Varsity On Thursday 5/20, the Hornets played against Glenbard West. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we only had 10 players. The girls put up a great fight, but ultimately lost in the 8th inning by a score of 4-3. Abbey Leban and Megan McGinley were both 3 for 4. Annika Nicol was 2 for 4 with an amazing timely at bat that scored 2 runs. Looking to turn these close losses into wins next week!
On Saturday 5/22, the Hornet softball players took on Hinsdale Central. Mary Lavorato was 3 for 3 with an RBI & made some amazing plays in center field. Stephanie Rochowicz was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Kaylin Drake was 2 for 3. Nicole Kaleta was 2 for 4. Annika Nicol and Amber Fedinec also contributed with hits. The girls played tough in the hot weather!
Week of May 10th
Varsity On Monday, the Hornets traveled to Addison Trail and won 16-3. Mary Lavorato’s OBP was .800, and she drove in 4 runs on a single and a triple. Amber Fedinec was 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Nicole Kaleta had a single and 3 RBIs. Stephanie Rochowicz was 3 for 4 and 3 runs scored. Abbey Leban’s OBP was .800 and she had 2 hits. Kaylin Drake and Nikki Berger also contributed with hits. The whole team played solid defense.
On Friday, the team played Morton. Abbey Leban and Mary Lavorato were in sync with each other on the mound and behind the plate. Abbey Leban threw a near perfect game, with only one batter making it on base. Skylar Hayes played phenomenal defense at second base and had two great hits and an RBI. Caitlin Bishop had an OBP of .500 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Stephanie Rochowicz had 4 RBIs with an OBP of 1.000. Noelle Waterman made her varsity debut with a run scored. Camden Kiefer also made her varsity debut with 2 singles and 1 run scored. Go Hornets!
Week of May 3rd
Varsity What a great week for the Hornets! On Tuesday May 4th, the Hornets won their game against Morton. Abbey Leban was strong on the mound with 9 strikeouts in 5 innings. Every player in the batting order had a hit. Kaylin Drake had 3 RBIs, Ashley Leban, Nikki Berger, & Amber Fedinec all had 2 RBIs, and Stephanie Rochowicz was 2 for 3 with 1 RBI. The final score was 10-0.
On Wednesday May 5th, the Hornets defeated Leyden after previously having lost to them. Highlights include: Abbey Leban 2 for 4 & 9 strikeouts. Nikki Berger 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Mary Lavorato 1 for 3 with 1 RBI. Amber Fedinec 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Megan McGinley’s on base percentage was .750. Stephanie Rochowicz was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Kaylin Drake was 2 for 4. Ashley Leban had an RBI. Our middle infield made some great plays, & Stephanie and Megan caught a runner off guard at 3rd base!
On Friday May 7th, the Hornets played their hearts out against a notoriously tough OPRF. Abbey Leban was 2 for 3 with a walk-- her OBP was .750! Mary Lavorato, Nikki Berger, Megan McGinley, Nicole Kaleta, Skylar Hayes, Annika Nicol, and Kaylin Drake all had hits. The outfield made some great catches, and the infield all looked solid! I have never seen Abbey Leban pitch a better game. Even though the scorebook would chalk this one up as a loss by a score of 3-2; it was a game I’ll never forget & I couldn’t be prouder of the team.
On Saturday, the whole program came together for a cookout and our hit-a-thon fundraiser. The girls all did a wonderful job, and it was great to see all the parents and sponsors supporting our program! A HUGE thank you to Aileen Balcazar's mom & Coach Gorski's dad who were the mastermind chefs feeding us all! What a great day to be a Hornet. Looking forward to continuing to move the bus next week!!
JV The JV team played 4 games last week, posting a 2-2 record. After beating Willowbrook 4-2 on Monday with the help of a few varsity underclassmen (P-Ashley Leban, CF-Caitlin Bishop, and C-Annika Nicol) The JV team followed up with a 22-19 marathon win against Morton. Caelyn Chorzempka and Aileen Balcazar had HRs. In losses on Wednesday (Leyden) and Friday (OPRF), the JV team played better than the first meetings. Noelle Waterman and Grace Koziel are improving on the mound, and more of the girls are having better ABs against good pitching. The JV gets back to games on Tuesday with a rematch against Addison Trail.
Freshman 5/5: 17-2 tough loss against Leyden. Lily Levine did a great behind the plate in a position she normally doesn’t play. Elena V. made an amazing double play at 1st. Kara D. & Olivia U. had great at bats. Anastasia stepped it up with great defense in the infield. All in all great communication.
5/7 home v OPRF: lost 5-0. What a tough game played by our players. We are becoming more of a cohesive team. Communication was on point. Catcher Lily Levine and pitcher Olivia Uba played a hard game. Unfortunately, our bats fell short against OPRF. The girls played their hearts out the entire time.
