1999 KANELAND SOFTBALL

Varsity Softball

Sandwich 8, Kaneland 6

In their first game of the season the Kaneland Knights "left a lot of runners on base, but played pretty well overall for the the game", according to coach Dennis Hansen. The Indians scored 7 runs in the 4th inning accounting for the win. Anna Miller went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles.

Lisle 14, Kaneland 2

The Knights could only gather 5 hits while committing 5 errors and where no match for Lisle. Shanna Reach and Anna Miller were both 2-for-3 for the Knights with Reach getting a double.

Lisle 9, Kaneland 1

In the second game of the double header against Lisle the Knights could only muster one run. They managed 6 hits but like the first game committed 5 errors. Stephanie Studdard got the season's first triple and like Anna Miller went 2-for-4.

Oswego 10, Kaneland 0

In the first game of double header the Kaneland Knights got just 2 hits and were shutout by Oswego 10-0.

Oswego 10, Kaneland 4

In the second game of the double header the Knights took a 3-2 lead on RBI singles form Shanna Reach and Tricia Greene in the third inning. They added another run in the fifth on a RBI double by Marci Piscitelli, but by then they where trailing 7-4 and went on to lose 10-4.

Wheaton St. Francis 11, Kaneland 2

Playing a game that wasn't on the original schedule, the Knights failed to get their first win of the season as they lost to St. Francis 11-2, getting only 4 hits and for the forth game in last five the Knights committed 5 errors. Anna Miller continued her hot bat going 2-2 with a triple. The Knights are now 0-6 for the season.

Kaneland 8, Oregon 1

The Knights won their first game of the young season beating Oregon 8-1 thanks to some strong pitching from Sarah Guedken who gave up just 4 hits while striking out 11 and walking none. Meanwhile Shanna Reach went 3-4 and Stephanie Studdard went 2-4.

Coach Hansen said, "We played well defensively and got some timely hitting. Sarah Guedken pitched a great game!". The Knights are now 1-6 on the season.

DeKalb 11,Kaneland 6

The Kaneland softball team dropped to 1-7 losing to DeKalb 11-6. If you could take away the third inning when DeKalb scored 7 runs the Knights would have won the game 6-4, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Mandy Piscitelli went 2-4 and Anna Miller got a double on her lone hit. The Knights are still plagued with errors committing 4.

Kaneland 12, Batavia 7

The Knights won their second game of the year beating Batavia 12-7. Both those wins came from the arm of Sarah Guedken who is now 2-5, while the season mark for the Knights improved to 2-7.

Stephanie Studdard smacked a home run and Shanna Reach added a triple. Mandy Piscitelli went 4-for-4 with 4 RBI's with a pair of doubles. "We hit the ball very well today and played solid defense (just 2 errors)," said coach Dennis Hansen.

Kaneland 9, Ridgewood 2

Sarah Guedken did it again - pitched the Knights to victory as Kaneland beat Ridgewood 9-2 for their second win in a row. Ridgewood tied the game at 2 each in the top of the fourth but the Kaneland bats came to life as they scored 7 runs in the next 3 innings.

Anna Miller was back at it, going 3-4 with a double. Mandy Piscitelli was 2-3 with the teams' other double and Shanna Reach was 2-2.

Coach Dennis Hansen says, "we are starting to play pretty well. We are hitting the ball very well right now."

Game two was suspended with Kaneland leading 3-2 in the 4th when the skies opened up.

Kaneland 19, Elgin Academy 0

These kind of games don't come alone very offen, but when they do they sure can boost your enjoyment of the game, provided of course your on the winning end of the score. With Kaneland beating Elgin Academy 19-0 they were on that winning side and to top things off the win gave the Knights a 3 game winning streak.

The Knights jumped off to a quick lead with 3 runs in the first inning and 4 more in the second. But it was the 5th inning when the Knights went to town as they scored 11 runs. They had 10 hits for the night.

Sarah Guedke pitched a 4 hitter, while Mandy Psicitelli went 3-for-3 and Anna Miller and Stephine Studdard both had two hits. Studdard had a triple.

Sycamore 7, Kaneland 0

The box score for this one read:

Syamore 7-9-1
Kaneland 0-0-1

What more can be said......

Kaneland 9, Genoa Kingston 7

The Knights got right back on the winning track by beating Genoa Kingston with a big 7 run fourth inning to overcome a 4-1 deficit. The Knights have now won 4 of their last 5 games to moved their season record to a respectable 6-8.

Sarah Goedken was the winning pitcher leveling her record to 5-5. Marci Piscitelli went 2-4 and Mandy Piscitelli was 1-2 as the knights bats continued to be cool with just 4 hits to Genoa's 11.

"We didn't play very well today, but somehow we found a way to win", commented coach Dennis Hansen.

