SOFTBALL INSIDER
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Katie Stengler, St. Charles East, Jr., P
What she did: Stengler, who has been behind Gaby Moe on the Saints’ pitching depth chart for much of the spring, pitched 17 innings of one-run ball on Saturday, helping the Saints win the East Invitational.
Coach Kelly Barnett says: "I have two No. 1s, and Katie's thrown really well. It's good to have that."
HIGH FIVE
1. St. Charles East (14-5-1). Nothing beats winning your own tourney – except for winning a conference title and advancing deep in the postseason, realistic goals for East.
2. Kaneland (14-5). The Knights have surged to nine wins in their last 10 games entering today’s game with Geneva.
3. St. Charles North (12-7). The North Stars’ saw their momentum slowed on Saturday when a shortage of offense resulted in two losses to Naperville Central.
4. Batavia (10-8). The Bulldogs must ward off rust for the stretch run after the school’s closure leads to a week of no softball.
5. Geneva (11-11). The Vikings have a telling week ahead in WSC play. Pitchers Kristyn Ruitenberg and Kelly McCaffrey have been on their game lately.
NOTEWORTHY
Sophomore surging: Geneva’s climb back to .500 has been aided mightily by sophomore Dori Rogers.
Rogers supplied the only RBI in Wednesday’s 1-0 Geneva win against DeKalb, driving home a runner on third with one out via a ground ball.
On Friday, Rogers continued to showcase a penchant for clutch at-bats, providing a suicide squeeze for what turned into the winning run in the bottom of the sixth as Geneva toppled Rochelle, 3-2.
“She’s very fundamentally sound,” Vikings coach Greg Dierks said. “She’s someone where if she’s up and you go for the suicide squeeze, you know she’s going to get the bunt in play.”
Rogers is also swinging away with success. Rogers had four hits in Geneva's two games on Friday, which also included a win against Oswego.
“She takes good, aggressive at-bats,” Dierks said. “She’s very strong mentally. She’s just got a great attitude. She listens well, she asks questions. When she screws up, she takes responsibility for it. She doesn’t let things bother her really from one at-bat to the next.”
Rogers is also one of the Vikings’ most versatile defenders, allowing Dierks to call on her in both the outfield and infield.
The Vikings have a big week ahead. Games against Kaneland today and Glenbard South on Wednesday and Thursday offer the Vikings a crack at two teams just ahead of them in the Western Sun Conference standings.
“If we have a great week and win all three games, we’ll catch both of them but if they get the best of us, that’ll hurt,” Dierks said. “We need a good week, and we’ve been playing better, so I’m looking forward to the week.”
On the mend: One bright spot in Batavia’s weeklong layoff, thanks to the swine flu – more time for Avery Vivian to heal her stress fracture.
Vivian impressed coach Lee Pedraza with her bat in the early going, leading him to insert her in the fifth and sixth holes in the Bulldogs’ lineup, but Vivian has missed the last couple weeks while resting a stress fracture in her foot.
Vivian had been starting in left field. In her absence, Pedraza shifted Katie Coleman from right field to left, then called up MacKenzie Astling from the sophomore team to play in right.
Astling has played well enough to merit a spot on varsity the rest of the way, even when Vivan returns, Pedraza said. Since Katie Coleman is Batavia’s No. 2 pitcher, the extra outfield flexibility should be a nice bonus.
Pedraza said he should know soon if Vivian’s return to the lineup is imminent.
“We look forward to seeing Avery come back as soon as the doctor releases her,” Pedraza said.
Playing it safe: St. Charles East sophomore catcher Rae Anne Payleitner sat out Saturday's portion of East's invitational as a precautionary measure after taking a foul ball to the head during batting practice Thursday.
"If we had the state championship [Saturday], she would have played," Saints coach Kelly Barnett said. "We were just trying to relieve some pressure from the head."
Junior Brittney Perrotta filled in for Payleitner.
Jay Schwab
– jschwab@kcchronicle.com
COACH SLY SAYS
Say this about Geneva, the Vikings haven’t quit on their season. There have been a couple times this spring when it looked like Geneva’s season could take an ugly turn but coach Dierks’ team has steadied the ship each time. Not sure the Vikes have enough to contend for a conference title, even in a WSC without a big-time powerhouse, but a solid season looks like a real possibility for these resilient ladies.
• For more of Coach Sly’s thoughts, go to kcchronicle.com/blogs/coachsly/.
