Softball
The IHSA’s announcement Monday that high school softball pitchers will move 3 feet farther away from batters when they begin the season next spring did not come as much of a surprise.
WOODSTOCK – When tryouts for Team Illinois were first announced, local softball players took the opportunity seriously.
One of the first lessons Jake Goebbert has learned about professional baseball is geography.
When you’re surrounded by good players, Mike Buck insists, coaching them isn’t that difficult.
NORTHWEST HERALD All-AREA SOFTBALL TEAM
The final numbers were not the only defining characteristics of Johanna Turner’s season when Prairie Ridge softball coach Mike Buck sat down and began examining Turner’s year.
If she couldn’t travel to East Peoria with her Crystal Lake South teammates to play in the state finals, Kaitlin Hardie figured she went there for the second-best reason.
JOLIET – Kevin O’Rourke allowed one run in 61⁄3 innings, and Grayslake Central defeated LaSalle-Peru, 9-1, on Saturday in the third-place game of the IHSA Class 3A Baseball State Tournament at Silver Cross Field.
JOLIET – Joliet Catholic’s Kendall Paluch struck out seven and allowed five hits as the Hilltoppers defeated Grayslake Central, 4-1, in their IHSA Class 3A Baseball State Tournament semifinal Friday at Silver Cross Field.
Strength wasn’t Amanda Voss’ biggest asset when she first stepped onto campus last fall at Southwest Minnesota State University.
BARRINGTON – With two runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday, a three-run deficit standing between Prairie Ridge’s softball team and a trip to the state semifinals, coach Mike Buck did not panic.
Today’s Supersectional game might be the most important of any of their softball careers, but Prairie Ridge’s players are content to keep their usual routines.
WOODSTOCK – The atmos-phere around Prairie Ridge’s softball players and coach was electric, a product of the noise created by their boisterous fans, but the Wolves were in their own quiet zones Saturday morning.
When each member of the Prairie Ridge girls softball team wakes up this morning, it will be impossible to downplay the day’s importance.
WOODSTOCK – The seniors on Huntley’s softball team spent the past four seasons building the program into one worthy of attention and respect.
LAKE VILLA – Aaron Snyder struck out nine, and Grayslake Central’s baseball team defeated Lakes, 2-0, in the IHSA Class 3A Lakes Sectional semifinal.
MARENGO – Vernon Hills’ Anna Christensen tested Marengo center fielder Alysa Grude’s arm twice Wednesday.
WOODSTOCK – As soon as the softball was securely inside first baseman Erin Smith’s glove for the final out of the game, Prairie Ridge’s Johanna Turner leaned back, took a deep breath and grinned as her teammates ran to her side.
When the goal to win a sectional game has eluded the Huntley softball team for three years, there is no looking too far into the future.
Comparing this year’s Marengo softball team to its predecessor is becoming obsolete.
Capturing the program’s first regional title was one on a long list of goals Prairie Ridge’s softball team wanted to accomplish this season.
The Illinois Alleycats 18 and older women’s fastpitch softball team will include three area players – Heather Gradishar (Marian Central), Marissa Osness (Woodstock) and Shannon Stipek (Richmond-Burton).
MARENGO – The Marengo softball team did just about everything right Saturday, much to the dismay of visiting Belvidere.
LENA – The greatest baseball season in Alden-Hebron’s history ended in heartbreaking fashion Saturday in the IHSA Class 1A Lena-Winslow Sectional championship game.
ROCKFORD – Pitcher Sam Clemons said Huntley remained a relative unknown when it came to success in athletics.
McHENRY – Prairie Ridge’s Lexi Wachman provided the offensive spark, Lauren Seegers provided three RBIs, and Johanna Turner provided the shutdown pitching performance.
The first time Lizzie Andrews and Sarah Waylock were teammates, they barely got to know each other.
BURLINGTON – Hampshire pitcher Ally Kent wanted the outside corner. She rarely got it, something Kaneland noticed after only a few batters.
McHENRY – Kaitlin Hardie only hoped that Thursday would be the start of a positive postseason for her and her teammates.
Harvard’s Cody Kramer left nothing to chance Thursday at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet.
RICHMOND – Johnsburg sophomore Mary Kate Wright had not reached base in her first two at-bats Wednesday in the IHSA Class 3A Richmond-Burton Regional.
WAUCONDA – The No. 4-seeded Crystal Lake Central softball team had a one-run lead and only two outs to go to beat top-seeded Wauconda on Tuesday in the IHSA Class 3A Wauconda Regional semifinal.
ROCKFORD – Samantha Clemons’ five-inning no-hitter and a 15-hit offense helped Huntley’s softball team defeat Guilford, 15-1, on Tuesday in the IHSA Class 4A Guilford Regional semifinals.
MCHENRY – Top-seeded Prairie Ridge let fourth-seeded McHenry off the hook once during Tuesday’s IHSA Class 4A McHenry Regional semifinal softball game.
McHENRY – Nikki Ramsay wasn’t worried that her lead-off double in the bottom of the eighth inning Monday would be wasted.
ELGIN – An emotionally draining week for Alden-Hebron baseball coach Ken Winkelman and the Giants ended in uplifting fashion Saturday in the IHSA Class 1A Westminster Christian Regional.
McHENRY – McHenry senior pitcher Sarah Boyer stood on the mound with her team leading Jacobs by two runs in a game to decide the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division softball title, then took a long deep breath.
Alden-Hebron senior Tina Finley competed in the Class 1A 100- and 200-meter dashes Thursday at the IHSA Girls Track and Field State Meet in Charleston.
MARENGO – Positives. Marengo’s softball team was looking for positives.
POPLAR GROVE – Harvard’s girls softball team opened postseason play Wednesday with a 10-0, five-inning victory against Rockford Lutheran at the IHSA Class 2A North Boone Regional. Sam Herley had three hits and four RBIs to lead the Hornets (7-15).
Athlete of the week
ALGONQUIN – If there were any nervous feelings entering Katie Kirker’s varsity debut against Crystal Lake South, the Jacobs freshman pitcher did not show them.
HUNTLEY – The Prairie Ridge softball team’s undefeated conference record was in jeopardy in the final inning of Wednesday’s Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game against Huntley.
MACHENSEY PARK – The McHenry girls soccer team didn’t look like a lowly No. 4 seed Tuesday.
WOODSTOCK – Marian Central’s girls soccer team advanced to the IHSA Class 2A Marian Central Regional championship game with a 4-0 win Monday against fourth-seeded Johnsburg (1-15-1).
CARY – It was Megan Hardie’s day Monday against Cary-Grove.
MARENGO – As time wound down in Saturday’s regional opener against Burlington Central, Marengo girls soccer coach Brandon Holton was starting to lose hope with his team trailing by a goal.
RICHMOND – Flying out to center in the bottom of the seventh inning was not the outcome Lauren Richert had envisioned from her fourth time at the plate Thursday.
Athlete of the week
MARENGO – Marengo’s softball team made it to last season’s IHSA Class 3A state tournament behind great pitching.
