Bradley-Bourbonnais rides hot bats, 5 shutout innings from Abbie Hofbauer to 17-0 win at Herscher

Everything seemed to be clicking for Bradley-Bourbonnais in its 17-0, five-inning win over Herscher on Monday.

All 12 players who had a plate appearance for the visiting Boilermakers (3-1) had at least one hit or one RBI. They racked up 18 hits as a team to go with eight walks and a hit-by-pitch.

They also played errorless defense behind junior Abbie Hofbauer, who had nine strikeouts, one walk and allowed just two hits to the Tigers (1-2) over five shutout innings.

“I think everything was working pretty good,” she said. “I know that my team is behind me, so no matter where I throw it my team does a really good job of communicating and figuring out where we’re going to go with the ball. That helps my confidence in throwing what I need to throw.”

After getting hit around a bit by a formidable Marist lineup in her first outing of the season Saturday, Hofbauer was locked in from first pitch Monday. Heading to the circle in the bottom of the first already with a 2-0 lead, she started the frame with a strikeout before getting a pair of groundouts.

A 1-2-3 inning followed for Hofbauer in the second, and after she hit a two-run triple to start a five-run rally in the top of the third, she struck out the side in the bottom half.

The Boilermakers tacked on two more runs before Hofbauer struck out two more batter to start the bottom of the fourth. She then allowed an infield single to Keira Ahramovich and walked Chloe Kincade before getting out of the inning and preserving the Boilermakers’ 9-0 lead.

It would be a while before she got back to the circle, as the Boilermakers piled on eight runs in the top of the fifth. After a leadoff single from Abygale Coutant started the bottom of the fifth, two strikeouts and a groundout ended the game.

Softball: Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Herscher Bradley-Bourbonnais' Shannon Lee dives into third under the tag attempt by Herscher's Pippa Dunnill during their game on Monday, March 23, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Hofbauer’s 33 2/3 innings last season were second on the team behind ace Lydia Hammond’s 152 1/3, and with 10 strikeouts in seven innings this season she’s nearly halfway to last season’s total of 21.

“I think Abbie does a really good job of always being composed,” head coach Haylee Austell said. “The great thing about Abbie, and why I think she complements Lydia so well, is that Abbie has great movement and the ability to hit a lot of good spots. I think that’s what makes her successful.”

Now that she has a full varsity season under her belt from last year, Hofbauer said she feels ready to keep attacking her junior season.

“From last year, being an underclassmen, to this year as a junior, I feel like I have a different role,” Hofbauer said. “Just in the circle, just showing that confidence and exuding that to my team has helped me a lot.”

Hofbauer also went 2 for 4 at the plate with two RBIs and three runs scored. Shannon Lee and Leila Middlebrook had three hits and two RBIs apiece, with Lee scoring a run and Middlebrook scoring two.

Bristol Schriefer was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run, while Elise Munsterman, Kylie Stanek and Sophia Darling scored two runs each.

Softball: Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Herscher Bradley-Bourbonnais' Leila Middlebrook points to and praises a hit by teammate Abbie Hofbauer during their game against Herscher on Monday, March 23, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Middlebrook said she feels the Boilermakers lineup complements each other well, and the depth displayed Monday is a good example of that.

“It feels we all kind of work together in our own way,” she said. “We have some slap hitters where we’re getting on, and I think we can all trust each other in a certain way where if one person doesn’t get on, we know the next person’s got her back. That’s really exciting about this year.”

For Herscher, Monday was a tough test against the No. 9 team in the Illinois Softball Coaches Association Class 4A preseason poll.

Softball: Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Herscher Herscher's Lexi Crawford throws to first after fielding the ball during their game against Bradley-Bourbonnais on Monday, March 23, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Head coach Mike Cann said he felt his 2A Tigers initially looked prepared to meet this early-season challenge, but after allowing just two runs over two innings, mistakes started to pile up as things got out of hand.

Still, he likes how things are shaping up early on.

“I think as the year moves forward, we’re going to figure out our roles, and new leaders are going to step up,” he said. “I always love our (Illinois Central Eight Conference) play. Our 2A conference makes us better, especially going into postseason where we’ve had success the last three years.”

1 of 11

Softball: Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Herscher Bradley-Bourbonnais' Lydia Hammond rounds third base for home during their game against Herscher on Monday, March 23, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)