Voris completes collegiate career on top

The IHSA state softball tournament began on Monday.

One former area player is quite familiar with it.

Claire Voris is the only Mid-Suburban League player to appear in the state finals four straight times when she played at Barrington High School.

She wrapped up her career as the Daily Herald all-area honorary captain in 2007 when she pitched the Fillies to second place in the Class AA state finals.

Voris hardly missed a beat on the collegiate level.

She recently wrapped up her career at Washington University (St. Louis) by being named to the 2011 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team.

It marks the third-straight year Voris has earned all-regional accolades.

Voris hit .364 (4-for-11) and went 1-1 on the mound with a 1.33 ERA as the Bears (32-12-1) posted a 1-2 record at the Midwest Regional. She was 2-for-3 at the plate and picked up the win as the Bears beat Fontbonne University 3-2 in the opening round.

Voris moved into 21st place in Division III history with 818 strikeouts in her career.

She finished her career with a 71-26 record and .343 batting average. She ranks in the top two in six of seven pitching categories and in the top-10 in four hitting categories.

Voris also ranks first all-time in complete games (72), games pitched (118) and innings pitched (651.1), second in wins (71), shutouts (24) and strikeouts (818), and fourth in ERA (1.75).

At the plate, Voris is sixth all-time in triples (6), eighth in stolen bases (23), ninth in home runs (12), RBI (80) and total bases (202).

타 Central College (Pella, Iowa) ace pitcher Kiley Lythberg (Prospect) was selected as a Division III first team all-American.

She had a great run through the NCAA tournament before her Central College Dutch team lost in the regional championship to Linfield (Ore.) College. Linfield leads the nation in home runs, avergaing over 2 a game with three of the top five home run hitters in the country.

Lythberg was also selected as a first team all-IIAC pick, a first team all-Region pick, a first team all-tournament team and co-MVP on Central’s team.

Lythberg hit .387 with 8 doubles, 2 triples 31 RBI, 18 runs 3 stolen bases.

As a pitcher, Lythberg posted a 20-7 record with a 2.47 earned run average. She appeared in 30 games and tossed three shutouts, yielding 135 hits in 156 innings with 52 walks and 119 strikeouts. She compiled a 1.000 fielding percentage with 15 putouts, 53 assists and no errors.

Lythberg ranks fourth in career victories (65) and strikeouts per game (5.23) for Central. She’s also second in career slugging percentage (. 555) and fourth in career batting average (. 369).

타 University of Chicago sophomore pitcher Kim Cygan (Barrington) was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes Region Team as a third-team selection.

Cygan posted a 9-6 record with a 2.71 earned run average while striking out 101 batters in 100.2 innings.

Recording shutouts in 4 of her 15 starts, Cygan was 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in her last five appearances for Chicago (23-11), which notched its eighth 20-victory campaign in 12 years under coach Ruth Kmak.

Baseball

Concordia Chicago’s Nick Skala (St. Viator) was named the 2011 Northern Athletics Conference Position Player of the Year.

Skala, a junior catcher, leads the NAC in home runs (10), RBI (63) and is second in slugging percentage (. 678), runs scored (47) and hits (69) while posting the conference’s sixth-best batter average at .390.

타 Cam Stephens (Leyden) was named Concordia Chicago Athlete of the Week, hitting .476 (10-21) over the final week of the season for the Cougars. He scored 4 runs and drove in seven, two on a home run in the conference tournament win against Concordia Wisconsin. Stephens led the team through the 45-game season with a .453 batting average and a .691 slugging percentage.

Men’s track and field

Kevin O’Brien (Palatine High School) of the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) in New London, Connecticut has academically completed his third of four years at the Academy.

In addition to earning all-conference honors in track and field and cross country this year, and setting the Coast Guard Academy 10,000 meter record, O’Brien has been chosen as the Captain next year for the Cross Country and the Track teams.

At the conclusion of O’Brien’s track season he will report for summer duty to the United States Coast Guard Cutter Munro, a 378-foot cutter, for summer assignment as a junior officer in training.

Professional Sports Performance

Youth Football Summer Camp at Professional Sports Performance claims it will improve skills by teaching the proper position-specific techniques, fundamentals, drills, and preseason conditioning from coaches with college/pro level experience. Camp is 14 total sessions for $169. Call (847) 852-3373 or email Scott@PSPchicago.com.

Wheeling Spur Club

The Wheeling High School Spur Club is presenting the

The 10th annual Summer Golf Outing & Dinner with silent/live auctions on Friday, July 22 at Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling. There will be a shotgun start at 1 p.m. and appetizers, dinner and auctions at 6:30 p.m.

There is a $10 discount per person for early registration and payment (by June 1).

For more information, email steve.may@d214.org or call 847-718-7018.

Men’s track and field

North Central senior all-American Mike Spain (Schaumburg) will compete in next week’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. Spain currently has the top qualifying times in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs. In the 5,000-meters Spain placed fourth at last season’s Outdoor Championships, and in the 10,000-meters Spain took sixth in 2009 and second last season.

타 Eastern Illinois senior Patrick Tortorici (Conant) ran to a first-place finish in the 400 hurdles (52.05) at the Louisville Cardinal Twilight. Tortorici locked up a berth in the NCAA West Regional to be held at the University of Oregon over the Memorial Day weekend.

Please e-mail Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.