Huntley sophomore Layla Olson tosses shutout against McHenry

HUNTLEY – Layla Olson and twin sister Adalyn were added to Huntley‘s varsity softball roster late last season as freshmen to get a closer look at what might await them in future years.

A year later, the twins find themselves in the thick of the Red Raiders’ race for a fifth straight Fox Valley Conference title.

Backed by homers from Ajai Bonner and Lyla Ginczycki in a five-run fourth inning, sophomore Layla Olson tossed a shutout Wednesday in a 6-0 win against McHenry.

It was Olson’s second victory during a five-game winning streak for the Raiders (13-8, 8-2 FVC), who entered the spring with a 69-3 record against their FVC opponents from 2021-24.

Last year’s look at the Raiders has made this year’s transition for Olson much more enjoyable.

So have her teammates.

“Everybody out there is always supporting me no matter how I do, even if I do bad sometimes,” said Olson, who struck out two, walked none and allowed five hits (all singles) against McHenry.

“They help me out and I get more confidence in my ability to throw. My infield has been backing me up a ton, and I love how everyone cheers me on from the bench.”

Huntley’s pitching has been led by their ace, senior Gretchen Huber, who threw a complete game of her own with 14 strikeouts against Crystal Lake Central on Tuesday in a key 3-1 win. Central beat Huntley 3-0 in their first meeting of the season April 8.

On Wednesday, Olson needed only 74 pitches (51 for strikes) to navigate a McHenry lineup that has recent wins against FVC leader Prairie Ridge and Hampshire.

“Obviously, Gretchen gets most of our innings, but Layla is going to be a huge part of this, too,” Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said. “Every time she’s come out, she’s given us a strong outing. Getting ahead in the count, that’s what’s made her successful for us. Getting ahead and letting the defense do their work behind her.”

The Raiders’ defense came up with some nifty plays in support of Olson, including an unassisted 6-3 double play by shortstop Aubrina Adamik after the Warriors (9-13, 5-6) had back-to-back singles to start the second inning.

The Raiders turned a double play in the third after a Warriors base runner rounded too far past second, Ginczycki had an unassisted double play at first base after catching a liner in the sixth, and catcher Madison Rozanski threw out a runner at second base after a leadoff single in the seventh.

McHenry starting pitcher Natalie Bender collected two of her team’s five singles against Olson, while the Warriors junior took the loss in a six-inning effort.

McHenry coach Mikaela Mitsch said she’d like to see more fight from her young team.

“Talk. We’ve got to get better at communicating with each other,” Mitsch said. “We’re a young team. We only have two seniors on the field, and they only played last year together. I think the personality of our team is, ‘We’re here to play softball.’ We want to win, but I don’t think we know what to do together to get to that moment. We’ve seen sparks of it. ... We’re there for each other in games like this, but we need that extra push.”

Five of the first six Huntley batters recorded multihit games. Adamik and Isabella Boskey both had three hits and an RBI, while Sadie Svendsen, Ginczycki (two RBIs) and Katelyn Bayness (RBI) each had two hits.

Bonner hit her third home run of the season to start the fourth, and Ginczycki hit her fourth, a two-run shot in the same inning. Ginczycki also beat out an infield hit in the sixth, showing she’s not just all power.

“I’ve gotten a litter faster over the years,” Ginczycki said with a laugh. “It was a little bit of a shock that I beat it out.”

Ginczycki has found a comfortable spot in the middle of the Raiders’ lineup as one of their top run producers.

She hopes to continue Huntley’s fun ride in the FVC.

“Yesterday against [Crystal Lake] Central was a huge win for us, and it really got our momentum going,” Ginczycki said. “It would be a really cool to win conference again. All these games are so important. You can’t lose any of them.”