 8-14-1 overall and 3-7 in the Upstate Eight.
"The past two weeks we went 2-6-1 with wins over Streamwood and Proviso East, a tie against Speer Academy and losses to Larkin, West Chicago, Lake Forest, Bartlett, Glenbard East and Glenbard South," said Bison coach Dave Mello. "On the positive side, we did average almost 5 runs per game in our losses. We just need to keep improving in the circle and with our defense to give us more opportunities to win some of those games."
Mello said a bright spot for the Bison this season has been the pitching of sophomore Valeria Banuelos.
"Val did not pitch at all as a freshman but has thrown 23.1 innings this season," the coach said. "She has faced Marengo, Whitney Young, West Chicago and Bartlett to name a few. When called upon, she just goes out and throws strikes and gets outs. It has been huge for our team."
West Chicago update:
The Wildcats have gone 5-2 over their last seven games to forge above .500 on the season at 12-9 (6-3 UEC).
"We had a nine-inning loss to Bartlett 4-3 and faced an excellent South Elgin team and lost 4-0," said coach Sean Gimpert. "We had a strong win over the weekend against Geneva 20-9 where we hit 4 home runs. As a team we hit 10 home runs the last two weeks and are hitting 431 as a team. We have already passed last year's team home run total.
"Jasmyn Trigueros has been leading the team in the circle with a 1.22 ERA over the last two weeks and only walking 2 in 28 innings. We are playing well and hoping to keep improving as we make our push toward the playoffs."
Glenbard North update:
The Panthers are 9-4-1 overall and 2-3 in the DuKane Conference.
"Over the past two weeks we have gone 3-4-1," said GN coach Josh Sanew. "We have played some tough teams. We won 7-3 vs Metea Valley, 7-2 vs Wheaton Warrenville South, and we won 13-2 vs. Resurrection. We lost 11-8 to Lake Park, lost 9-4 to Wheaton North, lost 9-0 to St. Charles East, and lost 16-0 to St. Charles North. We tied 6-6 vs. South Elgin (called due to hail/snow).
"We have hit 7 home runs over our last 2 games. Gia Whelan hit three, Avery Miller one, Ava Kozlovsky two and Tru Medina hit one. Elizabeth Welch, Hailey Noll, Lauren Kozlovsky, and Chloe D'Alexander have been hot the past couple of games."
Sanew is waiting for his team to come together.
"We have a very nice all-around team," he said "When we play together defensively and offensively we can compete with most teams. I like the way we cleaned it up defensively. This is a great group of kids and once they put it all together they will be very tough to beat."
Downers Grove North update:
The Trojans are 10-6-1 and lead the West Suburban Silver at 5-0.
"We're hitting very well and pitching very well," said DGN coach Eric Landschoot, whose team sports a 423 average as a team with a .488 OBP.
Sophomore Ashlynn Durkin has pitched 16.2 innings and allowed 0 earned runs with 35 Ks and junior Ava Gusel has pitched 15 innings and allowed 4 earned runs with 26 Ks (1.86 ERA).
"We're playing very well at the right time," Landschoot said. "We have been getting great pitching all season, but now we are also getting some timely hitting. With the pitching depth we have, if we hit even a little bit, we should win most games."
Hinsdale Central update:
Hinsdale Central has had a bumpy last few games resulting in a record of 7-7.
"However as a coach, I could not be more proud of the growth I have seen out of my team, specifically, off the field," said Red Devils coach Brittany Zust. "The reason so many of us get involved with high school athletics is because we know what it does in preparing athletes for life; how to pick yourself up from failure and how to rebound from defeat. No one ever wants to talk about the losses but often times the losses is what gives us the greatest opportunity for growth. These girls are working hard to make sure they give it all they have when they step on the field. At the end of the day, that is the most important aspect you can take away in life- give it all that you've got."