Week of April 26th
Varsity After a cancellation and a rainout this week, the Hornets only ended up having 3 games. On Friday night against Downers Grove South, the girls played one of the best games of softball that I have seen in a long while. DGS scored in the first inning, but left fielder Mary Lavorato made a perfect throw to catcher Megan McGinley to steal the momentum back and prevent a huge inning. Megan McGinley started the bottom of the second off strong with a single, Nicole Kaleta advanced her, then Stephanie Rochowicz found a way to even up the game with a single to right! DGS had some great hits in the 4th inning scoring 2 more, but Stephanie Rochowicz caught a ball and whipped it over to Amber Fedinec to end the inning on an amazing double play. Megan McGinley & Nikki Berger were both on base 3 times & Caitlin Bishop scored on a base hit by Nicole Kaleta in the 6th. Kaylin Drake played phenomenal defense at second base & had a timely single. Annika Nicol jacked a ball to right field as a pinch hitter. Abbey Leban and Ashley Leban both pitched an awesome game holding DGS to only 9 total runs this time. Abbey Leban also had 2 singles. Skylar Hayes played excellent defense. I am so proud of this team.
With no practice time in between, the girls then faced York in a DH on Saturday. They faced an amazing pitcher, who struck out 15 in game one. The Hornets lost by a score of 6-0. In game two, the girls came out swinging scoring 1 run in the 3rd inning and 7 runs in the 5th inning to lead by a score of 8-7. Unfortunately, the Hornets lost in extra innings by a score of 9-8. Looking forward to our next game against Morton on Tuesday!
JV Unfortunately, the JV softball team had a couple cancellations against Proviso East and Morton, but we were able to play DGS on Friday and a DH vs. York on Saturday, so the girls are getting a lot of playing time. The girls are improving their approach at the plate against good pitching, and their attitude is phenomenal. They all stay so positive with each other! They can’t wait for more games this week, starting with Willowbrook on Monday.
Freshman The frosh/soph team lost at their away game on Friday 20-5. The Hornets stayed playing hard right up until the end. The bats were hot. Pitcher, Olivia Uba, got on base three for three driving one up the middle for a double. Catcher, Maggie Koubenec, fought hard behind the plate making incredible blocks. Infield and outfield had great grit. We made a few errors that cost big runs, but there was great communication between players that helped pick up the game. Way to go Hornets!!!!
Week of April 19th
Varsity The Hornets began their 2021 season at Leyden on a turf field. The team had a lot of adrenaline and some first game jitters, but they were able to keep the game within reach the whole time. Skylar Hayes started the game strong defensively with a caught fly ball in right field. Nikki Berger, Mary Lavorato, and Kaylin Drake all had singles. Stephanie Rochowicz had 4 put-outs at third base. Abbey Leban had amazing 3rd and 4th innings with 3 strikeouts & no runs scored; she then doubled in the 5th. Nikki Berger hit a double and then scored on Nicole Kaleta’s deep fly ball to right field. Ashley Leban, Abbey Leban, and Amber Fedinec also hit rocket doubles. Ashley Leban had her high school debut on the mound in the 6th inning, striking one out and not letting any runs score. Megan McGinley was incredibly disciplined behind the plate, blocking everything and making some great pitching calls. Annika Nicol had amazing at bats (fouling off like 500 pitches) as her debut as a freshman varsity player.
The Hornets took on OPRF as their home opener on 4/21. Although OPRF scored on 3 runs on hits in the first inning, the Hornets came back strong and scored two of their own in the bottom of the first. Ashley Leban, Nikki Berger, Annika Nicol, Abbey Leban, and Megan McGinley all contributed offensively. Sisters Ashley Leban and Abbey Leban both looked solid on the mound. Unfortunately, the Hornets could not string enough hits together to come back and win.
On Thursday, the Hornets played against Downers Grove South. Downers Grove South has a very powerful hitting team. Our “bus” “broke down” a bit during this game, and we lost by 13. But freshman Annika Nicol had her first varsity hit as she roped a line shot down the first base line! Looking forward to moving the bus forward as a team!
On Saturday, the Hornets played a double header against Addison Trail. A huge thank you to Addison Trail who partnered up with us to help raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer by “Lacing up for Pediatric Cancer” during the game-- (all of the softball players wore gold laces). The softball team raised over $2,800 for local pediatric cancer hospitals! I am so proud of the girls for putting in the extra work for such an amazing cause. The following players went above and beyond to help raise money for pediatric cancer: Alex Styczynski, Aileen Balcazar, Amerie Flowers, Amber Fedinec, Olivia Uba, & Noelle Waterman. The Hornets also won both games with a score of 8-2 and 14-1. The team had 16 hits and 4 over the fence home runs! Caitlin Bishop & Skylar Hayes were both on base 3 out of 4 times, scoring a total of 5 runs for the team. Ashley & Abbey Leban again looked great on the mound & Annika Nicol was solid behind the plate! The Hornets will continue to “move the bus” Wednesday against Morton at home!
JV JV softball finished their 1st week with a 1-3 record. After a competitive loss to Leyden, the JV Hornets were overmatched by OPRF and DGS. But the girls hung in there and outlasted Addison Trail 21-19 for their 1st win of the season! The girls are working very hard and they show up every day with a great attitude. After being cancelled Monday, we hope to play Morton on Wednesday.