Hononegah grabs control of NIC-10 softball world with win, and strong 1st half — now what?

With sophomore Aislynn Palmer powering the win on the mound and at the plate, Hononegah put an exclamation point on the first half of the NIC-10 softball season with a 10-5 victory over the only other team that was also undefeated in conference play headed in, Belvidere North, on Monday night.

But, according to Hononegah head coach Dennis McKinney, the job is far from complete.

"We have a lot of talented kids out here, and this is what you get," McKinney said after his team blasted three home runs and ran off with its 11th straight victory. "This is a whole new group this year, and they just meshed quickly. And heck, it's really showing.

"But we can't slow down now. We can't afford to."

With the NIC-10 season just hitting the midway point, there are still six teams with three or fewer conference losses, which means it's still just about anybody's game.

More Rockford-area softball: Harlem, North Boone softball show off strongest batteries midway through season

After Monday's dominant performance, however, Hononegah appears to have the most confidence.

And momentum.

"This was a statement game. Now we've just got to keep it rolling," Palmer said. "This felt pretty good."

And now that the NIC-10 is about halftway through, let's take a look at what we learned from the first half of the softball season, and what we need to watch for in the second half:

Hononegah powers into the lead

Hononegah has found a way to stay hot throughout the first half of the season despite having the youngest roster in the NIC-10. Even with three freshmen, three sophomores, and just two seniors in the starting lineup, this team has come together fast, and is now the only undefeated team left in NIC-10 play.

With a stiff wind blowing straight out, Hononegah (12-1, 6-0 NIC-10) first got a grand slam by Addison Hulburt in the second inning, and then Palmer took over. The sophomore mowed her way through the Blue Thunder lineup much of the afternoon, stumbling just a bit during North's 4-run fifth inning, but giving up just five hits and one walk the entire game.

Her swing was on target as well, Monday.

"We knew we were going to need to do everything right in this one," said Palmer, who smacked a solo home run over the left-center field fence in the third inning, and then crushed a 3-run shot over the right-center field fence in the fourth. "And this team comes to play hard, every game; really every at-bat, and every play. It's fun to play on a team like this."

She struck out nine on the mound, and went 2-for-4 with four RBIs at the plate. Zoe Cauhoun and Irelyn O'Brien each went 1-for-2 with an RBI for Hononegah as well. Sophia Garza went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Belvidere North.

Four teams give chase

Belvidere North (7-8, 5-1) now has just the one conference defeat, but it is under .500 overall.

And last week Harlem had a big week, until it ran into Hononegah as well. The Huskies powered past Belvidere North 3-2 last Monday and then knocked off Auburn 2-1 in extra innings and Freeport 3-1. Hononegah, however, pounded Harlem 12-2 last Friday.

Harlem (7-5, 5-2) did bounce back with a commanding 11-0 win over Guilford (6-8, 4-3) this Monday. Guilford just got clipped by Freeport (12-3, 5-2) by an 8-7 score last Friday. They are both still in the hunt for the title, but will need superior second-half stretches.

Senior Alaina Schwanke also bounced back nicely, powering Harlem to the win with two hits at the plate and six strikeouts in her one-hit pitching effort. Harlem catcher Aubrey Burbach went 3-for-3.

What's on the horizon

Hononegah, after playing at Auburn on Tuesday, hosts Boylan on Wednesday and is at Guilford on Friday as the second half of the NIC-10 season kicks off.

Belvidere North will look to get back on track as it hosts Freeport on Wednesday and Guilford next Monday, and Harlem is at Freeport next Wednesday.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Hononegah rolls past Belvidere North in key NIC-10 softball matchup