2024 Sauk Valley Media softball Player of the Year: Sterling’s Sienna Stingley

Sterling High School senior Sienna Stingley was front and center during the softball team’s success this season.

She was locked in more than ever as a starting pitcher and hit for both power and average, racking up numerous awards.

It was no secret that the Golden Warriors went as Stingley went, and yet she still produced eye-popping numbers that led the area in multiple categories. Sterling finished 24-6 and 13-1 in the competitive Western Big 6 Conference.

Stingley is this year’s Sauk Valley Media softball Player of the Year.

Helping the Golden Warriors win their first Big 6 title in their fourth year in the league, Stingley was named the conference MVP. She threw a two-hit complete game with 15 strikeouts in a 5-0 shutout of Belvidere North to help Sterling win its 12th straight regional title.

The Rock Valley Community College commit was also Sterling’s female Roscoe Eades Award winner, which is given to a senior male and female athlete who have had the greatest contributions to Golden Warriors athletics over their prep careers.

The team’s MVP set the program’s single-season school record for strikeouts with 279. Her 614 career strikeouts are second at Sterling behind only 2019 grad Jayme Eilers’ 790.

Stingley went 21-5 with a 1.12 ERA in the circle this season, posting 16 strikeouts in three games and whiffing 10 or more batters in 15 of Sterling’s 30 games. She struck out 12 in her first perfect game, a 4-0 win against Rock Falls on May 3.

She was also the top power bat in the all-area team, but also hit for average, batting .533 with a .614 on-base percentage and 1.648 on-base plus slugging. She had 48 hits, 11 home runs, 12 doubles, and 38 RBIs in 109 plate appearances.

“There really wasn’t much more she could have had as far as awards go,” Sterling coach Donnie Dittmar said.

Stingley has continued to work hard and improve her game. Her pitches were consistently on point.

“You can just tell she stepped into her leadership role this year and took the weight of the team on her back,” Dittmar said. “She wanted to do everything she could this year.”

Her efforts were rewarded with a first-team all-state selection in Class 3A by the Illinois Coaches Association.

“She hits for power, she hits for average, she hits her spots pitching and throws a bunch of different pitches that keep batters off balance,” Dittmar said. “She really came around as an all-around player.”

Stingley cut her ERA in more than half this season and hit nine additional home runs. She tallied 623 strikeouts in her last two seasons after pitching sparingly as a freshman and sophomore.

“She’s a hard working kid that loves the game,” Dittmar said. “She’s going to work as hard as she possibly can, all the time. She has a calm demeanor, but she has a fire brewing inside of her.”

That fire fueled an increased role as a vocal leader as she also led by example on a team with just three seniors.

“She knows the right things to say at the right time to get on the team or let them go,” Dittmar said. “She has a really good feel.”

Stingley also plays for the Heartland Havoc’s 06 squad, which won the Iowa-Illinois United States Specialty Sports Association 18U state championship this past weekend.

Stingley has credited her continued improvements to getting stronger while gaining more experience, continuing to practice every day, along with stretching and continually rehabbing her arm.

An improved changeup also helped her keep batters on their toes. She has worked with her pitching coach, Larry Rice, since she was 10.

Her parents, Carl and Kim, have also been key to her success.

“My parents have been so supportive of me since I was eight years old with travel ball,” she said. “They never put pressure on me, they always just supported me.”

Stingley enjoys seeing the team succeed as much as herself. She’s played with junior Marley Sechrest, her catcher, since she was 10.

“She just made my life so much easier with her confidence in me and our defense,” Stingley said. “Her bat was a really big part too.”

Helping to fulfill the team’s goal of winning the Big 6 title was among the standout highlights this season.

Stingley also enjoyed working with assistant coaches Grace and Gretchen Gould, two former standout Sterling softball players she looked up to.

As she moves on to the college level, Stingley’s plan is to play Division I softball after two years at RVC.

What kind of player is RVCC getting?

“One that’s really ready to work and start the grind that is college ball,” she said.