Girls Softball

The Sterling Junior All-Stars little league softball team is playing its first of three games at the state tournament on Saturday after winning its district title.

Following a record-setting senior season in the circle and a number of individual awards, Sterling senior Sienna Stingley is this year's Sauk Valley Media softball Player of the Year.

First-year head softball coach David Shepard is the 2024 Sauk Valley Media softball coach of the year after leading the Storm to their first regional title since 2006 this spring as a seven seed. They beat rival Princeton 6-5 in the regional title game.

Here is a look at the 2024 Sauk Valley Media all-area softball team

Sterling senior pitcher Sienna Stingley was named to the Class 3A All-State first team by the Illinois Coaches Association. Dixon, Fulton, Morrison, and Newman also had players selected.

Sterling seniors Lucas Austin and Sienna Stingley were given the Roscoe Eades Award, which recognizes two senior athletes for their athletic contributions over four years.

Huntley defeats Barrington in the Class 4A Barrington Sectional softball Championship game on Friday, May 31, 2024, at the Barrington High School.

Reese Mosolino threw a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts as Prairie Ridge edged Sterling 2-1 in Wednesday's Class 3A Sycamore Sectional semifinal. Two unearned runs were the difference.

Harvard faces Prairie Ridge in a Class 3A softball regional final game at Lions Park in Harvard on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

Richmond-Burton faces North Boone in the IHSA Softball Class 2A Sectional Championship game on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at Marengo High School.

Sienna Stingley struck out 15, breaking Sterling's single-season strikeout record in the process, in another commanding performance, leading the Golden Warriors past Belvidere North 5-0 to their 12th straight regional championship.

Harvard faces Prairie Ridge in a Class 3A softball regional final game at Lions Park in Harvard on Friday, May 24, 2024. The game was postponed because of weather until Saturday.

Jessalin Johns struck out 14 and got out of bases-loaded jams in the second and seventh innings, and Newman – despite being outhit – beat Putnam County 4-1 in Saturday’s Class 1A Putnam County Regional final.

A third meeting between two rivals came down to one run Friday evening in the Class 2A Rock Falls Regional title game. In the end, Bureau Valley pulled off its second upset of the week, defeating Bureau County and Three Rivers rival Princeton 6-5 in a thriller.

Marengo faces North Boone in an IHSA Softball Class 2A Regional Championship game on Friday, May 17, 2024, at Marengo High School.

Princeton kept up the pressure all game long, and eventually it paid off Wednesday in its 2A Rock Falls Regional semifinal. The Tigresses had baserunners in all but one inning, and they finally broke through with runs in each of the final three innings to top Rock Falls 3-2.

There weren’t too many zeroes put up on the scoreboard Monday when Rock Falls hosted Oregon in a Big Northern Conference softball clash.The teams combined for 32 runs, 31 hits and 26 RBIs as the Hawks avenged a loss earlier this season with a 21-11 win in six innings.

Richmond-Burton faces Marengo in a Kishwaukee River Conference softball game on Monday, May 6, 2024, at Marengo High School.

In yet another tight game between longtime Three Rivers rivals Newman and Morrison, the Fillies answered the Comets' comeback with a clutch hit by Emery Brewer in the 10th inning to pick up a 7-5 win on Friday afternoon in Sterling.

Princeton freshman Avah Oertel had a game to remember Monday against Newman. In a 10-2 Three Rivers East win over the rival Comets, she went 2 for 2 with a pair of two-run home runs and two walks.

Huntley faces Prairie Ridge in a Fox Valley Conference softball game on Monday, April 29, 2024, at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake.

Sauk Valley area softball teams have shown signs of potential in the first month-and-a-half of the season. Sterling and Fulton have emerged as top teams in the region, while Morrison and Dixon are trending upward.

Burlington Central faces Cary-Grove in a Fox Valley Conference softball game on April 22, 2024 at Cary-Grove High School.

Harvard faces Marengo in a Kishwaukee River Conference softball game on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Marengo High School.

In a Thursday nonconference game at Reynolds Field, Newman and Dixon battled each other and the rain. After three innings of play in the downpour, the game was called off with the Comets ahead 3-0.

