On Campus: Local trio does its part for Wisconsin softball

Softball brought Peyton Bannon, Brooke Kuffel and Kate Linkletter together with the Illinois Chill club program.

After playing at three McHenry County-area high schools, the trio is back together at the highest level of the college game: at the University of Wisconsin.

“We built a bond on the Chill that carried over,” said Linkletter, a Johnsburg graduate who is a redshirt freshman utility player for the Badgers. “It was great growing up with them.”

Bannon, a year older than her local teammates, said, “we were always practicing together, so I was with them all the time. Seeing each other succeed at the highest level is one of the coolest things.”

A three-year starter in the outfield, Bannon has started 80 games for the Badgers. Along with being a key contributor, she is among the team’s most experienced leaders.

“For me, it’s all about finding more ways to lead by example,” the Richmond-Burton grad said, “and being able to talk to the underclassmen about what could help them.”

With Wisconsin at 6-6 thus far and a .218 team batting average, Bannon is encouraging creativity on offense.

“We’ve had some setbacks, but we’re good at looking at the bigger picture and what we need to do each day to get better,” she said. “We’re trying to score runs bunting, with sacrifice flies and figuring out ways to score even when we’re not hitting the ball the way we want to.”

Along with two triples and six RBIs this season, Bannon leads the team with four sacrifices.

Despite the team’s offensive struggles, a major highlight for the trio was each driving in runs Feb. 18 in a 6-1 win against Georgia Tech.

Crystal Lake South’s Kuffel, who is batting .333 in eight games, has been a power source for Wisconsin. Her two home runs and six RBIs both rank second on the team. In the Georgia Tech game, she provided an offensive boost with a three-run homer.

“This year, I’m a lot more incorporated into the offense,” she said. “I’ve never really thought about home runs. I thought about singles, and those kind of turned into home runs.”

Hitting behind Wisconsin’s two offensive leaders – designated hitter Kayla Konwent and catcher/infielder Katie Keller – has paid dividends for Kuffel.

“With Katie and Kayla hitting before me, I get a lot nicer pitches,” she said. “They set me up well.”

Defense is where Kuffel’s versatility shines. After playing shortstop for half the season a year ago because of an injury to the starter, Kuffel has played first base, second base and right field this spring.

“Defensively, they can put me anywhere and I don’t really care,” she said. “It gives me more chances.”

Linkletter’s first year on campus was spent rehabbing from left shoulder surgery.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” she said. “When you come in as a freshman, you think you know a lot about the game. I had no idea how deep the game was.”

While recuperating, Linkletter said she took a notebook to practice each day and would put herself on the field mentally.

“All of those mental reps helped me this year,” she said. “I don’t take a day off, and I don’t take any day for granted. I go hard every single day at practice because every single day matters.”

Her energetic approach has led to nine appearances and six starts playing both first base and right field.

“I love being able to move around,” Linkletter said. “I fought for a spot.”

Bower powers MSU: Huntley grad Bri Bower, a sophomore softball pitcher at Mississippi State, struck out a career-high six batters recently in three innings for her first collegiate victory in the circle.

Bower allowed only one hit among the 12 batters she faced in MSU’s 9-2 victory against Mississippi Valley State. The Bulldogs are off to a 12-4 start this season and are receiving votes in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s weekly poll.

Peltz carries Ashland: Sophomore catcher Ben Peltz (Crystal Lake South/McHenry County College) batted .667 with two doubles and two RBIs on the opening weekend of NCAA Division II Ashland (Ohio) University’s baseball season.

Peltz had multiple hits in two of the Eagles’ three wins against Concord, including a 3-for-3 performance Sunday. He also stole a base in the series for Ashland (3-0).

Panthers’ pacesetter: Eastern Illinois junior track athlete Adam Swanson (Dundee-Crown) won the 800 meters (1 minute, 51.84) and ran the third leg on the victorious 4x400 relay team last month in Birmingham, Alabama, to push EIU to the Ohio Valley Conference men’s indoor team championship.

Swanson earned first-team All-OVC for his efforts and placed third in the mile run in 4:07.98.

McHenry’s Andrew Pilat, a graduate student, finished seventh in 14:44.51 in the men’s 5,000 meters for Eastern, which scored 117.5 points to outdistance second-place Little Rock (160).

In the women’s 5,000, Crystal Lake South’s Mackenzie Aldridge, a junior, took fourth (17:48.54) for EIU, which placed fifth as a team.

Best Bees: Two local baseball players are making big contributions for NAIA St. Ambrose.

Senior shortstop Bryce Vincent (Jacobs) is batting .364 and ranks second on the team with nine RBIs and 16 hits for the Bees (3-9).

Crystal Lake South grad Nick Vollmert, a senior pitcher, ranks sixth in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference in strikeouts with 14. Vollmert (1-2) leads the team with 13.1 innings pitched.

• Barry Bottino writes about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at barryoncampus@hotmail.com and follow @BarryOnCampus on Twitter.