Much of the focus for the softball season is on the upcoming postseason, but that hasn’t taken away from the fact that several conference races have yet to be decided.

In the SouthWest Suburban Conference, Lincoln-Way West leads with a 13-2 conference mark, with Lincoln-Way East right behind at 12-2. East handed West both of its league losses. Lockport currently sits fourth in the standings with a 10-5 mark, behind the 11-4 showing by Bradley-Bourbonnais.

With the quality of competition in the SWSC, the teams are always well-prepared when regional time comes around.

“This conference is really tough,” Lincoln-Way West pitcher Abby Brueggmann said after throwing a no-hitter against Lockport on Monday. “Every day, we know we are going to play a good team and that we have to bring our ‘A’ game.

“Playing against such good teams almost every day will really help us in the postseason. We’ll probably see some of these teams again, and other really good teams.”

In the Southwest Prairie Conference, Yorkville currently leads the league with a 12-3 conference mark, with defending Class 4A state champion Oswego, Minooka and Plainfield East all sitting at 11-4 entering the final game of the regular season. Joliet West and Plainfield Central are both 10-5 as well. Minooka and Plainfield East were set to square off Thursday, while Yorkville will conclude the league season Thursday against Joliet Central.

Lemont has sewn up the South Suburban Blue with an 18-0 league record and a three-game advantage on the rest of the field with only one game to play. In the Interstate Eight Conference, Sycamore is in first place with a 9-1 record, followed by Ottawa (6-3), Morris (5-4), Kaneland (5-5) and LaSalle-Peru (4-6).

Seneca rolled through the Tri-County Conference undefeated to win its conference title, while Wilmington posted a 14-0 conference record to capture the Illinois Central Eight title.

BIG NUMBERS

As the regular season winds down, there are plenty of area players that are among the state leaders in certain offensive categories, according to maxpreps.com.

Joliet Central’s Haydn Voss sports a .672 batting average, while Lemont’s Claire Podrebarac is hitting .611, Minooka’s Addison Crumly .607, Wilmington’s Keeley Walsh .592, Plainfield Central’s Emma Sommerfeld .588, Joliet Central’s Sophie Litsogannis .566 and Morris’ Halie Olson .548.

Sommerfeld and teammate Maeve Carlton each have 13 home runs, while Crumly has 12. Both Sommerfeld and Carlton have 30 RBIs, while Crumly has 29. Molly Southall of Wilmington has nine home runs and 28 RBIs. Joliet Catholic’s Addy Rizzatto has nine home runs, while Olson of Morris has eight and teammate Mylie Hughes has seven.

In the pitching circle, Hughes has 16 wins, while Minooka’s Emma Best has 15, Plainfield East’s Jocelyn Cushard 14. Cushard also has a 1.10 ERA. Peotone’s Sophie Klawitter leads the state with 305 strikeouts, while Cushard has 178 and Hughes 165.

MATCHUP TIME

The postseason begins next week, and with that could come some interesting meetings,

For instance, Lockport and Lincoln-Way West might meet for the fourth time this season. If it were to happen, it would be in the title game of the Class 4A Lincoln-Way West Sectional. The Warriors are 3-0 against the Porters this season.

There are also possibilities for intriguing area matchups earlier on the tournament. In Class 3A, Joliet Catholic and Providence have a chance to meet up in the semifinals of the Providence Sectional, and the winner of that game might play for the title against Morris.

In Class 2A, a clash of the titans could be on the docket in the Seneca Regional championship game as Seneca and Wilmington are on a collision course to meet in that game as the top two seeds in the regional.