Softball Squad Leans On Experience For Early Opener

Evanston’s girls softball team hasn’t had much time to prepare for one of the earliest season openers in program history.

But that’s where the Wildkit experience comes in.

A roster loaded with juniors and seniors --- some of them already have a couple of years of varsity experience under their belts --- didn’t really need a crash course in what it takes to compete on the varsity level entering Wednesday’s 2024 opener at Stevenson.

They’ve already been there and done that, according to ETHS head coach Amy Gonzales, who doesn’t see the glass as half empty when she considers that she has so many players back from a team that posted a 10-17 won-loss record last spring.

Gonzales believes that the Kits can flip the script this year and perhaps contend for the Central Suburban League South division title.

“It’s definitely a good thing to have so many returnees. There’s not as much of a learning curve because they’re used to the stuff we’re doing preparation wise,” Gonzales said. “It really helps things move along when you have so many girls who have already been around a varsity practice.

“We have a good junior class and of the five seniors we have, three of them have been on the varsity since their freshmen or sophomore years. They’ve only had two and a half weeks to get ready, instead of the usual three or four weeks, so we’ve done some quick little reviews and now they’re ready to go.”

Also encouraging for the veteran coach is the fact that, with an overall turnout close to 50 players in the program, depth shouldn’t be an issue. Still, the ETHS coaching staff will emphasize versatility even for the rising stars who will wear the varsity Orange and Blue one day.

“We really don’t anyone to be locked in at one position, although sometimes that does happen,” said Gonzales. “It’s really nice to have girls who can play multiple positions, especially when you have to deal with injuries. A few years ago we only had about 30 kids in the program and now we’re fortunate that we still have kids who can play multiple positions.”

That versatility gives the Wildkits options because the fast-pitch game in high school has entered an era where teams rarely rely on just one ace pitcher to take to the circle in 25 games a year. Most staffs currently try for at least a 50-50 split handing out starting assignments, so a pitcher who can play another position --- and this trend started before anyone knew the name of Shohei Ohtani --- is twice as valuable as one who can’t.

Evanston boasts a player like that in senior Serafina Goodwill, who missed her sophomore season after undergoing knee surgery and was in the early portion of the rehabilitation process when the season started last year.

Her ability to play third base got Goodwill back in the lineup right away, even when there was uncertainty about how the knee would respond when she was in the circle.

Now Gonzales is hoping the right-hander is back 100 percent healthy and can be counted on against the best competition the Kits face. Maya Nelson, who moved up to the varsity as a freshman when Goodwill was sidelined for that entire year, is a junior now and she’ll share innings in the circle with another junior, Isabelle Anthony.

“The timing on that injury wasn’t good for Serafina, because she didn’t have a lot of time to practice before she found out she could play again last year,” Gonzales pointed out. “It was just here we go, the season’s here. She’s such a fantastic fielder at third base and we really needed her there, too. But I know it took her time to work through some of that pain in her knee. We wanted to be as cautious as we could with her, because not being able to play for a whole year changed a lot of things for her.

“All three of our pitchers can play the field, too. Not everyone can pitch 21 innings in a week anymore. They all have different (pitching) styles and they don’t throw the exact same pitches. I like that because that makes it tougher for the hitters to adjust. This is still a learning process for all of them, though. They’re learning to understand what to look for out there.”

Senior Frances Heldt figures to make up for the only real 2023 loss to graduation, outfielder Kelsey Blickenstaff, in center field and will be joined by returning starters Kenna Brokowski, a junior, in left and junior Rosie Witt in right.

Witt’s insertion at the top of the ETHS batting order in the second half of the season helped the Wildkits get untracked on offense, although that’s an area of the game where the Kits still need to improve if they’re going to climb into contention in the conference race.

“Offensively, we’ll need our entire lineup to be more consistent,” said Gonzales. “We need to put more hits together and execute better. We also need to be more aggressive on the bases. They have the speed and the knowledge you get with experience, now they just have to get more comfortable with the idea of taking extra bases. I think they can adapt to that.”

Junior Delila Liston, the team’s leading hitter a year ago, has settled in at starting catcher after starting her varsity career as an infielder. Other starters back include senior Lexie Lennon at first base, junior Charlie Henderson at second base, and a player to watch, sophomore shortstop Sophie Berger-White.

Junior Aayna Ghose divided her time between first, third and designated hitter a year ago and will likely be part of a platoon at third base that also includes Goodwill, Nelson and a newcomer to the varsity, junior Olivia Stanczak.

Help will also come from senior outfielders Natalie Lundgren and Natalia Acosta, and senior infielder Elise Barnett.

“Hopefully we can generate a few more runs this year and make things easier for the pitchers,” Gonzales added. “I really want to get more in the wins column in the conference, because I think we can be in the top two there. We have to beat some of those (CSL) teams twice instead of just splitting with them.

“We just need to put all of the pieces together.”