Softball notes: Huntley’s Briana Bower has week to remember

Huntley senior Briana Bower had a week to remember.

After a 16-strikeout performance against 2019 Fox Valley Conference champion Crystal Lake South on Monday, Huntley’s ace tossed a no-hitter and fired a program-record 20 strikeouts against Jacobs on Wednesday.

That was only the beginning of a pretty special week.

Bower, the 2019 Northwest Herald Softball Player of the Year, recorded her 600th career strikeout against Crystal Lake Central on Thursday, and then broke the team’s single-game record for the second time in four days with 25 strikeouts in a nine-inning shutout victory over Bloomington on Saturday.

Bower also had the game’s only two runs in that game with a two-run home run. Earlier in the day, the Mississippi State commit tallied 11 strikeouts over four innings in a win against Normal University High School.

In six games last week, Bower was 6-0 and compiled a perfect 0.00 ERA with 97 strikeouts and six walks across 37 innings. She added two homers and finished the week with a .764 batting average.

Bower’s big week did not get unnoticed. Bower earned National High School Player of the Week runner-up honors from extrainningsoftball.com.

On Monday, Bower continued her early-season dominance with her team-best sixth home run of the season. She now has the second most homers among area players, trailing only Crystal Lake South’s Alexis Pupillo (seven homers). Richmond-Burton’s Jesse Klicker also has hit six homers.

No cheapies: Marengo’s 6-9 record may be a little deceiving at this point of the season, as the Indians have certainly been challenged by their opponents.

Eight of Marengo’s nine losses are against teams currently ranked by the Illinois Coaches Association: Kaneland (No. 10 in Class 2A), Elk Grove (No. 9, 4A), Antioch (No. 3, 3A), Barrington (No. 4, 4A), Canton (No. 8, 3A), Normal West (No. 20, 4A), Sterling (No. 6, 3A) and Woodstock North (No. 15, 3A).

Indians coach Dwain Nance, whose teams have won 13 consecutive regional titles and two state championships since he took over the program in 2007, believes those difficult matchups will pay off down the road.

“Our kids never quit and we’re gonna keep battling,” Nance said. “Whether we win conference or not, that’s not that important. It’s the postseason run that’s important to us. And we’ll keep getting better. Our season is off to a rocky start, but we’re playing really good teams.”

Nance said the games have helped show him where his team needs to improve.

“If you’re going to struggle, I think early in the season is the place to do it,” Nance said. “That’s the time you want to be challenged. Obviously, we have some weaknesses right now, and we’ll work on them, but I guarantee that we’ll be better in June than we are today. We’ll find our identity and we’ll be better.”

Welcome back: Jacobs senior Delaney Garden returned to the circle in a big way for the Golden Eagles on Tuesday, striking 20 batters and hitting a home run in a 7-1 victory against Cary-Grove.

Garden had not pitched in a game for Jacobs (7-2) since the first game of the season.

Two years ago as a sophomore, the Lewis University commit earned Northwest-Herald All-Area first-team honors, going 10-9 with a 3.20 ERA and 132 strikeouts. At the plate she led Jacobs with a .462 batting average, along with 13 doubles and 31 runs.

New polls: Johnsburg (8-2) is ranked No. 2 in this week’s ICA Class 2A poll while Richmond-Burton (9-1) is No. 7. The Skyhawks and Rockets, both undefeated in Kishwaukee River Conference play so far, won’t see each other until the final week of the regular season.

In Class 3A, Woodstock North is No. 15 and Crystal Lake South is No. 19. Huntley is No. 18 in Class 4A, one spot up from the previous week.