5 softball storylines to watch in The Herald-News area

With the Herald-News coverage area rich in talented softball players and teams, there is no shortage of interesting storylines to follow throughout the season. Here are five of them.

What does Bella Dimitrijevic do for an encore?

Last season was one for the ages for Lincoln-Way Central’s Bella Dimitrijevic. She led her team to a Class 4A supersectional, where the Knights lost to eventual state runner-up Marist 2-0.

Dimitrijevic earned Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year honors after posting a 26-3 record with a 0.54 ERA, striking out 354 in 169⅔ innings. For good measure, she also hit .412 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs.

The Florida State University signee, who played for the Croation national team over the summer, has a chance to keep the Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year honor in the Herald-News area for a fourth straight season. Lemont’s Sage Mardjetko won the award in 2022 and 2023.

Who makes the longest postseason run?

Last season, both Lincoln-Way Central and Minooka advanced to a Class 4A supersectional. Lemont did the same in Class 3A, marking a fourth straight Elite Eight appearance for the school.

Lincoln-Way Central has the dominant presence of Dimitrijevic in the circle, so betting against the Knights wouldn’t be wise. However, the postseason road is always a tough one, as so many squads are talented enough to make a bid for the state tournament. These players have grown up playing either with or against each other on various travel and school teams, so there is a lot of familiarity. It will boil down to which team is healthiest and executes the best when the postseason rolls around.

In Class 3A, it’s hard to look past Lemont and its four straight supersectional appearances, but Providence Catholic and Morris could pick up the area’s 3A torch and run with it.

In 2A, Wilmington has North Carolina State commit Molly Southall to lead a talented group, while Seneca has quietly been one of the top small-school programs in the area for the past decade. Don’t rule out Joliet Catholic Academy either, as its regular-season schedule will have the Angels well-prepared for the 2A postseason.

What will be the top conference races?

The Southwest Suburban Conference always is one of the best in the state, given that all three Lincoln-Way schools – Central, East and West – as well as perennial power Lockport all call it home. Each team has its own strengths and weaknesses, and each team knows what those are for the other clubs.

The Southwest Prairie also is a strong conference, with both Minooka and Oswego meeting in the supersectional last season. Oswego came out on top in that matchup, but Minooka had beaten the Panthers earlier in the season. Expect another dogfight at the top of that conference as well.

Morris looks to be a contender in the Interstate 8, while Providence Catholic and Joliet Catholic Academy should be in the mix in the Girls Catholic Athletic and East Suburban Catholic, respectively.

The Illinois Central Eight has been dominated by Coal City in recent years, but Wilmington – led by North Carolina State commit Molly Southall – will have something to say about that this season.

Who is on top in Plainfield?

With four high schools, Plainfield District 202 could almost be a conference in and of itself. All four teams seem to be pretty evenly matched, and it will be fun to see which team comes out on top in the district.

Plainfield East was the lone regional champion from the district last season, and the Bengals return Georgetown commit Corrine Garmon in the outfield and DePauw commit Avery Welsh in the circle. Plainfield South has a new coach in Taylor Schwall, and the Cougars hope to improve on last year’s 13-18 record with three returning all-conference players.

Plainfield Central is a young team but has three sophomores in the starting lineup who played on the varsity last year as freshmen. Look for the Wildcats to make some noise this season while gaining even more experience for the years to come. Plainfield North’s Julie Czerniakowski is in her second year as the Tigers head coach and will rely on seniors Kaleigh Milet and Addie Conrad, a University of Wisconsin-Platteville recruit, to provide leadership.

Who will be our Player of the Year?

Entering the season, it would appear Dimitrijevic has the inside track on earning the Herald-News Player of the Year honor as she did last season. But she is far from a lock.

There will be stiff competition from her own district, with players such as Lincoln-Way West’s Reese Rourke, a North Carolina State commit, and Lincoln-Way East’s Cassidy Jagielski, a Notre Dame commit, pushing for the top spot. Minooka’s Gracie Anderson, the reigning Southwest Prairie Conference MVP and Wisconsin-Green Bay commit, is another player to watch.

If you are looking for a dark-horse candidate, look no further than Wilmington’s Southall. The junior North Carolina State commit put up video game type numbers last year with a .667 batting average, 12 home runs and 49 RBIs.