A varsity starter since her freshman year, Cary-Grove‘s Addy Green mixes fun and business in the circle.

“She’s fun but she holds her teammates accountable, which honestly is one of the best types of seniors you can have,” C-G coach Cara Neff said. “She loves you, but she also holds you to your word.”

“She brings absolute positivity and a no-nonsense attitude.”

Green has been money for the Trojans all year, including during Monday’s 6-1 Fox Valley Conference softball win against Crystal Lake South in Crystal Lake.

Cary-Grove (8-19, 5-11) entered Monday with four straight losses and tied with South (6-14, 4-12) for last in the 10-team FVC.

Monday’s win gives the Trojans some much-needed positivity before the start of the postseason next week.

“It always feels nice to win, and it’s been slim this year,” said Green, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning against the Gators, losing it on a two-out single by Lily Cargill. “We’ve really learned how to deal with failure and how to bounce back from it.”

Green bounced back from a rough appearance against Lake Zurich on Saturday in which she gave up nine runs on 10 hits by throwing a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts and four walks against South, which had won three of four going into Monday’s FVC contest.

Green allowed only two baserunners through the first four innings and held South scoreless until a sacrifice fly by Riley Travis in the top of the sixth with nobody out. Travis’ sac fly knocked in Riley Barda, who reached on a bunt and advanced to third following a passed ball and wild pitch.

“Our bats just didn’t come out until a little bit later,” said South coach Sara Markelonis, whose Gators beat crosstown rival Crystal Lake Central 15-14 a week ago. “I think the girls just took some time to adjust. Coming off games against Hampshire in nine innings, and then Crystal Lake (Central) was a big game for us. Coming off that week was a little exhausting, but we’ve got to get right back into it.”

Cary-Grove scored all six of its runs in the top of the second, all coming with two outs. The Gators threw out a baserunner stealing home for the second out of the inning, but the next five batters all reached for the Trojans.

Sam Steiner (2 for 2, double, RBI), Ella Grimm (2 for 3, stolen base, RBI) and Lyla Murray (2 for 4) had three consecutive base hits. Paityn Ahlquist drilled a two-run double to the left-center field gap to score Grimm and Murray.

Ahlquist, a sophomore, has been one of the Trojans’ hottest hitters. She normally hits third or fourth in the order.

Her approach is simple.

“I really just try to get on base, move the runners around me and get them to score,” said Ahlquist, who also pitches for C-G.

All six runs in the second inning were unearned against sophomore Lily Dittrich, who scattered nine hits and three walks and finished with eight strikeouts. The Gators committed three errors.

“She’s been working her tail off,” Markelonis said of Dittrich. “She’s throwing 100-plus pitches each game. She’s feeling good, she’s hitting her spots, and anytime I ask ‘What’s your goal this inning?’ she always has a goal and always accomplishes it.

“It’s nice to have somebody reliable in the circle that you know the girls can trust.”

Crystal Lake South honored its three seniors Monday: Travis, Hazel Hook and Natalie Salberg.

‘Hazel is such a big leader for us and such a positive attribute to this team; Natalie is huge when it comes to the outfield and stepping up in roles that we’ve asked of her; and having Riley come back was a wonderful gift for us, and it’s helped us tie everything together this year,” Markelonis said.

Cary-Grove opens the playoffs against Harvard in a Class 3A Prairie Ridge Regional semifinal on May 19. If the the Trojans win their first game, they’d play No. 1 seed Prairie Ridge, which doesn’t have a semifinal opponent, for the championship.

“I haven’t won a regional in my four years here,” Green said. “That’d be really nice to win that.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/2026/05/12/addy-green-big-second-inning-lead-cary-grove-past-crystal-lake-south/