Stillman Valley sweeps through first half of conference play in softball. What's next?
Stillman Valley recently handled pitcher Cami Carter and North Boone, and then went out and swept a doubleheader away from Winnebago. Now the Cardinals have taken control of the top spot in the Big Northern Conference softball standings as we hit the second half of the season.
Can the Cardinals keep up the pace? Well, it won't be long before they have to deal with Carter and the Vikings again, this time on the road Thursday.
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"That was a big win for us on Friday, and we really hit the ball well against (Carter), and I was pleasantly surprised," Stillman Valley head coach Shawn Byers said. "But now we get them again right away, and we can't let our guard down. Not now."
Stillman Valley earns early nod
Stillman Valley (16-6, 8-0 BNC) is the youngest team in the BNC but also had the best first half of any of them. The Cardinals have four freshmen in and out of their lineup pretty consistently, but they have played like a veteran team, especially here of late.
"Our team chemistry has definitely been there this year," Byers said. "We all practice together; and I mean 1-through-26, we all practice together every day. And that helps. But these girls just get along."
Stillman Valley knocked off Dixon 7-4 and Genoa-Kingston 13-7 last week, and then capped the week off with a big win over their toughest competition in the league this year, North Boone, on Friday. The Vikings have Carter, one of the area's toughest pitchers, and a great hitter as well. Bbut the Cardinals counter with one of the deepest teams in the area.
"I would say we had a great first half, and they've just found ways to fill in where they need to, and step up when they have to," Byers said. "These girls have been doing a really nice job of representing Stillman Valley in every way."
How the Cardinals fought off the Vikings
The Cardinals fended off North Boone by a 6-2 tally last Friday, but it wasn't as easy as it may appear by the score. Kaelyn Williams smacked a two-run homer in the first inning and proceeded to strike out 15 in the circle. But North Boone battled until the end.
Now North Boone (13-3, 6-1 BNC) — which knocked off Belvidere North, one of the NIC-10's top teams, 10-4 on Saturday, and Rock Falls (8-10, 4-3 BNC) by a 10-3 count on Monday — will get another shot at Stillman Valley right away.
What's coming up
G-K (9-6, 3-3 BNC), the only other BNC team that's at least .500 overall and in the league, was scheduled to host North Boone on Tuesday. North Boone will face Stillman Valley on Thursday, and then the Cardinals have Oregon, Lutheran and Byron next week — three teams with a combined three conference wins between them.
With just four teams above .500 in conference play (Stillman Valley; North Boone; Rock Falls; and G-K), it appears to be a race to the finish for those four. The regular season wraps up on May 11.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Stillman Valley, North Boone softball keep taking aim at each other
