Former FVC stars win title at Heartland

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

The first time Lizzie Andrews and Sarah Waylock were teammates, they barely got to know each other.

“My first travel team experience was with [Sarah],” said Andrews, a Jacobs graduate who played on the same Crystal Lake Tidal Waves softball team at age 10. “I was so shy. I didn’t talk to anybody for, like, two months.”

After their softball experience this spring, Andrews and Waylock, a Cary-Grove grad, will have plenty to talk about for years.

The former Fox Valley Conference standouts combined to drive in 99 runs this season and helped Heartland Community College’s softball team to the NJCAA Division II national championship May 16.

“I loved every single day,” said Waylock, a sophomore third baseman who led the team with 55 RBIs and seven triples while hitting .355. “I couldn’t pick one (favorite) part. I love everything about Heartland softball.”

The 2-year-old program at Heartland, which is in Bloomington, finished third in the nation last season.

“We knew we always had next year,” said Waylock, an honorable mention All-Mid-West Athletic Conference player.

Heartland’s “next year” included a 50-8 record and a big contribution from Andrews, a freshman outfielder who was Waylock’s roommate.

Batting second, Andrews hit .432 with 54 RBIs and a team-high 22 doubles. She was a first-team all-conference player and earned Region 24 Player of the Year honors.

In the five-game national tournament this month, Andrews hit .438 and Waylock hit .375 to help Heartland go 5-0 and outscore its opponents, 26-5.

Waylock went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, and Andrews was 2-for-4 and scored a run in Heartland’s 4-1 national championship game win against Phoenix College.

“I’ve got to give the players all the credit for our success,” said Heartland coach Shea Wesley, whose 2010 roster will include incoming freshman Erika Trojan of Prairie Ridge. “Sarah learned so much over the last two years. She really took on a leadership role. ... (Lizzie) is always upbeat and has a nose for the ball. She really took charge of the outfield.”

On Wednesday, Waylock committed to NCAA Division II Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.

But before Waylock leaves for school in the fall, she will team up with Andrews again as co-workers at Bloomington Country Club this summer.

“We get along so well, and we’re always talking about softball,” Andrews said.

C-G grad is EIU’s best: Senior center fielder Brett Nommensen was named Eastern Illinois’ Senior Male Athlete of the Year at the school’s annual senior barbecue in Charleston.

Nommensen was one of 10 position players in the country to be named to Baseball America’s Midseason All-American Team in April. A day before the honor, Nommensen suffered a broken bone in his right wrist, which caused him to undergo surgery April 21 and miss a month.

In his first start since the injury, Nommensen went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in Eastern’s 5-4 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament loss to Murray State last week.

The Panthers (36-14) won the OVC regular-season title, but went 0-2 in the league tournament.

While playing in 31 games, Nommensen batted .525 with a career-high 11 homers. He also posted a 1.010 slugging percentage and a .652 on-base percentage.

Tropp among tops in NAC: Woodstock grad Zach Tropp was named honorable mention All-Northern Athletics Conference after helping D-III Concordia University in River Forest to its first NCAA baseball tournament appearance in school history.

Tropp, a three-year starter at second base, batted .340 for the Cougars (33-15) with 10 doubles, 26 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

Tropp batted .333 in the conference tournament to help Concordia win the title and earn the NCAA berth. The Cougars went 0-2 in the NCAAs.

St. Joseph standout: Senior pitcher Chase Sonen had a team-best 3.73 ERA this spring for D-II St. Joseph’s (Ind.) College’s baseball team. Sonen, a Cary-Grove grad, was 5-3 with 65 strikeouts in 622⁄3 innings.

Crystal Lake South grad Mike Burton, a sophomore pitcher, made five appearances out of the bullpen for the Pumas (32-20).

Fixture behind the plate: Johnsburg grad Michael Letzter started 45 games at catcher this spring for D-I Butler’s baseball team. Letzter ranked second for the Bulldogs (13-41) with a .421 slugging percentage. He batted .289 with seven doubles and 20 RBIs.

• Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.