Defense a spark for BV Northwest girls soccer team

Blue Valley Northwest High School girls soccer coach Rick Pribyl said, of his 11 returning seniors, his defenders have been the most important this season.

It is easy to see why.

The Huskies’ defense has allowed just nine goals in 12 games, with five shutouts. The undefeated and top-ranked BV Northwest squad has outshot opponents 187-45.

“They have been playing together now for three games straight, and they are incredible,” Pribyl said. “Not only have they helped us win back there, but they so often start the offensive punch. Our offense starts with our defense because they’re involved.”

Linda Fiorito, Kenzie Taylor and Katie Sullivan anchor the back line and goalkeeper Kennedy Coffelt has a 0.78 goals against average, with 44 saves. Cece Kizer is leading the offense with 21 goals and 10 assists.

Baseball: Olathe East first in state rankings

Even though his Hawks are starting to show a little wear and tear, Olathe East High School baseball coach John McDonald is confident that his front loaded schedule is better in the long run.

So far, it has worked for the Hawks, who are ranked first in the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches state poll with a 10-4 record. The state of Kansas only allows teams to play 20 regular-season games, so they will have plenty of time to rest before regionals in mid-May.

“In my opinion, baseball is made to be played and not practiced,” McDonald said. “The last couple years we have played early and just gone with the season. They’re hungry and that’s what they want to do.”

McDonald said one of the biggest factors helping Olathe East get through its tough stretch has been his senior leadership. His “core leaders” are Tyler Olson, Payne McCutcheon, Thomas Williams and Grant Hoppock.

“They have done a great job of keeping the guys together, keeping true to each other and true to our goal,” McDonald said.

Stats-wise, the Hawks are led by Kurt Paldino, who has a .417 batting average with 11 walks. Olson and Ty Herrenbruck lead the team with 16 RBIs and Nathan Best is right behind with 15 RBIs.

Baseball: Timberwolves rally for third victory

Trailing by three runs with two outs and nobody on base, it looked like Blue Valley Southwest’s baseball winning streak was nearing an end on Monday.

However, the Timberwolves rallied and scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Blue Valley Northwest 8-7 and win their third straight game. They improved to 3-4 after a rocky start to the season.

“Offensively, we’ve struggled and a lot of that has been the pitching we’ve faced,” BV Southwest coach Rick Sabath said. “We have not performed at the plate the way we are capable of, so I feel like the hitting will come.”

Sabath said he thought the slow start might be attributed to some personal pressure to repeat last year’s run to the state championship game.

“I thought we would come out feeling extra confident, but our seniors have been working so hard and want to be successful so badly that they might have put a little too much pressure on themselves,” Sabath said. “The goal as we move forward is for those guys to relax and play and enjoy their senior year.”

Blue Valley Southwest’s high-powered senior class is led by a trio of Division I signees: Arkansas’ Brendan Stanek, Kansas’ Blake Shinkle and St. Louis University’s Miller Hogan.

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Defense a spark for BV Northwest girls soccer team."