The 2008 Chicago Sun-Times All-Area softball team reflects the growth of the sport, with more good players at more schools than ever. Television coverage of the sport has exploded over the last few years.
The 12-player first team is headed by Plainfield Central shortstop Stephanie Kirkpatrick, whose combination of defensive prowess and a booming bat made the Michigan-bound star and three-sport standout a slam dunk as the Sun-Times Player of the Year.
In a sport that was once dominated by pitching, the hitters are catching up in a hurry. Youth was also served, as a record six non-seniors were selected to the first team.
Two small-school standouts were selected from Class 2A: Beecher pitcher Alex Lagesse and Bishop McNamara outfielder Alison Kresl.
Joining Kirkpatrick on the 12-player first team is Plainfield Central junior second baseman Taylor Tooley, the only first-team repeat selection. Tooley, who also excels at shortstop, will get to play short next year. The second baseman batted .450 with 14 doubles, six triples, seven home runs and a .920 slugging percentage.
The team includes four other juniors: Loyola's Teresa Aguilar and Devin Miller, Downers Grove South center fielder Brooke Andresen and South Elgin first baseman Lauren Vitiello. There is one sophomore, Sandburg pitcher Brit Gardner.
Loyola joined Plainfield Central with two players selected -- Aguilar and Miller.
Aguilar batted .547 with nine home runs. Her slugging percentage was .977. Last weekend she gave a verbal commitment to play at UNLV beginning in 2009-10.
Miller was the GCAC Red Division player of the year with a perfect game against Final Four qualifier New Trier and three other no-hitters. She also batted .274 with six home runs.
The pitchers selected were Sandburg sophomore Gardner, who was practically perfect in April and finished 24-5 with three no-hitters, and Beecher's Alex Lagesse.
Lagesse pitched her team to the 2007 Class A title. She was 19-4 with 240 strikeouts in 144 innings for an Elite Eight qualifier. Her career record was 67-7. The Valparaiso-bound standout batted .495 with 30 RBI and just two strikeouts in 123 at-bats. The outfielders are Downers Grove South's Andresen, Lockport's Katelyn Braget and Kresl.
Andresen, a junior who is committed to Loyola, hit .514 and belted nine home runs for the West Suburban Gold champion Mustangs.
Braget, a DePaul signee, hit .398 and committed only one error in leading the Porters to a SouthWest Suburban title.
Kresl led the Fightin' Irish to a sectional final and a dramatic upset of then-unbeaten Coal City. The Bradley-bound standout had 16 doubles, two triples and three home runs among her 49 hits.
Also selected were South Elgin first baseman Vitiello, who led the Storm to its first regional title in any sport in the school's second year of varsity competition. She had 53 hits, including seven home runs, and batted .558.
Opponents are probably tired of facing Jackie Roth. The Stagg third baseman has been a four-year starter and will continue her career at Bradley. Roth hit .414 for a team that reached the sectional.
It has been 15 years since a Public League product made the All-Area first team. But Lane catcher-third baseman Daniela Torres, who earned a scholarship to Miami of Ohio, made the team.
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