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Palatine Softball State Preview


Palatine (29-5) softball will make history regardless of how they finish in the state softball finals, but let it be known, they plan on returning home from EastSide Centre in East Peoria with a state championship.

The IHSA state tournament in Class 4A is wide open this year with three teams, including Palatine, making their debuts, and York, the only team to make state before, still looking for their first win in the finals. Palatine opens in the semifinals against Plainfield North (31-5) at 5:30 p.m. Friday. A win sends them to the state championship game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. If they unfortunately don’t beat Plainfield North, the Pirates will play for third place at 3 p.m. Saturday. The other semifinal is York (28-12-1) vs. Rock Island (30-5) at 3 p.m. Friday.

Palatine, under coach Nicole Capalbo, made history this season winning their first sectional and super-sectional championships in program history with a combination of a strong offense, great pitching and solid defense.

“The girls have done an excellent job of putting in the hard work in the offseason and when we had our first practice this year, I feel we were picking up right where we left off last year,” Capalbo said. “We didn’t have to work on individual skills, because they kept up with that over the offseason. From day one we jumped into things and had a goal early on to go to state. Whatever they had to do to make that happen, they have done it. They are a special group. They gelled really well and they all know their role on the team and play it to the best of their ability.”

Palatine’s team waits for Emily Parrott (farthest right) as she scores after hitting a 3-run HR in the fifth inning against Carmel.

Palatine beat Warren, a team that defeated Palatine eight times in a row since the start of 2012 and eliminated the Pirates three straight years in the playoffs, for their first sectional title ever. They faced Barrington (33-4) in the super-sectionals, a team that beat them at least 16 times in a row heading into Monday’s game.

“I think we are all peaking at the right time,” Capalbo said. “I think on any night we have had different heroes who have risen to the challenge. We have consistent hitters, but that big hit has come from different people each time and you never know where it will come from on any given night, but it always happens.”

Down 3-0 to Barrington in the fifth inning, Capalbo said her team was still loose and having fun, because they knew they would break through. It was just a matter of when. The big hits came from Kaitlyn Reed, a freshman, who hit her first career homerun, a 3-run blast, to tie the game at 3. Emily Parrott, who hit just 1 HR during the regular season, blasted a 3-run dinger, her third straight playoff game with a homer, to give Palatine a 6-3 lead, which they used to hold on and win.

Palatine pitcher Sarah Grossman eyes the ball after a teammate tossed it to her.

Palatine has been stout in every phase of the game this year. The Pirates have posted an incredible 15 shutouts this spring, thanks to great pitching from Sarah Grossman (22-2 record, 1.38 ERA, 281 K, 23 BB, only 32 earned runs) and Rhiann Dick (7-3 record, 2.74 ERA, 69 K, 16 BB, only 24 ER), and a strong defense behind them.

“We are not afraid to make a mistake and are willing to take a chance being aggressive, like trying to make a SportsCenter top 10 play,” Capalbo said. “Softball is a game where you make mistakes and we know if we make a mistake, we will get it the next play. We trust our teammates and I think that’s what makes us a dangerous team.”

Palatine coach Nicole Capalbo, wearing a ribbon that reads “For Court” (Courtland Cornelius), talks with Grace Huff (right) after an RBI triple in the first inning against Carmel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capalbo said thanks to a lot of time in the weightroom in the offseason, and great help from the physical education teachers at Palatine who helped further develop the athletes, this year’s team is greatly improved. It helps they have a smart team as well.

“Individually, they have perfected their fundamentals as hitters, which is something hard to do,” Capalbo said. “Our softball IQ is really high on this team.”

Now, the Pirates are focused on their next opponent, Plainfield North, and are ready for the challenge.

Plainfield North (31-5), which has the largest roster at state with 20 players including 12 seniors, has at least eight who will compete in college. Lexie Siwek (Indiana State), Jenna Dunbar (Edgewood College), Jillian Gardner (Concordia College), Greta Thompson (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Kaylee Piven (La Salle University) and Kaelin Callow (Hope College) will all play in college next year, while Ryan Shaughnessy (Ohio University) and Sam Mallinder (Northern Illinois) verbally committed as juniors this year.

Thompson is the No. 1 pitcher for the Tigers, going 22-2 over 146.2 innings, posting a 1.86 ERA. Thompson has 142 strikeouts and 69 walks this season. She is also a solid batter, hitting .314 with 33 hits, 23 RBI, 10 doubles and 2 home runs.

Mallinder (.407 BA, 48 hits, 3 HR, 9 2B, 3 3B, 33 RBI, 21 runs), Shaughnessy (.433 BA, 45 hits, 3 HR, 7 2B, 4 3B, 25 RBI, 39 runs), Siwek (.396 BA, 44 hits, 2 HR, 7 2B, 2 3B, 25 RBI, 37 runs) and Callow (.349 BA, 37 hits, 3 HR, 9 2B, 27 RBI, 19 runs) are statistically the top hitters for Plainfield North, who enter the game on a 7-game win streak.

“I think we are really similar teams,” Capalbo said. “We both have really surprised a lot of teams. We both play aggressively and do whatever we can to score runs. I think it will be a good matchup. I’ve heard their pitcher (Thompson) is above average, but I think our tough MSL and non-conference schedule have gotten us ready for the quality (pitchers and teams) we will face at state. I think our hitters will adjust to whatever they see and put the ball in play and get some runs. As long as Sarah maintains her focus on the mound and our defense plays strong behind her, I see good things happening for us down in Peoria. I see no reason why we can’t win state.”