Kaneland vs Central Catholic

Rained out

Kaneland vs Evergreen Park (DH)

Rained out

Burlington Central 11, Kaneland 1

The Knights dropped to 6-9 for the season as Burlington Central beat them at home 11-1, holding the Lady Knights to just 3 hits.

Anna Miller, Stephanie Studdard and Shanna Reach had Kaneland's only hits. The Rockets (9-5), were given a boost by seven Kaneland errors. Sarah Goedken (5-7) took the loss for the Knights.

The good news was the Knights got the game in as the Chicago land area is as wet as it has ever been.

Kaneland vs Glenbard South

Rained out

Westmont 19, Kaneland 0

Westmont 11, Kaneland 0

The Kaneland Knights ran across a pretty good softball team in the Westmont Sentinels as they suffered their worst setback of the season losing both ends of a doubleheader 19-0, 11-0.

The Lady Knights were not only shutout, but were unable to get a hit all day. In the first game they committed 10 errors, were out hit 12-0 which sparked coach Hansen to state, "It was a tough game. We just didn't play well".

Westmont scored in every inning of both games with the finale going only only 4 innings.

Prior to the games the Knights had a nice 2-1 record for the conference, but when the day was over the Knights fell to 2-3 in the conference and 6-11 for the season.

Kaneland 7, Rochelle 6

Holly Cow! The Knights scored the winning run in the last of ninth inning on Stephanie Studdard's (2-for-2) game winning hit to beat Rochelle 7-6. It was a pleasant win for the Knights coming of a very tough week-end and an exciting game with the teams tied a six after seven innings.

Sarah Goedken (6-8) went the distance for the Knights striking out 7 while walking none.

The Knights out hit Rochelle 12-11, but they still had their problems in the field committing 4 errors. Anna Miller lead the Knights going 3-6 with a double and Mandy Piscitelli helped with 2 hits in 5 at bats and 3 RBI's. Megan Gemmer added 2 RBI's as the Knights hiked their record to 7-11.

"It was a great win for the team," said coach Dennis Hansen. "We kept our heads up and wanted this one."

Kaneland 4, Yorkville 3

Trailing 3-2 going into the bottom of fifth the Knights scored 2 runs and then hung on to beat Yorkville 4-3. The Knights also out hit the Foxes 9-4 as Sarah Goedken (7-8) got the win.

Megan Gemmer lead the Knight hitters going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI's. Trisha Greene and Mandi Piscitelli both went 2-for-4 with a run batted in.

"It was a great win for the team," said coach Dennis Hansen. "It has been a long time since Kaneland has beaten Yorkville in softball!"

The Knights improved their record to a respectable 8-11 for the season and 3-3 in the conference.

Riverside-Brookfield 23, Kaneland 2

Catch this: Riverside-Brookfield scored 23 runs and only got 6 hits as Knight pitching "had some control problems", according the coach Dennis Hansen. Therefore, with the Knights scoring only 2 runs on three hits, the front end of the double header was really no contest.

Kristin Schumacher, Katharine Neahring, Alisha Leuer and Anna Miller got the only Kaneland hits. Amy Romito suffered the loss.

Riverside-Brookfield 9, Kaneland 4

In the night cap of the double header the Knights played much better and were leading going into the 5th inning, 3-2. But Riverside-Brookfield scored three runs in the 5th and 6th innings and for the second time the Knights ended up on the short end 9-4.

The sixth inning was the most difficult for the Knights as they committed 3 errors to account for the three runs.

The Knights pounded out 8 hits in this one with Anna Miller collecting a double. Sarah Goedken suffered the tough loss as the Knights committed 5 errors.

With the two losses the Knights record dropped to 8-13 and 3-5 in the conference.

Evergreen Park 5, Kaneland 0

The Lady Knights lost the front end of a double header to Evergreen Park as they managed only three hits by Mandy Piscitelli, Trisha Greene and Kristin Schumacher.

The game was close as the Knights trailed only 1-0 going into the sixth inning thanks to some fine pitching by Sarah Goedken.

Evergreen Park 11, Kaneland 1

In the second game of the double header the Knights more than doubled their hit out put of the first game, but only managed to score one run - a home run by Ana Miller to start the game.

Miller hit the first pitch of the game over the fence in dead center field. It was the first home run ever hit over the fence surrounding the Knights 2-year old softball field.

The Mustangs got 8 hits, 11 walks and 5 Kaneland errors to jump out to a commanding 9-1 in the first two innings.

Miller finished the game 2-for-3. Mandy Piscitelli and Katherine Neahring both went 2-for-2 and Stephanie Studdard was 1-for-2 as the Knights dropped to 8-15 for the season.

