THE INSIDER: SOFTBALL
By JAY SCHWAB
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jschwab@kcchronicle.com
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Gaby Moe, St. Charles East, Jr., P
What she did: Moe turned in an excellent outing in the Saints’ season debut, a 1-0 East win against Glenbard North on Thursday. Moe fired a two-hit shutout, striking out five and walking two.
Coach Kelly Barnett says: “Of course she worked really hard in the summer and winter to add to her pitches but now Gaby’s an older player, and she thinks things through more. That comes with maturity.”
THE HIGH FIVE
1. St. Charles North. Although the North Stars opened with a frustrating, 6-5 loss to Wheaton Warrenville South, North has the personnel to push toward a 20-win season.
2. St. Charles East. Kelly Barnett didn’t have to wait long to pick up her first win as head coach. A crack at a second win has taken longer after a pair of cancellations.
3. Kaneland. The Knights’ defense has been suspect so far, but if they can cut down on the miscues, the combination of senior pitcher Mallory Huml and a capable lineup should lead to a solid season.
4. Batavia. Sophomore third baseman Christine Lynam is off to a good start, counting a triple among her pair of hits in an opening Bulldogs loss to Minooka.
5. Geneva. It’s been a rocky start for the Vikings, who have been outscored 10-1 in a pair of losses against Benet Academy and West Aurora.
NOTEWORTHY
Split decision: Although Geneva junior pitcher Kristyn Ruitenberg has started both games for the Vikings, coach Greg Dierks expects about a 50-50 split on the rubber this season between Ruitenberg and sophomore Kelly McCaffrey.
McCaffrey was scheduled to start Monday’s game against Sandwich, which was postponed due to poor field conditions. McCaffrey also threw three scoreless innings of relief against West Aurora, and has started a junior varsity game.
McCaffrey gained ample experience as a freshman last season, becoming a workhorse after Ruitenberg broke her hand early in the season. Dierks expects McCaffrey to be a different pitcher this spring as a result.
“If there’s one change from last year to this year it’s just, I think, Kelly’s confidence is much higher,” Dierks said.
Ruitenberg and McCaffrey take similar approaches, owing much of their success to pitch location and changing speeds.
“They need to be sharp to be effective, and we need to play good defense behind both,” Dierks said.
Both could also use a little more support from the Geneva bats. Facing high-caliber pitching in losses to Benet Academy and West Aurora, the Vikings have just one run on the season.
Quick decision: St. Charles East called off today’s scheduled game with Sycamore a day early in anticipation of rain.
“We thought with any rain our field wouldn’t be ready to go,” East coach Kelly Barnett said.
While the Sycamore game has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, East’s scheduled game with Burlington Central on Monday, also postponed, might be harder to make up.
“It’s disappointing because they’re such a great, quality team,” Barnett said. “Who wouldn’t want to play them?”
Missing stars: Central pitching ace Mackenzie Scott, recovering from shin splints, saw her first action of the season on Saturday against West Aurora.
Despite pitching four scoreless innings of relief, Scott was not as dominant as usual, according to Rockets coach Scot Sutherland.
“She hasn’t pitched for a couple weeks so she isn’t what she’s capable of being by any stretch of the imagination right now,” Sutherland said.
Sutherland said he is unsure when Scott will make her first start. In the meantime, junior Jet Kein has done a solid job for the Rockets (3-1).
“Hopefully she’s going to take the bull by the horns with Mac not being 100 percent and take every opportunity she gets, and make the best of it,” Sutherland said.
Another area standout, South Elgin’s Kim Pierce, has yet to play this season while recovering from the flu. Storm coach Jason Schaal said his Indiana State-bound slugger might have played Saturday at the Jacobs Invite but the dreary weather made for an easier decision.
“She wants to have a big year,” Schaal said of Pierce. “She wants to continue to improve to continue her career at the next level.”
COACH SLY SAYS
The area is heavy on control pitches this season, so opponents’ strikeout totals might be a bit down around the Tri-Cities. More importantly, there will be lots of pressure on teams’ defenses. Keeping errors to a minimum will be a must for most of our teams, or it could be a difficult spring.
Boring or not, Coach Sly would spend a lot of that extra indoor practice time on rain days drilling defensive fundamentals over and over and over.
For more of Coach Sly’s thoughts, go to kcchronicle.com/blogs/coachsly/.
– Jay Schwab, jschwab@kcchronicle.com
