Prep Softball: Hilltoppers, Raiders Trying to Get Back into Swing of Things

The first week of postseason competition for Glenbard South and Glenbard West’s softball teams has been frustrating for different reasons.

The Hilltoppers, who were scheduled to play Geneva in a Class 4A Proviso West regional quarterfinal game on Wednesday, didn’t take the field that day due to rain. The game was rescheduled for Thursday but ended up being postponed once again because of poor field conditions.

Coach Mary McGrane said her team is chomping at the bit to get back on the field.

“It’s (the layoff) definitely not helping us,” McGrane said. “These are the most days we’ve practiced in row the past month because of all this rain. We’ve been playing every day (until Wednesday and Thursday’s weather). My biggest worry is that it sometimes takes us out of our rhythm.”

With partly cloudy conditions and no rain in the forecast, Glenbard West and Geneva should be able to play today. The winner of today’s matchup will face off against top-seeded Elk Grove  Saturday morning for the regional championship. Elk Grove has won 29 games.

The Hilltoppers are seeded eighth in the Schaumburg Sectional complex, while Geneva—which pounded Proviso West 29-0 in its regional opener—is the ninth seed.

“It should be a good game,” McGrane said. “Like I told the girls, it doesn’t matter about rankings; it’s who goes out there plays the hardest and leaves it on the field.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders, who are hosting their own Class 3A regional, played Tuesday and thus were able to beat Mother Nature as well as their first-round opponent, Noble Street Charter/Corner of Chicago.

Although weather hasn’t been a point of frustration for coach Julie Fonda, the Raiders’ regional schedule certainly is. Noble Street Charter was no match for Glenbard South (24-5), which scored all 11 of its runs in the first inning. The Raiders went on to win 11-0 in five innings, but Fonda said they certainly could have scored more runs.

Fonda and the Raiders aren’t taking their regional opponents for granted.

“Going into it, we challenged the girls to stay focused,” she said.

That said, she doesn’t expect Chicago Maria—whom they’ll meet for Saturday’s regional title—to give the Raiders much of a game, either. Maria advance to the championship contest after Juarez, its scheduled opponent, forfeited.

Fonda said the IHSA clearly has to re-evaluate postseason scheduling within Class 3A, and suggested that all the 3A Chicago schools be put into their own regional.

“In regionals, we rarely see a team that’s competitive and that’s not fair to my kids at all,” she said. “The state needs to evaluate everything; it's just the system. There’s just no competition.”

The Raiders definitely will experience some good competition when they move into next week’s Wheaton St. Francis sectional. On Thursday, June 2, they will face either St. Francis or Queen of Peace, who are playing for the Burbank Queen of Peace regional crown Saturday.

Glenbard South hasn’t played Queen of Peace this season, but it did defeat St. Francis 7-1 in a nonconference game in late April.

“My girls loved being challenged and love the competition,” Fonda said. "We’re looking forward to the sectional where get to play a team like R-B (Riverside-Brookfield) or St. Francis because that’s what they (her players) thrive on.”

In Glenbard South’s victory over Noble Street Charter, Danielle and Stephanie Chitkowski combined for a no-hitter and 14 strikeouts. Jennifer Wittenberg went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Brianna Meath was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, and Jane Trzaska drove in two runs.