1996 ASA
18-under
National
Champions

Home

History

Alumni

2008 teams

18-under

16-under

14-u black

14-u red

12-under

10-under
 

Links

2008 season    2007            2009 Roster            Schedule

No. Player High School Pos. College
1 Alexandra Seplak Waubonsie Valley '09 2B/SS/OF
4 Emma Jarrell Sandburg '10 IF/OF
9 Julianne Bartosz Providence Catholic '09 OF/C
10 Caity Niemczyk Lincoln-Way East '09 P/1B/OF
14 Dayna McNutt Ottawa '10 1B/3B/C
18 Krista Watson Coal City '10 2B/SS/3B
20 Julia Katsaros Hinsdale South '09 OF 
22 Megan Bolanowski Lowell (Ind.) '10 IF/OF
23 Natalie Wunderlich Naperville Central '09 P 
24 Jenna Mychko Huntley '10 C/3B
25 Stephanie Becker West Aurora '09 P/1B  Mississippi State
26 Kat Allert Lowell (Ind.) '09 C/3B/OF Indiana
33 Maddie Joyce Mount Assisi '10 1B/OF
53 Jacki Fletcher Lowell (Ind.) '10 2B/P
Allison Larabee IMSA '10 C/OF
Katie Sears Mother McAuley '10 P/OF

Manager: Joe Tholl
Coaches: Kevin Kelly, Christy Sykora, Jenna Gesiakowski

The 2008 Sparks posted a 6-1 record to win the Owensboro, Kent. national qualifier and earn a bid to the ASA Nationals in Moline on July 27-August 3.

Sparks bounced from ASA Nationals with 2-2 mark

   MOLINE- With their second straight efffort going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, the Sparks bowed out of the 120-team ASA Class A National Tournament with a 4-0 loss, saddling the Sparks with a disappointing 97th Place finish. It marked the first time in the last four tries the Sparks (47-17-4) did not excel in an national tournament in Illinois, folllowing up finishes of 17th, seventh and third.
   Newtown (Pa.) Rock 4, Sparks 0- Despite outhitting the Rock, 9-4, the Sparks stranded 10 runners on base, leaving runners on base in the final six innings. Tracey Walsh finished 2-for-2, while Emma Jarrell went 2-for-3 and Kiley Lythberg rapped a single in her lone at-bat.
    For the four-game national tournament stay, the Sparks were just 3-for-34 with runners in scoring position, including zero for their last 14.
   Cole Minnows (Ark.) 3, Sparks 2- After rallying for a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh, the Sparks yielded the tying run on a wild pitch and the deciding run on a sacrifice fly to drop the initial game in double-elimination. Tracey Walsh and Megan Bolanowski had ripped one-out singles in the top of the seventh, with Bolanowski and pinch-runner Julia Katsaros eventually scoring when Allie Seplak reached on a two-out error. The Sparks had set the stage for a third straight comeback win, but finished with just four hits and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
   Sparks 5, Olathe (Kans.) Rockets 4- For the second straight day, the Sparks rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit as Emma Jarrell and Cassie Walisiak each had a pair of hits and scored two runs. Tracey Walsh knocked in a pair of runs, Allie Seplak and Amanda Bilina each added RBI and Katie Healy swiped a pair of bases. All four Sparks hurlers pitched, as Natalie Wunderlich (21-3) gained the win in relief and Stephanie Becker tossed a perfect seventh for her fifth save.
   Sparks 3, Roseville (Calif.) Heat 2- Katie Healy drove in one run, scored another and saw her sacrifice turn into the game-winning play Monday, as the Sparks rebounded from a 2-0 deficit. Natalie Wunderlich walked none and fanned three for her 20th victory (20-3). Healy knocked home Julia Katsaros with the first Sparks run in the fifth and eventually scored on Emma Jarrell's RBI-ground out. Allie Seplak opened the bottom of the seventh with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and raced all the way around when Healy's sacrifice was thrown away.

 
  
 
Amanda Bilina takes a rip during action on June 30 in Boulder, Colo.
 

2008 season: 47-17-4 overall record.
                           97th Place- ASA Class A Nationals.
                           1st Place- Owensboro, Kent. ASA National Qualifier
                           2nd Place- Elgin Bluesfest Invite
                           3rd Place- Elgin-Orland Park Invite
                           4th Place- Indianapolis ASA National Qualifier

Class of 2008 to college:
  Amanda Bilina (Andrew), Eastern Illinois University
  Kaitlyn Bolanowski (Lowell), University of Indianapolis
  Katie Healy (Marian Catholic), Lewis University
  Brianna Nordstrom (ECS), Southern Illinois Univ.-Carbondale
  Cassie Walisiak (Lockport), Cornell University
  Kara Walsh (Marian), Benedictine University
  Tracey Walsh (Marian), Benedictine University)

   Notes (2008):
   The Sparks were one of six (all) organizational teams to qualify for ASA National Tournaments. . . all seven Class of 2008 athletes advanced to continue their athletic careers in college. . . two Class of 2009 athletes have made a verbal commitment to accept college scholarships- Kat Allert (Indiana University), Stephanie Becker (Mississippi State University). . . with a fifth-place finish in the ASA Chicago Metro tournament, the Sparks extended their streak of top five finishes to 10 in tournaments in which they've competed (dating to 1991)... the Sparks have qualified for Class A Nationals in the last 16 years they've been eligible to do so... The Sparks played teams from 16 different states and played 41 percent of their schedule (28 games) against teams that qualified for ASA National Tournaments.