THE INSIDER: Softball
By JAY SCHWAB
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jschwab@kcchronicle.com
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Katie Luetkens, Batavia, Jr., OF
What she did: Luetkens made a superb, diving catch in deep center field to preserve Batavia’s lead on Thursday in an eventual 4-1 Bulldogs victory against Geneva. Luetkens also was the first link of an 8-4-2 putout at the plate one batter before.
Coach Lee Pedraza says: “I’ve never seen a catch that spectacular in center field before. That is a highlight in my mind by far.”
HIGH FIVE
1. St. Charles East (7-4). The Saints have received contributions up and down the lineup, and earned a split against a formidable Wheaton North team on Saturday.
2. Kaneland (10-4). After hitting a rough patch, Kaneland is surging, fresh off a sweep against Maine West on Saturday.
3. Batavia (7-7). The Bulldogs will have something going if their recent defensive uptick has staying power because the Bulldogs’ have the lineup to score runs.
4. St. Charles North (6-5). North saw the feel-good side of .500 for the first time after a doubleheader sweep on Saturday against Glenbard East.
5. Geneva (record N/A). Batavia stopped Geneva’s winning streak on Thursday, then the Vikings had their crack at another Tri-Cities foe delayed when Monday's game at St. Charles East was moved to May 11 due to weather.
NOTEWORTHY
Not bad for No. 9: Batavia fans might have done a double-take on Thursday when senior shortstop Alexa Schofield was slotted No. 9 in the Batavia batting order.
Schofield, who was at the top of the order early in the season, is one of the Bulldogs’ most established hitters.
If Schofield was miffed, she took it out on Geneva pitching, going 3-for-3 with an RBI single against the Vikings.
“We look at 8 and 9 hitters as leadoff hitters again for us,” Bulldogs coach Lee Pedraza said. “We don’t look at 8 and 9 as where you put your worst hitters. We look at 8 and 9 as, a lot of times, they will come and start innings for you.
“That’s why we look to put strong people that make contact at 8 and 9, and that’s why we had Alexa there.”
Pedraza said he shook up the order because Schofield had been struggling for a few games but is not committed to leaving her in the 9-hole.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Pedraza said. “We’re flexible. That’s what’s good about this team. We have a lot of players that can play one or two positons at least, and we’re flexible in the batting order. A lot of girls can bunt, a lot of girls can swing away, so we’re very open to making changes when necessary.”
Streaking Knights: Kaneland has won five straight games, improving its record to 10-4.
The biggest factor, according to Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen, is an offense that is swinging the bats with greater authority than the early going.
“Hopefully we can continue this because our pitching is pretty solid and Delani [Vest] and Mallory [Huml] are really throwing well right now,” Hansen said.
Sara Rose is particularly hot lately but Hansen said contributions are coming up and down the lineup.
“It seems right now we’re in a pretty good groove,” Hansen said.
Kaneland will try to keep its surge going this week against Western Sun Conference foes Sycamore and Rochelle before a Saturday non-conference doubleheader with Woodstock.
‘In the back pocket’: St. Charles North (6-5) is over .500 for the first time this season at 6-5 after a rocky start.
North coach April Stary said her team still has small ball “in its back pocket” but has benefited largely from her girls taking more aggressive rips.
“I’ve got some kids that are hitting the daylights out of the ball when need be, and we’ve had ‘need be’ quite a lot,” Stary said.
Amanda Engel and the rest of North’s pitchers also have been sharper, and appear more confident in the defense behind them, Stary said. North committed only three total errors during a recent four-game stretch, excluding a poor defensive game in a loss to Lake Park.
– Jay Schwab, jschwab@kcchronicle.com
COACH SLY SAYS
There isn’t a juggernaut softball team around the Tri-Cities, but you know what, it’s still a nice season for softball around these parts. We have several above-average teams that should finish with winning records and are capable of doing a little postseason damage. Let’s face it: a softball team can only go so far without an ace pitcher that is completely light’s out, and those are hard to come by.
