Latest news with #Benet
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
A sacrifice fly? Think again, Quinn Rooney. ‘It just kept going.' He makes sure Benet keeps going too.
Benet sophomore first baseman Quinn Rooney put his head down and ran hard after hitting the towering fly ball to right field. It wasn't until he got to second base that he realized what he had done. Kaneland junior right fielder Carter Grabowski drifted back and got ready to catch what everyone figured would be a sacrifice fly. Then he signaled that he couldn't find the ball. That's because it was gone for a tie-breaking three-run home run. 'I actually didn't think it was a home run,' Rooney said. 'I thought it was like a sac fly to the right fielder. But as I was rounding second, I saw the home plate umpire point like that, and I just got really excited.' So did Rooney's teammates, who mobbed him after he crossed home plate with what turned out to be the decisive run in Benet's 5-4 victory in the Class 3A Kaneland Regional championship game. Rooney's first home run of the season, coming in the fifth inning, capped a five-run rally by the second-seeded Redwings (23-12), who advance to the Kaneland Sectional semifinals to play top-seeded Burlington Central at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Third-seeded Kaneland (25-11) led 2-0 when junior second baseman Nathan Cerocke and senior third baseman Merrick Sullivan led off the inning with singles for Benet. Senior right fielder Luke Wildes walked to load the bases for senior center fielder Josh Gugora, who hit a slow tapper to third. An errant throw home allowed two runs to score. Rooney followed with his decisive swing. 'Off the bat, I was excited because, all right, at least that's one, you know, if it was a sac fly,' Benet co-coach Jorge Acosta said. 'He caught enough to backspin it, and it just kept going and got out of here. It was awesome, a good moment for him.' Rooney has had many good moments this season. The Redwings originally planned to use him as a pitcher, but he impressed so much at first base during the preseason that he earned the starting spot there. 'He's been one of our biggest clutch hitters all year long,' Acosta said. 'I think this is his fourth or fifth game-winning hit. 'He had a couple walk-off hits back-to-back days against Naperville North and Carmel. He's very calm in big spots and keeps things simple. He just finds a barrel, and good things happen.' Not much good was happening in this game for the Redwings, who had mustered only two singles off Kaneland junior pitcher Hayden Foster through the first four innings. But Foster's day was done after Rooney's homer. 'I just had to stay relaxed just like any other at-bat,' Rooney said. 'You can't tense up in those tough moments but just got to show up for your team.' The Redwings know they can rely on Rooney to do so. 'He's been huge all year coming through in big spots,' Benet senior pitcher Gino Zagorac said. 'As a sophomore especially, it's tough. 'There's a lot of pressure on you, but he's thrived through all the pressure, and he's came up in big spots for us a lot throughout the year. You've got to give a lot of credit to him for staying composed.' Zagorac (3-2), a Wichita State recruit, stayed composed despite some struggles with command. He walked four and hit a batter but allowed only two hits and struck out six, leaving after issuing a leadoff walk in the sixth. 'It was tough in the beginning trying to find my all my pitches, and then as the game went on, I was able to throw three pitches in the zone for strikes,' Zagorac said. 'That helped me keep them off balance and battle through even though I didn't have my best stuff.' Benet junior Lucas Kohlmeyer pitched two innings to get the save. Rooney helped him by making a diving catch for the first out of the seventh inning and then grabbed a grounder and tossed the ball to Kohlmeyer for the second out. Northwestern-bound senior Jake Rifenburg is scheduled to pitch for Benet on Wednesday. Zagorac said 'the entire school' has confidence in Rifenburg, while Rooney said the Redwings have confidence in themselves. 'We've been battling all year, but we just got to keep going,' Rooney said. 'We're just going to keep winning games, eventually getting to state. That's the goal.'
Chicago Tribune
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Villanova volleyball recruit Marikate Ritterbusch kick-starts Benet softball. ‘She has meant a lot.'
