Blink and you’ll miss McHenry‘s Danica McCarthy and Charlee Cape at the top of the Warriors’ lineup.

The left-handed sophomore duo continued their season-long tear on Thursday afternoon in McHenry, finishing 8 for 8 combined with five runs scored and seven RBIs in McHenry’s 17-7, five-inning Fox Valley Conference softball win over Cary-Grove.

“For young kids, they handle the pressure and competition of varsity really well,” McHenry assistant coach Doug Primus said. “They’re both great contact hitters. Charlee adds a lot of pop to the ball, as well.

“They put the ball in play and good things happen.”

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McHenry's Danica McCarthy rounds third base on her way to scoring a run during a Fox Valley Conference softball game against Cary-Grove on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at McHenry High School. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver — Shaw Media)

Lots of good things happened Thursday, with McCarthy and Cape setting the stage.

McCarthy didn’t get a ball out of the infield for the Warriors (10-11, 5-7 FVC), but she made it to first base easily in all four plate appearances with her cruise control speed. She scored three runs, drove in two runs and swiped her 20th steal of the spring.

Cape’s 4-for-4 day included two doubles, two runs scored and four RBIs. Both of her doubles were hard shots to the opposite field. Her second helped the Warriors in a nine-run fourth inning in which they sent 14 batters to the plate.

The approach is rather simple for McCarthy, who is hitting .519 with a .558 on-base percentage, 36 runs scored, six doubles, three triples and 11 RBIs as the Warriors’ pesky slap hitter.

“I’m just trying to hit the ball, and get on so my teammates can get me on,” said McCarthy, who utilized her speed to beat out two infield hits down the first-base line in the second and fourth innings.

“Let my teammates do the rest.”

McCarthy and Cape don’t like to waste any time, either. They’d rather spend their time running the bases than standing at home plate.

“I’m really just trying to hit early in the count, look for a good pitch and take advantage there,” said Cape, who is hitting .400 with a .462 on-base percentage, two homers, eight doubles, three triples, nine stolen bases, 20 runs and 26 RBIs. “Same thing as Danica said. We’re just trying to get on so our teammates can hit us in.”

McCarthy and Cape had exactly half of McHenry’s total hits, as the Warriors finished with 16 as a team. Elyse Fullington (two runs, RBI), Natalie Bender (RBI) and Hailey Townsend (two runs, two RBIs, two steals) added two hits apiece while Caitlyn Carlisle (two runs) and Lyla Oeffling both drove in a run.

Cary-Grove beat McHenry 5-4 on April 10, a game in which McCarthy and Cape only combined for one hit. Thursday’s showing was more like their season-long performance as top-of-the-order agitators.

“You’ve got to give it to them. They have the most aggressive baserunners, probably in the entire conference,” Trojans coach Cara Neff said. “They will take every extra base that we give them, and we gave them plenty. ... They came out with a vengeance. They had a chip on their shoulder and we were playing a little more on our heels.”

Despite the final 10-run spread, C-G (4-13, 3-9) was within striking distance early on. Trailing 8-3 after three innings, the Trojans put up four runs in the top of the fourth – the big blast a three-run home run just over the center field-fence by Paityn Ahlquist – to cut the lead to 8-7.

Ahlquist finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored and three RBIs, and leadoff hitter Ella Grimm was 3 for 3 and drove in one. Addison DeSomer had the Trojans’ only extra-base hit, a double in the second.

“She’s got great power,” Neff said of Ahlquist. “She’s been hitting in the four spot all year. She’s got a great smooth swing and that boosts the morale and helps get us back to where we need to be.”

McHenry, which recently lost a pair of one-run games to state-ranked Sycamore, will look to climb back to .500 Monday at Jacobs.

“We just need to keep fighting until the end,” Cape said.