THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008
Warriors Grab Yet Another CSL Championship
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Sports
Maine West's softball dynasty in the Central Suburban-North conference keeps rolling on and on.
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Lady Warriors won the conference championship this spring, beating Deerfield 5-0 this week to clinch the title.
This year's crown may be the most emphatic one of the four. West is 20-3 overall, winner of 19 of its last 20 games, and perfect in the conference at 9-0.
The main catalyst for all this success is junior pitcher Emily Ott, who struck out three against Deerfield, did not walk anyone, and gave up 3 hits to send her season record to 14-2.
Leading the West offense were Nicole Eisenberg with 2 hits and an RBI; Caryn McGinley with 2 hits, a triple, and an RBI; and Maggie Ehorn, with an RBI.
West was aiming for a perfect 10-0 mark in the conference against Highland Park this week in its final conference game.
Ott has been remarkably consistent this year, throwing more than half-a-dozen shutouts and walking very few batters. "She has been outstanding, she fits into our recent pattern of talented pitchers (Kara Cunzeman, Robin Petersen, etc.)," said coach Mike Murin. "But another big part of our success as a team is our defense. We are making almost all of the plays when the ball is put into play, and with Emily's ability to strike out a lot of hitters, that's a strong combination."
The fact that Ott is a junior only adds to the lustre of West's achievement, which is likely to be continued next year.
Another factor is West's outstanding freshman softball program, led by coach Jerry Stonequist. The freshmen are 10-5 this year and 5-1 and champions of their conference. The freshmen program has consistently poured considerable young talent into the West varsity at the sophomore and junior levels, providing Murin with a consistent annual reservoir of talent.
The Warrior JV team, coached by Laura Rothstein, is 9-11 and in the middle of the pack in its conference race.
Elsewhere in area softball this week, St. Viator led Buffalo Grove 4-3 in the fifth inning in a non-conference game, but the Bison tallied 4 runs in the final two innings to take a 7-4 win from the Lions. Nikki Dumele and Julie Sweeney socked doubles for the Lions, and Melanie Slawny was the losing pitcher.
Highlights of scheduled softball action next week in the area include Maine West at Fenton at 4:30 p.m. Monday, the Mid Suburban League's championship game at the West Division site on May 15, and the annual Walt Cocking tournament at Niles West this Friday and Saturday.