Softball: Plainfield South opens some eyes

Coming off a 6-21 campaign in 2011, it didn’t take long for Plainfield South to put itself on the softball stage this season. A 6-2 win over the preseason No. 1 — Lockport — will get a team noticed.

“We’ve got nine girls back and we’ve got a good little team,” South coach Tara Singler said. “I didn’t want the target on our backs, but I guess we’re opening some eyes.”

Coming off a 1-0 loss Friday to Bolingbrook, the Cougars waltzed into Lockport and came alive after their first 11 batters of the game were set down in order.

“We were mad after not scoring any runs against Bolingbrook,” Singler said. “We love playing Lockport; the girls bring their ‘A’ game for that.

“We knew what we had and what we were capable of. We just needed the girls to do it. We scored runs last year, but we gave them up, too. We just didn’t have the pitching, but Jordan (Harbacek) was the last piece to the puzzle.”

Harbacek, a freshman, is 3-0. Juniors Kayla Kendall and Angelina Vargas have been the leading hitters.

Hot start for Joliet West

Plainfield South isn’t the only team turning things around. Joliet West is off to a good start of 4-1 after going 11-22 in 2011.

“The key to our start is our offense,” West coach Heather Suca said. “Everyone in the lineup has contributed. We’re putting the ball in play consistently (only two strikeouts a game), therefore putting pressure on the opposing teams defense. We have also been very aggressive on the bases. Plus, playing games early in the season allows us to see the areas we need improvement while still having time to work on them at practice.”

Invitational at Providence

Providence will host its second annual invitational this weekend. The six-team event will be split into two pools at different sites.

“This is the second year of our invite, and we increased the field to six teams,” Providence coach Jay Biesterfeld said. “We plan to continue this event and play with a full eight-team field beginning next year. Our goal is for this to be a great early test with a tournament atmosphere involving many of the top teams in the area and the state.”

All Pool A Games are at Providence while all Pool B Games will be at Lockport.

Pool A: Providence, Andrew, Neuqua Valley. Pool B: Lockport, Glenbard West, Normal West;

Friday: Andrew vs. Providence and Lockport vs. Glenbard West, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday: Andrew vs. Nequa Valley, Glenbard West vs. Normal West, 9 a.m.; Neuqua Valley vs. Providence, Normal West vs. Lockport, 10:45 a.m.

Fifth Place: Pool A third vs Pool B thirdrd (at Lockport) 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Third Place: Pool A second vs Pool B second (at Providence) 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Championship: Pool A first vs Pool B first (at Providence) 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.