Sycamore 5, Kaneland 0

The Kaneland bats remained silent as they were only able to pound out three hits as Sycamore shut them out 5-0.

Kaneland hits came from Trisha Greene, Alisha Leuer and Melanie Proctor.

"We Played well (the Knights committed just 2 errors)," said coach Dennis Hansen. "But, we couldn't come up with the big hit".

The Knights dropped to 3-8 in the conference and 8-16 for the season.

Yorkville 7, Kaneland 1

Yorkville scored three runs in the first inning and that was all the Foxes needed, although they sent four more runs across in the sixth, to defeat the Knights 7-1.

Katherine Neahring had a double for Kaneland. Marci Piscitelli got the only other Kaneland hit as the Knights were out hit 6-2.

Kaneland 2, Elmwood Park 0

Ring one up for the Lady Knights as Sarah Goedken pitched a one-hitter beating Elmwood Park 2-0. Goedken struck out 12 while giving up only 2 walks as just 3 Tigers reached base.

Kaneland was held to just 4 hits themselves but they were timely as Stephanie Studdard and Ana Miller each drove in a run. Studdard, Miller, Megan Gemmer and Shanna Reach all went 1-for-3.

Kaneland 15, Elmwood Park 5

In the second game of the doubleheader the Knights bats really came alive as they belted out 17 hits in a real slug-feast beating Elmwood Park 15-5.

Sarah Goedken got the win to move to 9-11 as the Knights improved their record to 10-17 for the season and 5-11 in the SPC conference.

Trisha Greene was 4-4 with 3-RBI's. Shanna Reach was 4-5 with 2-RBI's and a double. Ana Miller was 2-3 with 2-RBI's and a triple. Megan Gemmer was 2-2 and Stephanie Studdard was 2-4, both with doubles. Mandy Piscitelli was 1-1 and Alisha Leuer was 1-3 with 2 RBI's.

Kaneland 8, Lemont 5

The Knights split a double-header with Lemont to finish the regular season at 11 and 18 and 6-12 in the conference. The Knights won the first game 8-5 and lost the second game 4-1. Sarah Goedken (10-12) was the pitcher of record in both game.

Mandy Piscitelli and Ana Miller each drove in two runs in the first game. Tricha Greene notched an RBI as Kaneland scored three times in the first and second innings as they took an 8-2 lead after three frames.

Goedken had four strikeouts.

Kaneland 1, Lemont 4

Mandy Piscitelli had the only RBI in the second game for the Knights with a single, but it gave Kaneland an early lead at 1-0. But it was to be the only run the Knights scored. Stephanie Studdard (double) and Shauna Reach had the only other hits for the Knights.

The Knights now enter the first round of the Class A regionals, Tuesday against Aurora Central Catholic.

IHSA CLASS A REGIONALS

Kaneland 10, Aurora Central Catholic 4 (8 innings)

It was a whale of a game and in the end the good guys won the first round of the IHSA Class A Regionals 10-4 against Aurora Central Catholic in extra innings.

The Knights jumped off to a quick 2-0 start in the first inning. But nobody scored again until the Chargers got to starter Sarah Goedken with 3 runs in the fourth. Goedken was sailing until then retiring the first nine batters she faced.

The Chargers added another run in the fifth to make it 4-2, a score that held up until the seventh inning.

With the Knights just three outs away from ending their season they begin to attack.

They loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batter. Then with one out Shanna Reach blooped a single into right field to score one. Another Kaneland out and Kaneland's hopes rode on the bat of Trisha Greene.

With both benchs on their feet, Greene gets two strikes. With only one strike away from ending the year Greene swings and hits a clean single to score Stacy Hislop to tie the game. But the Knights weren't satisfied with a tie as Stephanie Studdard tried to score from second.

Out at home!

Unbelievable!

Into the bottom of the seventh they went. But Goedken held of the 5-18 Charges scoreless as the game moved into extra innings.

In the top of the eighth the Knights bats went to work. Two walks and a bunt single and the Knights had the bases loaded again. A walk to Studdard forced in a run and the Knights were finally ahead again 5-4.

But Shanna Reach wasn't happy with just a one run lead as she strolled to the plate. Boom! She laced a double into left field and all three base runners scored. 8-4.

The Knights added 2 more runs and that was that as the Charges could match Kaneland's burst.

"Our first goal of the season was to get double-digit victories," said Coach Dennis Hansen. "We did that. Our next goal was to win a game in the regionals and now we've done that..... and hopefully we will continue."

Congratulations Lady Knights on a super win.

Kaneland 5, Lisle 2

Who would would have thought the Knights would be playing into the third round of the regionals after having to face number one seated Lisle in the second round. But the 1999 Kaneland Softball team has set out on a mission and look out anybody in their way. And that was Lisle. And the term here is: "was", as the Knights upset them 5-2.