Senior first baseman Ady Waldschmidt doubled and came around to score on an error as Sterling pulled off a 3-2, nine-inning win over Rockridge on Wednesday.

Rock Falls came out swinging in the first two innings Tuesday against Dixon at Reynolds Field. With an eight-run cushion after the first two frames, the Rockets had room for error. They took full advantage in a 13-6 win over the Duchesses.

After a fast start, Oregon kept its foot on the gas pedal on Friday afternoon at Oregon Park West, defeating Dixon 11-1 in five innings in the Big Northern Conference opener for both teams.

It was a big game for Rock Falls batters Thursday against Forreston. In a 17-2, four-inning win over the Cardinals, the Rockets racked up 14 hits, including two home runs.

Morrison junior pitcher Bella Duncan is off to a sizzling start this season. During a 3-game stretch last week, she hit 2 home runs, tossed 36 strikeouts, and allowed only 7 hits and 5 runs in 17 innings. Duncan has been voted the SVM Athlete of the Week for March 11-17.

The 2023 high school softball season was an exciting one in the Sauk Valley area. 2024 has plenty of intrigue as the season begins. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on this year.

Sterling senior pitcher Sienna Stingley struck out 16 with no walks in a complete-game, six-inning two-hitter and went 4 for 4 with three RBIs as the Golden Warriors won 11-0 against the Duchesses at Reynolds Field on Tuesday.

Check out the team-by-team softball preview with top returners, newcomers and information about Sauk Valley area teams for the 2024 season.

La Salle-Peru senior Addie Duttlinger signed to play softball with NCAA Division I Saint Louis University, calling it "an incredible opportunity."

For three local high school softball players, the summer season ended as well as they could’ve hoped. Polo's Cheyenna Wilkins and Forreston's Ella Ingram and Ayla Kiper were part of a title team at the USSSA Great Lakes National Championships.

Montini names Amy Bukovsky new head varsity softball coach.

Here is the 2023 Sauk Valley Media All-Area Softball Team, along with the season's final stats leaderboard.

Katie Thatcher couldn’t wait for the 2023 softball season to get here. Finally feeling 100% healthy after two knee surgeries her sophomore season, the Rock Falls senior was chomping at the bit to get back on the diamond.

There were a lot of question marks surrounding the Sterling softball program coming into the 2023 season. When you’ve won 10 straight regional titles, there is always going to be some preseason scrutiny.

It was another strong spring around the area on the softball diamonds in 2023, as four teams won regional titles and two teams advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond. Here are a few of the more noteworthy achievements around the Sauk Valley this spring in softball.

The Illinois Coaches Association released its 3A and 4A All-State softball teams on Monday, and a pair of Sterling players were named to the 3A squad.

Here we are again at the end of another successful high school sports year in the Sauk Valley – and 2022-23 was a doozy.

The Big Northern and Three Rivers Conferences announce their baseball all-conference teams, while the TRAC also releases its softball team and the BNC names its girls soccer squad.

Led by a trio of first-team selections, 21 local softball players were named to the Illinois Coaches Association All-State Team, released Tuesday.

Several local league release their 2023 all-conference teams for spring sports.

Junior Sienna Stingley pitched a one-hitter and also provided the big blow with her bat with a two-out, two-run double in the top of the fifth inning as Sterling topped Woodstock North 3-0 on Tuesday in their Class 3A Belvidere North Sectional semifinal.

Stingley was in complete control for Sterling (24-11), allowing only two baserunners in the game and striking out 14 without a walk. Pitching coach Larry Rice said he didn’t think she missed a spot all game.

After Rock Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first in Monday's Class 2A East Peoria Supersectional, two-time defending state champion Rockridge answered right away and pulled away for a 14-2, five-inning victory.

The Golden Warriors capitalized on five Bucs' errors, and junior pitcher Sienna Stingley had a big game at the plate and in the circle to fuel an 11-0, five-inning win in the Class 3A Belvidere Regional championship on Saturday.

The Rock Falls Rockets and Marengo Indians promised a pitchers’ duel early in the Class 2A Stillman Valley Sectional championship Friday. But the Rockets tossed that script aside in the middle innings, pulling away for an 8-2 win and their first sectional title since 2004.