 

Palatine Players To Watch:

Maddie Craver: Craver, who will play at Wheaton College, will go down as one of the best hitters in Palatine history, not only this season, but for her career. Craver has 215 hits in her career with 2 HR, 33 doubles, 4 triples, 110 RBI, 158 runs and just 31 strikeouts over her four years. This season she has a school record 78 hits and is batting .629 with 1 HR, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 44 RBI and 59 runs scored.

Palatine’s Maddie Craver hits a single to open the bottom of the first inning against Carmel Thursday, May 31.

“Maddie is the absolute heart of our team,” Capalbo said. “We started together four years ago and I have never written a lineup without her name on it. She is a perfect combination of passion and competitiveness, but she is also a little goofy and quirky, so she can laugh at herself. When there is a high pressure situation, she’s the one to keep everyone relaxed. She reminds them this is the same game they have been playing since they were younger. She is the best teammate. All our younger players look up to her. She does a fantastic job getting everyone on the same page.”

Grace Huff: She has had an amazing career so far for Palatine and still has one year to get better, which should scare most opposing teams. Huff has 183 career hits through three seasons and held the school single-season hit record with 60 before Craver exploded for 78 this year. She broke the batting average season record as a freshman and a few other records, but is having her best year as a junior. Huff is batting .538 with 63 hits (2nd most in team history), 11 HR (school record), 19 doubles, 2 triples, 66 RBI (likely school record, but Capalbo couldn’t verify) and 49 runs. Huff, a verbal commit to Northwestern, has amazingly walked 46 times in her career and struck out just 11 times over three years.

Palatine’s Grace Huff gets ready to run from 3rd base in a game against Carmel.

“Grace is a competitor,” Capalbo said. “In anything we do, she likes to win. She came in as a freshman with a lot of goals and has accomplished most of them already. No matter who we play, the opposing team always knows who Grace Huff is because she plays with such enthusiasm and excitement. She always makes a big play for us, a catch or a hit, and does all the extra small things. Most importantly, she is a great teammate.”

Sarah Grossman: The senior is 22-2 this season with a sparking 1.38 ERA and an eye-popping 281 strikeouts and only 23 walks in 161.1 innings. According to numbers provided by Palatine, Grossman, who will play next year at Milwaukee School of Engineering, is 37-11 in her three-year career with 506 strikeouts, 74 walks and a ERA under 1.80.

Palatine pitcher Sarah Grossman competes against Carmel.

“She knows what to do out there and trusts our pitching coach (Kristen Proffitt),” Capalbo said. “They work together (on a game plan) on how to attack the opposing hitters. She worked really hard in the offseason and it has shown this season. She throws to whatever spot coach Proffitt calls for. She has some extra velocity at the end to get batters to miss. She also trusts her defense. As a pitcher, when you have seven people behind you that you know will make plays for you, it helps you relax and she knows she can trust her pitches because the defense is behind her.”

While Grossman may not own any school records, she is ranked second in a lot of categories, according to Capalbo.

 

Palatine Stat Leaders

Batting Average: Maddie Craver (.629), Grace Huff (.538), Emily Parrott (.508), Amanda Stanczuk (.474), Brittany Padden (.414), Rhiann Dick (.383), Kaitlyn Reed (.344), Anna Selleck (.315)

Hits: Craver (78 – school record), Huff (63 – 2nd most at PHS), Parrott (61 – 3rd most at PHS), Stanczuk (55), Padden (48), Dick (41), Reed (32)

HR: Huff (11 – school record), Parrott (4), Stanczuk (2), Reed (1), Craver (1)

2B: Craver (20), Huff (19), Padden (18), Parrott (10), Stanczuk (9)

3B: Reed (2), Parrott (2), Huff (2), Padden (1), Craver (1)

Runs: Craver (59), Huff (49), Parrott (49), Reed (30), Padden (28), Stanczuk (21)

RBI: Huff (66), Stanczuk (50), Craver (44), Padden (38), Parrott (28), Sarah Grossman (15)

 

Players to Watch Outside of Palatine:

Lauren Derkowski (York): A freshman pitcher who verbally committed to Michigan before even throwing a pitch in high school, she has been a tough nut to crack for opposing teams. She enters the playoffs with a 19-5 record, 1.69 ERA, 238 strikeouts and 81 walks according to IHSA numbers.

Other York Players: Mia Tran (Elmhurst College), Kyra Kroll (Western Illinois), Andrea Meagher (Marian College) and Madison Collins (Carleton College) will all play softball in college next year while Izzy Smith (Northern Illinois) will return for one more season before going to college.

Ashley Peters (Rock Island): The junior batted .500 with 57 hits, 2 HR, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 29 RBI and 28 runs, but was also dominant in the circle, going 17-4 with a 1.00 ERA and 200 strikeouts and just 10 walks, according to the IHSA.

Lauryn Stegall (Rock Island): While Peters had more hits, Stegall was not far behind as she pounded 49 hits, including 13 HR, 11 doubles and 2 triples. Stegall batted .454 with 50 RBI and 32 runs scored. She also was a strong pitcher, going 10-1 with a 1.79 ERA.

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