Marikate Ritterbusch will graduate from Benet having earned six varsity letters, three each in volleyball and softball. The Villanova volleyball commit wasn't the best player on either team, but she may be the best athlete in the senior class. In volleyball, Ritterbusch was a backup libero who helped the Redwings reach the Class 4A state championship match in each of the past three seasons. In softball, she played first base for two seasons, including when the Redwings finished third in Class 3A in 2023, but she has switched to center field while continuing to produce as the No. 9 hitter. 'Usually your nine-hole hitter, you want them to get on base in order to then have the top of the order coming up,' Benet softball coach Janet Royal said. 'That's why we put Marikate there because she's usually getting on base. 'She also plays a phenomenal center field and really hits the ball hard, so she has meant a lot to the team, especially as a leader as a senior — and she's an athlete.' That athleticism is tested in the spring, when Ritterbusch juggles high school softball and club volleyball. 'It's really a lot of driving back and forth and kind of just going all over the place in the spring,' she said. 'A lot of times, I go from a softball game or practice to my club volleyball practices.' Volleyball is Ritterbusch's favorite sport, but she wasn't about to forgo one more softball season. 'I love them both,' she said. 'I'll be sad once softball is over, but I'm glad I got to play it in the spring my whole life, basically. 'It's a lot of important time management and just a lot of effort and working with a lot of coaches. I'm grateful that all the coaches I've been working with allow me to do both.' Ritterbusch got the job done both in the field and at the plate on Wednesday. She went 3-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored and made one putout to help the eighth-seeded Redwings beat ninth-seeded Argo 4-1 in a Class 4A Benet Regional semifinal in Lisle. The Redwings (17-17) will face top-seeded Marist (32-2) in the regional championship game at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Argo (19-9) led 1-0 until the bottom of the third inning, which Ritterbusch began with a single to right. She stole second and scored on a two-out infield single by sophomore catcher Lanie Rosner. Sophomore pitcher Sophie Rosner, who pitched a six-hitter with no walks and 10 strikeouts, followed with an RBI double to put the Redwings ahead to stay. 'We knew that they had a good pitcher, so talking to each other as everyone else went through the lineup and looking for those early strikes and going after it was really important,' Ritterbusch said. 'When they got that first run, we knew that we had to come back right away. So we got that run back, and it was good once we got our hits going.' Senior third baseman Bella Iovinelli, who was hitting in front of Ritterbusch, got the Redwings going in her final two at-bats, blasting solo home runs in the fourth and sixth innings, with the first striking the scoreboard. That gave Benet five hits from the bottom two hitters in the lineup. 'It's awesome to see them step up in this last game and be able to put the ball in play,' Royal said. 'Bella hit two home runs after she broke her bat in warmups. She hit two home runs with someone else's bat, which is phenomenal.' Iovinelli, who had hit one previous home run this season, borrowed sophomore Sofia Heggie's bat to do her bashing. 'I tried to find a new one fast,' Iovinelli said. 'It worked.' As has Ritterbusch's balancing of her busy schedule. She raised her average to .275 and has 23 runs scored, seven RBIs and a team-high eight stolen bases. 'It's been a lot to juggle, but I'm super grateful just to be a part of these two great programs and to just be able to do what I love over and over again,' she said. 'It's taught me a lot about hard work and time balancing.' Ritterbusch's teammates are thankful she stuck around. 'She is honestly such a good teammate,' Iovinelli said. 'She's always there to lift you up. Whether you do good or bad, she's always the first person to say, 'Good job.''
Chicago Tribune
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Sent by Chloe Sentman, of course. Her goal in PKs sends Benet past Metea Valley in a Class 3A regional final.
Benet senior midfielder Chloe Sentman's goal in penalty kicks clinched the Class 3A Metea Valley Regional championship game against the host Mustangs on Friday night. The Redwings won 4-3 in PKs after the teams went scoreless through overtime. Eighth-seeded Benet (14-6-2) advances to the Naperville North Sectional semifinals on Tuesday, while the season ends for top-seeded Metea Valley (13-6).
Chicago Tribune
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Blake Fagbemi commits to Illinois after leading Benet to state title: ‘They like how I find a way to win'
When senior point guard Blake Fagbemi led Benet to the Class 4A state title at the State Farm Center in Champaign on March 15, he had no idea that arena would be his future home. At the time, Fagbemi was committed to Truman State, a Division II program. Then he heard from one of its coaches. 'The assistant coach called me and told me the coach and the school parted ways, so after I heard that, I reopened my recruitment,' Fagbemi said. 'That was about a month ago.' It didn't take long for Division I coaches to come calling. Zach Hamer, an assistant to Illinois coach Brad Underwood, was one of them. Underwood and his staff have been retooling the roster since the Illini's loss to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 'When I decommitted, that same night coach Hamer reached out to me,' Fagbemi said. 'We just continued the conversation. He was talking about how much coach Underwood loved my game. 'I had other schools reaching out, but I didn't have any actual offers.' That changed Wednesday, when Illinois extended an offer, and Fagbemi accepted. He will become the third Benet player in coach Gene Heidkamp's 17-year tenure to commit to a Big Ten program, joining former Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky and former Northwestern standout Dave Sobolewski. 'It's great for Blake and his family and for our program,' Heidkamp said. 'We're very excited that he's got this opportunity to be a part of the Illinois program. 'It's a tremendous opportunity for him, so everybody is very excited and very proud of him.' Fagbemi was one of the best passing guards in the state as a senior. He averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the Redwings (33-5), who defeated Warren 55-54 in the 4A championship game to win their first state title. Fagbemi, who was the East Suburban Catholic Conference player of the year and a 4A all-state second-team selection by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, will be joining a program that has made five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. 'It feels great to stay home and represent the community by playing at Illinois,' Fagbemi said. 'They saw that I'm a winner. 'That's one thing that they brought up to me, is that they like how I find a way to win. They like my ability to get my teammates better and get them going.' The 6-foot-1 Fagbemi often had a lot of pressure on him but was always able to get the Redwings going. He was the straw that stirred the drink for a team that reached the pinnacle of success for the first time in program history. Benet had lost three previous state championship games. 'Sometimes I enjoy it, and sometimes I don't,' Fagbemi said of the pressure. 'I enjoy it because I like to see my teammates succeed. I take pride in helping other people and getting them where they want to go.' Fagbemi has gone further than he initially thought. In that way, he is following in the footsteps of his older brother Brayden, who was the point guard on Benet's 2023 state runner-up team. Brayden Fagbemi played one season at Johns Hopkins and then transferred to Central Arkansas, making the jump from Division III to Division I. 'I talked with him about his experience, like what to expect and how to go about it respectfully,' Blake Fagbemi said. What can be expected of Fagbemi as a freshman at Illinois? 'Right now, his role is to do whatever the coaches ask him to do,' Heidkamp said. 'He's got to work on getting better and giving the team everything he can day in and day out. 'That's his role right now and one that he's going to embrace willingly and be excited about. It's an excellent opportunity for development with all the resources that they have, with the coaching that they have and with the players he's going to be playing with and against in practice every day.' Fagbemi is already excited after what has been a whirlwind few weeks. 'This is what I've been working for my whole life, so it's great that it's finally paying off,' he said. 'It's great to experience it.'