"This was a great game", said coach Dennis Hansen. "We played our best game of the year."

And how did the Knights pull off such a upset? "With good defense and timely hitting," said Hansen.

The Knights never trailed as they jumped off to 2-0 lead in the first. They added two more in the fourth to make it 4-1 and relied on Sarah Godedkin's pitching and solid defense.

The Knights out hit the number one seeded team 10-7 with Shanna Reach going 3-4 with 2 RBI's and a double.

The Knights have now officially become the Cinderella team of the tournament.

Kaneland 4, Yorkville 2

Knights Win! Knights Win! Kaneland defeats Yorkville 4-2 to advance to the Regional finals against Newark.

The Knights who started the year at 1-7 have improved steadily to where "we have been playing well in the second half of the year", says coach Dennis Hansen. "We're a young team, but it seems like we're improving a lot in the last two weeks."

And improving they are as the Knights who split the two games they played against the Foxes during the regular season jumped out to a early three run second inning on Ana Miller's two-out single and never looked back.

Sarah Goedken allowed only 4 Yorkville hits while striking out the same number. Goedken has now allowed only 4 runs in the last two games as she improved her season record to 13-12.

"My pitches are working better, and I can place the ball better than I could earlier in the season," said Goedken.

The Knights offensive power came from Ana Miller with 2 RBI's on two hits in four attempts. Mandy Piscitelli was also 2-for-4 and Katherine Neahring (1-2) had RBI double as the Knights banged out 9 hits.

Coach Hansen may have summed it up best stating, "The girls are really having fun and enjoying themselves."

KNIGHTS WIN THE LISLE IHSA CLASS A REGIONALS!!

Kaneland 3, Newwark 1

The clock refuses to strike twelve as the Cinderella Lady Knights softball team continue to surprise the state of Illinois as they won the Lisle Class A Regionals against number two seeded Newark, 3-1. It was the first ever regional win for a Kaneland softball team.

Holy Cow!!

Last the year the Knights won just two games all year. This year they started out 1-7 and finished the season 11-18. Nobody gave them a chance of winning the the regionals - nobody!

But somewhere they found a glass slipper and begun to mow down the opposition leaving their opponents in tears and disbelieve as they rode their punkin to the Ball.

It's still hard to believe. The Knights Softball team are Regional Champs!!!!

Wow. Say that again. "The Knights Softball team are Regional Champs"!

The Knights are riding the arm of pitcher Sarah Goedken, who over the last three games has given up only 5 runs. Goedken allowed Newark just two hits as she never let the powerful Lady Norsemen (15-8) get started. Moreover, she struck out 9 Newark batters without a walk.

And in the field Kaneland committed only one error, a major improvement from earlier in the year. A true sign of a team that has elevated it's play to a new level.

"We've improved a lot," said Goedken. "It helps to have a better defense behind me if I do mess up."

Meanwhile the Knights are economical with their hits, getting just four hits but making them count for 3 runs. Kaneland scored first with 2 runs in the top of the fourth inning, but Newark came back with one of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Kaneland then added an insurance run in the eighth and that was all they needed. The Knights four hits came from Ana Miller, Stephanie Studdard, Marci Piscitelli and Stacy Hislop.

"The girls played awesome", said coach Dennis Hansen. "It was a great win for the program".

OK - Say it one more time.

"The Knights Softball team are Regional Champs"!

IHSA CLASS A SECTIONALS

Kaneland 2, Westmont 12

Following their stunning victory over Newark, the Knights had a whole week to celebrate and get ready for Westmont, their first round opponent in the IHSA Class A Harvard Sectional.

But the clock struck twelve and the ball was over for this year's Cinderella team as powerful Westmont defeated the Knights 12-2 in six innings.

The Sentinels (19-11) built a 8-0 lead after two innings to set the tone for the game.

But the Knights put on a mini-rally in the top of the third as Stephanie Studdard lead off with a single followed by a triple by Ana Miller. Then Mandy Piscitelli singled home Miller. But that was it for the inning, for the game, and for the season, for the Knights as their bats went silent.

"(Westmont) is a very good ball club," said coach Dennis Hansen, "but I'm happy with what our girls accomplished. It was great ride while it lasted. But good things have to come to an end. Unfortunately, it happened today for us."

Miller who was the only Knight with two hits commented, "I was just frustrated. We just weren't making the plays. I just took it out on the ball."

Sarah Goedkin who has been spectacular in post season play took the loss striking out four and walking two.

But it could very be that the glass slipper the girls left behind this year may while fit perfectly next year as the Knights only lose two seniors to graduation.

Congratulations Lady Knights on fantastic Season. Kaneland is proud of you.

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