Mid-season Report: Hilltopper Softball Squad 'Can Compete with Anybody'

Record (through Thursday, May 5): 14-5 overall, 4-3 in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division

Coach Mary McGrane’s mid-season team grade: B- to B

Update: Since getting thumped 14-1 by Lockport in the second game of the season, the Hilltoppers have been a different team. A week after that loss, Taylor Steinhilber no-hit West Chicago—considered one of the area’s top teams—in a nonconference game. “It showed my kids that they can compete with anybody,” McGrane said. “They’re in control of their destiny and they can hang with the best of them.” University of Missouri-Kansas City recruit (.383) continues to set the table offensively for the Hilltoppers. Rachel Hitzemann (.414) is the No. 2 hitter in the lineup, while Steinhilber (.425) and Jackie Tyburk (.372) hit third and fourth, respectively. Emily Rooney is batting .545 hitting ninth. Glenbard West split two conference games this past week leading up to its WWS contest vs. Lyons Township on Friday. They fell to York 3-2 on Monday, ending a five-game winning streak, but crushed Hinsdale Central 10-0 on Wednesday.  

Quoting Coach McGrane

On the team’s offense: “I would say one through nine we have good balance—a good mix of power and speed. We have a lot of speed with our first two kids, and we finish the lineup with a lot of speed. One of the kids that’s making the best adjustments offensively is Kelly Borneman in the middle of our order. When we played Hinsdale South (April 26) they tried to pitch her inside and she hit a double. Then they pitched her outside and she hit the ball to right-center and ended up with a double. We can’t go into an at-bat thinking the pitcher is better than us. We have to go in with confidence and keep it simple—see ball, hit ball.”

On the team’s defensive play: “I think we’re pretty solid. Our only new position on the field is Emily in right field, but everyone else is pretty much returning (from last year). Kelly moved from second to third base this spring, but all have varsity experience so we’re pretty strong defensively.”

On the team’s pitching: “Taylor came in this year, and this being her senior year, she wanted to end on a high note. She’s very competitive, and we can feed off her defensively. It helps the kids (playing) behind her. Taylor Langtry, she’s a freshman and Meghan Johnson is 1-0. Taylor’s learned early the importance of hitting her spots. For her, it’s just a matter of picking up the tempo of the game a little bit and relying on her defense to help her out.”

On the most pleasant development so far this season, team-wise or individually: “The biggest surprise right now has been Emily Rooney. We’re getting a lot out of her and that’s due to her speed. Kelly’s been my utility player. She’s a kid that can play anywhere. She’s very consistent defensively and offensively and she’s definitely in the lineup every day.”

On what the Hilltoppers must do in order to be successful the rest of the season: “A lot has to do with our confidence, but even more so, it starts with our focus. In order for us to continue to get better and last throughout the postseason, we have to be focused the minute we put our uniforms on and be ready to compete.”