LZ Bears Girls Softball Team Slips Past Fremd For Sectional Title

It’s up the ladder to the roof for the Lake Zurich Bears girls softball team, which edged top-seeded Fremd 4-3 on Saturday to take the Class 4A Warren sectional softball title. Trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Maria Schroeder pounded a game-tying triple, driving in teammate Carlee Parsons from first. Schroeder then came home with the game-winning run on a throwing error. Starting pitcher Megan Mattera  pitched a perfect seventh, striking out the last two batters she faced to close out the stunning victory for third-seed Lake Zurich, which avenged a 6-0 loss to Fremd on April 7. Mattera was golden down the stretch; after giving up five hits through the first three innings, she pitched no-hit ball the rest of the game.

Things started off very promising for the Vikings, when they jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning after junior left fielder Caitlin Patenaude hit a three-run triple. The Bears began to chip away at Fremd’s lead in the third inning when Allie McGinnis (2 for 3) singled in a run. This followed sharply hit consecutive singles by Parsons (2 for 4) and Schroeder. Vikings starting pitcher Rachel Doering did not allow a hit after that for the next three innings, and her team’s 3-1 lead stood up until Lake Zurich’s rally in the seventh. In fact, Fremd was just one out away from going to the super sectional for the third straight year. Kristen Walding, who was promoted from the JV team, led off the seventh with an infield hit. After a sacrifice bunt by senior shortstop Tabbetha Bohac and a groundout, Parsons reached on an error, scoring Walding and cutting the lead to 3-2. That set the stage for Schroeder’s game-winning hit.

While the season ended for Fremd (28-1-6), Lake Zurich (24-7) will play New Trier (22-11) today at 4:30 in the Glenbrook South Super-Sectional. The last time the Bears appeared in a super-sectional was in 2003, when they shut out a tough Vernon Hills team 4-0 in the Class AA tournament. The Bears defeated Carmel 7-1 on May 28 in their Hersey Regional Final contest and blanked second-seeded Palatine 4-0 on Thursday in their sectional semifinal game prior to their sectional final matchup against Fremd.

The Ela Soccer Club’s Elite U23 Men’s Team scored a 3-0 win over Wisla to take the ISSA USASA Cup last week. With the victory, the team will travel to Kansas City to play in the regionals. Coach Robert Meshbach and his squad will also get an opportunity to compete against one of the University of Portsmouth teams from England this July. The Portsmouth teams are the 2011 British Universities National Cup Winners.

Also, a number of girls on the U18 team have finalized their plans as they continue their soccer playing at a collegiate level. Those with commitments from colleges include Kate Arends (Indiana University); Carin Fearing (University of Illinois-Springfield); Molly Murin (University of Illinois); Clare Mazurkiewicz (Monmouth College); Alex Nasca (Illinois-Weleyn); Ashley Neubeck (Northern Illinois); Brooke Sill (Eastern Illinois); and Lizzi Sanscrainte (University of Illinois).

In other Ela Soccer Club news, Kate Arends, Masie Cox, Molly Murin and Brooke Sill made All North Suburban Conference, and Catalina Abad and Gina McCoy made honorable mention.

The LZ Bears boys lacrosse team defeated Mundelein 8-5 in an IHSLA State playoff game May 27 and then drubbed Grayslake Central 11-4 on May 31 in their quarterfinal game, improving the six-seed team’s record to 15-8. Attack Ryan Saetz scored two goals in the Bears’ win over Mundelein, putting him at 70 on the season. While Saetz is by far his team’s leading scorer, both attack Ross Williams and midfielder Tom Logan have scored more than 30 goals this season. Saetz and fellow attack Jessie Gerbens contributed much-needed scores against the 11-seed Mustangs. Grant Sousy, who is also a key player on the Bears football team, has been the team’s top defensive player all year, and his long-stick skills were critical in their victories over Mundelein and Grayslake Central.

“He can take the ball away from anyone when he wants to,” said coach Kyle Dresser.

Unfortunately, the Bears succumbed to Grayslake North 15-6 in the semifinal Friday evening. Waubonsie Valley then defeated the Knights 16-9 on Saturday to take the B-Class Lacrosse Cup.

As many of the various Lake Zurich Baseball and Softball Association leagues move past the midseason point, here are some of the standings as of June 6:

 Minor Baseball (9)    Minor Baseball (10)     

Dodgers    (9-0)                   Red Sox    (7-1)

Mets         (7-2-1)                  Tigers       (6-3)

Phillies      (6-2-1)                Indians     (5-3)

Brewers    (5-3-0)               Yankees    (3-3-1)

Astros       (4-2-2)               White Sox (4-5)

Rockies     (4-5)                   Twins       (3-5)

Cubs       (3-7)                       Rays     (3-6)

Giants     (2-7)                     Royals   (1-6-1)

Cardinals (2-8)

Reds       (2-8)