Softball notes: Johnsburg’s Addison Mass enjoys breakout season for surging Skyhawks

Johnsburg pitcher Addison Mass (5) looks toward Avery Maleug (7) as they huddle for a talk in the third inning of the game at Richmond-Burton High School on Monday, May 24, 2021, in Richmond, Ill. The Skyhawks won, 7-1, and stay undefeated in KRC at 7-0.

Johnsburg softball coach Jamie Smeigh feels like his team has a competitive advantage with every pitch Addison Mass throws.

“She’s not afraid to go after hitters,” Smeigh said of the Skyhawks rising ace. “She feels like she is better than they are, has confidence and she shows it.”

Mass, a junior, has been a key reason why the Skyhawks remain undefeated in the Kishwaukee River Conference and are approaching their first conference championship since 2008.

Mass earned her 10th win of the season Monday in a 7-1 complete-game victory over Richmond-Burton. The win gave the Skyhawks (12-3, 7-0) a two-game lead over R-B and Marengo in the KRC standings with three games left.

Mass gave up only four hits against R-B and struck out two batters in five of seven innings, finishing with 11 strikeouts and throwing 70 of 103 pitches for strikes. She issued no free passes and the only run scored against her was unearned.

“It feels good when you can throw someone out there who you can count on to get a complete game and get some big strikeouts,” Smeigh said. “We do have a good defense to back her up, but knowing they don’t have to make all 21 outs, it does relax you a bit.”

After Monday’s win, Mass is 10-1 with a 1.63 ERA, 121 strikeouts and 22 walks in 77 1/3 innings. She has allowed only four homers all year. Mass has been a big contributor at the plate, too, hitting .420 with five doubles and 16 runs scored.

Johnsburg senior third baseman Kate Linkletter, a Wisconsin commit, said that Mass is fearless and has matured a lot since her freshman year.

“Coming from her freshman year to where she’s at now, she’s nowhere near the same pitcher,” she said. “She’s worked so hard. Her mental game is stronger, her physical game is stronger, and she’s got pitches that people just can’t touch.”

R-B was averaging more than 10 runs a game entering Monday, but was held to its lowest run total of the season against Mass. Linkletter gets a good look at Mass from third base every day and is happy she doesn’t have to face her.

“She spins the ball super well, so I think the other hitters get kind of thrown off,” Linkletter said. “[R-B] is super-good hitting team. They were looking to put the ball out of the park, but you’re not going to put the ball out of the park against her. She’s just too good.”

Red Raiders take the FVC: Huntley won the Fox Valley Conference championship outright Tuesday with a 19-1 victory against Prairie Ridge. The Red Raiders (25-6, 17-0) can put the finishing touches on a perfect FVC season with a home win against Hampshire on Wednesday.

Huntley now has won four out of the past five FVC titles. Crystal Lake South won the FVC title by a game over Huntley in 2019, although the Raiders went on to claim the Class 4A state title that year.

Still, missing out on the FVC title in 2019 stung in an otherwise memorable and historic season for the Raiders.

“Just to come back after blowing it the year before [in 2019] would be huge for us,” senior Marley Reicher said after a 5-1 win over Jacobs last week. “I’d love to win conference again. I don’t really remember winning it my freshman year all that much, so I’d love to do it again.”

Rockets look to bounce back: Richmond-Burton dropped its first two KRC games of the year in the past week, falling to Marengo, 6-5, and Johnsburg, 7-1. The Rockets (14-3, 7-2) still have a shot at winning their second consecutive conference title, but they’ll need a win in their KRC finale against Johnsburg on Wednesday, plus some help.

R-B was without one of its best hitters Monday, with Carys De Lucia (.462 batting average, seven homers, 25 RBIs) unavailable. Rockets coach Vicki Klopf said that " kind of threw everybody into a tailspin.”

Klopf wants to see her team play with more urgency to close out the regular season. The Rockets earned the No. 1 seed last week in their Class 2A regional and have aspirations of a long playoff run.

“I want to see a collective effort from everybody being on board, everybody playing like it’s the last game,” Klopf said. “Dealing with the fact that we will play on Mondays; dealing with the fact that it’s hot; it’s almost June now. Honestly, just control what we can control each day. That’s how we catch the ball, that’s how we throw the ball, that’s how we hit the ball. That’s all I can ask for.”