Softball notes: IC Catholic Prep’s ‘three little studs’ have team at 20-3, thinking deep playoff run

Frank Reaber calls them his “three little studs.”

The veteran IC Catholic softball coach has a different kind of team this spring. A “goofball group,” it’s the first team he’s ever had that chants in the dugout. They’re dancing in the dugout, too, which is new to him, but he’s riding with what’s comfortable to the kids.

And he’s riding with three fantastic freshmen.

Senior Analisa Raffaelli is the star of the Knights, but three first-year players – Kelly Cahill, Ariani Zito and Lexi Russ – are a big reason why IC Catholic Prep is 20-3 on the season and poised for a deep run when the Class 2A playoffs start in a little over a week.

Zito, “not even 5 feet tall,” had perhaps the Knights’ biggest hit of the season, an inside-the-park walk-off home run in the rain to beat De La Salle 11-10 on April 18. Wearing No. 99, the righty/lefty slapper can bat for contact or hit for power and is batting .390 with nine extra-base hits, 22 stolen bases, 19 RBIs and 32 runs scored. Zito plays second base and is also one of the Knights’ pitchers.

“She has energy out of the roof,” Reaber said. “She is a righty who is a switch hitter, but I bat her more left. She has power and when she gets on base she’s a terror.”

Russ plays center field in travel ball, but Reaber moved her to third base. A righty who bats left-handed, she started the season hitting cleanup but has since moved up to second to get her more at-bats. She’s batting .536 with 11 doubles, 26 runs scored and 29 RBIs.

“With her it’s hard contact every time,” Reaber said. “She goes where I need her and hits it hard every single time.”

Cahill, who wears No. 88, has caught every game except five innings – “if I take her out, she gets mad,” Reaber said. Another righty who bats lefty, Cahill is batting .423 with 15 runs scored and 18 RBIs and is nails behind the plate.

“Umpire the other day walked up to me and said, ‘Your catcher can really frame the ball’ and I said, ‘Yeah, and she’s a freshman,’ “ Reaber said. “She will grow as she gets older. She’s picked girls off first. I don’t even call signs. Her throw is right on.”

The freshmen are following the lead of Raffaelli, a senior shortstop and Colgate recruit.

Raffaelli, closing in on 200 hits for her career, is batting .632 with 10 doubles, 10 homers, 50 runs scored, 30 RBIs and 50 stolen bases.

“She is the best player on the field every game we’ve went into,” Reaber said.

The Knights are batting .423 as a team, scoring just a tick over 10 runs a game, and avenged two of their three losses, to Aurora Central Catholic and St. Francis, in their return meetings. IC Catholic’s defense can sometimes make its pitchers throw more than they should and Reaber thinks his outfield needs to be more aggressive.

But the Knights should be heavily favored to win a sectional and potentially meet Marengo or Aurora Central Catholic for a third time in a Class 2A supersectional at Benedictine University.

“The kids are having fun,” Reaber said. “It’s a good group of girls.”

Lilly Burda leading York

York shortstop Lilly Burda was all-conference and All-State as a freshman, so the bar already was set rather high.

She continues to set the standard for the Dukes.

Burda through 21 games is batting .508 with six doubles, three triples, five homers, 19 runs scored and 16 RBIs. She leads York in most statistical categories, including batting average, on-base percentage and RBIs.

“She is just so smooth,” York coach Lisa Fraticola said. “She is not fazed by the pitch count. She will hit anything. I feel like she has a calm presence in the box and she is just a natural.”

Burda’s also become a player who teammates look up to.

“Even as a sophomore I can see her coming into her own and taking more of a leadership role,” Fraticola said. “She’s becoming more vocal with a new-found confidence this year.”

The Dukes had scored only 99 runs through 21 games and were batting .283, but junior and third-year pitcher Avery Kanouse has been stellar in the circle. Kanouse on May 3 threw four innings of no-hit relief with six strikeouts in a 3-2 win over IC Catholic.

“She has been our go-to in big games,” Fraticola said. “She’s taken on a new role of captain, she starts and relieves, and has a presence on the mound. She has taken more charge.”

Record-setting Reagan

The hits just keep coming for Wheaton North junior shortstop Reagan Crosthwaite.

Crosthwaite on May 3 hit her 11th home run, tying her single-season program record, and is at 25 homers for her career. She passed Lauren Vaughn for Wheaton North’s career home run mark and Ellie Hubbard for most RBIs in Falcons’ history.