LT to rely on speed and power this season

After a third-place finish in the West Suburban (Silver) Conference last year, Lyons Township softball coach Dawn Schabacker feels her team is ready to go the distance.

At first glance, Schabacker just may have the clientele to back up her lofty goals. After finishing last season with a 24-13 overall record, the Lions return all but two starting infield positions and boast five seasoned outfielders.

“We really had a lot of holes last year and yet we still made it to the sectional and finished third in the conference,” said Schabacker. “This year, we have a lot of kids that are very talented. I really feel like we can create and make things happen on offense and our defense is very solid. With the kids that we have, we can hit for power, but we also have a lot of speed, so we can utilize that as well.”

Indeed, leading the way for the Lions on offense will be third baseman Amy Horn. The senior slugger hit six homers last year. LT will also rely on first baseman Danielle Valenta to provide a power-punch to the lineup. Senior Nicole Rotolo will assume duties at second base this year. Seniors Maura Redding and Lauren Lebron will be utility players and will also round out the LT offense. Nazareth transfer junior Mary Jones will play shortstop and brings two years of varsity experience to the position.

Schabacker also has the luxury of choosing from two talented catchers?”junior Amanda Paul and senior Lindsay Hunkler, who played catcher on the junior varsity team last year.

Many say defense wins championships and even more say pitching is the key. If so, the Lions are sitting pretty. LT returns a talented stable of hurlers, with junior Allison Gage leading the way. Gage won 10 games last year on the varsity squad, compiling an unbelievable 1.0 ERA. Junior lefty Beth Golitko and Haley Gawenda will round out the pitching staff for Schabacker.

As for the outfield, Schabacker has five players fighting for just three positions. Senior Heather Roe, and junior Katie Weston, Erica Stampfl, Jennifer Weaver and Beth Golitko will all look to make an impression on Schabacker in the next few weeks to gain the starting job.

While preparing for the season opener on April 3, Schabacker is also setting plenty of goals for her team. After losing in 11 innings in the sectional finals last year, one of Schabacker’s main goals this year is to get over the sectional hump. The problem is, standing in the way is defending State champion Oak Park and other talented teams like Glenbard West. To Schabacker, however, it is just a matter of getting her team up to speed and if that happens the rest of the conference better look out.

“I think if we can get our lineup where we want it to be we can challenge anybody,” she said. “It is funny, but our strengths and our weaknesses are the same. We have experience in many positions and real inexperience at others. But, if we put it all together, I think we can challenge in the conference and make a good run in the tournament.”