Ainslie Bobroff, who grew up next to Wrigley, was bound to be a ballplayer. Glenbard West is glad to have her

Ainslie Bobroff was bound to end up on a ball field in some form or other.

The Glenbard West senior second basemen grew up about a 10-minute walk from Wrigley Field. Softball didn’t come until she moved to the suburbs in first grade, but she does hold memories of playing with bat and ball before that.

“It was different,” she said. “We played T-ball. It was me and a couple girls and all the boys. Not too much softball at a young age. It was definitely a walk away from Wrigley, which was cool.”

These days Bobroff is swinging a hot bat for Glenbard West, off to a 10-2 start to the season.

A four-year varsity starter, Bobroff is hitting .439 with eight homers, 18 RBIs and 17 runs scored.

Bobroff hit a homer off York ace and travel teammate Avery Kanouse in a 4-3 Hilltoppers’ win Monday. She homered out of the park in Rosemont, and at the Rosemont Rumble hit a line drive single to center that left Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane shaking her head.

“How fast that ball came off her bat,” McGrane said, “if it would have hit that pitcher it would have broken something. That power.”

Bobroff has always been that kind of hitter, batting third or fourth in the Glenbard West lineup since she was a freshman. She makes hard contact, makes great adjustments, and puts the ball in play.

“She’s always been a presence in the batter’s box,” McGrane said. “She’s a free-swinging gamer, a student of the game. She always wants to know why. You explain it and she translates that and can explain it to teammates. Her true excitement and passion and love for the game stands out to me.”

That love for the game shouldn’t surprise.

Bobroff started in park district softball after moving to Glen Ellyn. She picked up a bat and glove when she was little and remembers watching baseball games with her dad as a kid. (Yes, she is a Cubs fan.)

The chance to play varsity as a freshman only helped.

“Playing with a bunch of upperclassmen was something different,” she said. “They gave me the experience. I felt like I took that and learned something new. Now I am the one passing it down.”

McGrane said that Bobroff is the unique player who contributes as a freshman or sophomore and does not plateau.

“She has found something that she loves and she always wants to get better,” McGrane said. “She comes back every spring stronger and better. Whether it’s bat speed, defense, learning different arm slots – every spring it’s something different."

McGrane had high hopes for this Hilltoppers’ team, and not just because of Bobroff. Glenbard West returned nine seniors from last year’s 16-15 team.

Senior pitcher Olivia Salerno, a Keiser University commit, has posted an 8-2 record with a 1.97 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 60⅓ innings.

“She’s come in this spring with a different mentality on the mound,” McGrane said. “She is trusting her stuff, trusting her gut, not overthinking. With our catcher [junior Alexa Trybus] they have a good thing going. If she makes a mistake, she owns it.”

The catalyst to Glenbard West’s offense is senior center fielder Megan Stieglitz, batting .415 with a .510 on-base percentage and five doubles, eight homers, 20 RBIs and 16 runs scored.

“She was our left fielder the last two seasons, moved over to center and it was a seamless transition for her,” McGrane said. “She’s our leadoff hitter and sparkplug.”

Hinsdale Central’s super soph

Emersyn Willits did not just drop into the middle of Hinsdale Central’s lineup on Day 1.

Hard to imagine the Red Devils without her now.

Willits, a sophomore, started her freshman season on the JV team. Couple weeks in, the varsity team needed an extra girl, and Willits was playing well and got the call.

“She came up to varsity, played some games, not playing every one,” Hinsdale Central coach Brittany Zust said. “As the season wore on she showed her drive.”

Zust, though, didn’t see this spring coming from her sophomore.

Through eight games Willits is batting .667 with four homers and is leading Hinsdale Central (6-2) with 17 RBIs. The next closest run producer on the Red Devils has driven in five. In Hinsdale Central’s last three games Willits has hit three home runs, two against conference power Oak Park-River Forest, with eight RBIs.

“We have never had an athlete with this kind of start, putting up these numbers in such a short amount of time,” said Zust, in her 11th season at Hinsdale. “It is evident she has been in the weight room. Her softball IQ has really improved, especially at the plate. Softball is such a mental game and it’s evident that she has the mental piece. She is a fun kid, a nice girl, a great teammate, very coachable.”

Willits varies between playing designated player and third base, batting third or fourth in the lineup as the team’s run producer.

Against Hinsdale South April 19, a game in which Hinsdale Central trailed 12-10 in the eighth inning, Willits ripped a leadoff homer. The Red Devils went on to a 13-12 win.

“Instances like that have happened a few times,” Zust said. “She’s kind of our rally girl.”

Ram tough

Glenbard East is off to a strong 8-2 start, 7-1 in the Upstate Eight Conference, thanks in large part to three standout sophomores and a returning All-State senior.

Sophomore pitcher Claire Bolda is 6-1 with a 0.76 ERA and 85 strikeouts with just 23 hits allowed over 46 innings. Leading the Rams offensively is sophomore shortstop Lilly Carver, batting .514 with seven extra-base hits, 11 RBIs and 15 runs scored out of the leadoff position. Sophomore catcher Ally Amrhein is batting .500 with seven extra-base hits, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored.

And senior captain Missy Saldana, second team All-State last season, is batting .450 with seven RBIs and five runs scored.