Chicago Tribune
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville North's Addison Sitzman makes teammates laugh. She plays to win. That's just ‘Addie being Addie.'
There are two activities that Addison Sitzman enjoys more than any other. One is playing soccer for Naperville North. The other is talking. When the junior defender can do both at the same time, that's when she is happiest. 'We always joke around about it's always a bad thing if Addie's silent,' Naperville North junior forward Claire DeCook said. 'So it's always good when she's loud, especially on the field, because that's when you know she's in her element and she's comfortable.' Sitzman wasn't comfortable when she first joined the Huskies. But she soon bonded with DeCook, forward Brooke Welch and goalkeeper Olivia Ochsner. They were the four freshmen who made the varsity team in 2023. 'Addie shows up freshman year, and the first thing she says to me is, 'I forgot my shin guards,'' Ochsner said. DeCook, Ochsner and Welch attended middle school together. Sitzman went to a different school, so she was initially the new kid on the block. 'The first day of tryouts is when we first started meeting and talking,' Sitzman said. 'We were the only four freshmen on varsity, so it kind of helped us, like, 'This is our group. We need to stay together.' 'Everyone had each other's back. We were there for each other all the time.' All the while, they were talking. During the Naperville Invitational, the quartet were scouting Benet, which the Huskies would play the next day. It was cold, so they asked Naperville North public address announcer John Cole whether they could sit in the press box. Cole let them inside. The girls began a conversation about the game and other topics and talked continuously for well over an hour, prompting one witness to dub them 'the chattering class.' 'They made my teeth chatter,' Cole said. Cole, a chemistry teacher, had Sitzman in his class that year. But she never said a peep. 'She did not want to talk at all because she knew that if she did, I would ask her questions about chemistry,' Cole said. 'She didn't want that.' Sitzman, who laughingly agreed with Cole's recollection, continues to verbally lead the Huskies (3-1-2), and they appreciate her personality and talent. They have given up just three goals in six games. Ochsner recorded her third shutout of the season in Naperville North's 0-0 tie with Huntley on Wednesday. 'I would say we talk even more than we did freshman year,' Ochsner said. 'I wasn't that close with Addie when we first met, and now I feel that we're so much closer than we were before. 'That's helped our connection on the field, especially communicating. We can give friendly criticism, and it's not anything personal. We can all give it and take it back.' Sitzman, who is a three-year starter like DeCook and Ochsner, can play in the back and up front. She often does both in the same game and had a hat trick during the Huskies' 6-0 win over Downers Grove South on March 22. With three goals, Sitzman is tied for the team lead with DeCook, a Tennessee commit, and senior midfielder Kelly Wilson. 'Addie has always been great for us,' Welch said. 'Her versatility really makes her dangerous on the field. That really adds to the team because we know we can rely on her in multiple spots. And also our bond — we're all super close with Addie.' That happened quickly. 'Addie likes to say she didn't have friends coming on the team, but she does,' DeCook said. 'We became a family really fast.' Sitzman's sunny disposition is one reason. 'Addie is a special kid,' Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. 'She's so fun to be around. I am blessed to have so many great kids, but Addie stands out in regards to just her outlook on life. She's always happy, always raising the spirits of this group. It makes me always happy when I'm around her.' Talk to any of Sitzman's teammates, and it doesn't take long for the stories to flow and the laughter to get loud. 'She has that innate ability to laugh at herself a lot, and we have so many moments in practice where we all kind of stop for a second and look at each other and laugh because it's Addie being Addie,' Goletz said. 'It's such an important dynamic. 'She's got such a great personality, but when the game starts, she'd cut her leg off for us to win. When you have kids that are able to lighten the moment, that's an important piece because I really feel like she is the glue that keeps this group together.' Sitzman takes great pleasure in that. 'I love high school soccer so much,' she said. 'It's so fun to play with my friends.'
