Soccer is big in her family, but for West Aurora sophomore Gracie Del Toro, it doesn’t top the list.
That doesn’t make her an outlier, however.
After trying both sports at a young age, Gracie simply became bullish on softball.
“I was a goalie,” Del Toro said. “I liked making diving saves and was always rolling around, getting dirty. Then I tried softball and found out there was a lot of sliding and diving in the dirt, too.”
That said, the 5-foot-2 Toro has settled in on the outfield grass for the Blackhawks. She plays left field in her second year on varsity and then center field for the Wasco Diamonds in travel.
Del Toro and senior center fielder Keira Hayton provided speedy blanket coverage Saturday for host West Aurora but it wasn’t enough in a 3-1 nonconference loss to Plainfield Central.
Hayton ran down five fly balls and Del Toro three, but the Blackhawks (9-1) were checked on two hits — a single and a double by Hayton. Kaylynn Howe struck out nine for the Wildcats (8-9-1).
Two walks, a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly by sophomore first baseman Alyssa Falcone accounted for the only run by West Aurora (9-10).
“It definitely wasn’t my day,” said Del Toro, held hitless in two at-bats with a sacrifice bunt. “She wasn’t coming with a lot of speed or a lot of spin. A high fastball was giving a lot of us trouble.”
Gracie’s dad, Ricky, and her uncle, Joel, got their kicks playing soccer at Marmion before going Division I in college. Ricky graduated in 2002, then played at IUPUI. Joel graduated in 2004, then played at Eastern Illinois.
Olivia, Gracie’s older sister, has followed in their father’s footsteps. The James Madison-bound senior midfielder/forward is an outstanding soccer player for West Aurora (8-2-1).
“We have a connection with softball, too,” Gracie said. “Our mom, Whitnie, is from Sacramento, California. She played softball at IUPUI — shortstop. That’s where she met my dad.”
Olivia, a team captain, missed the early part of the season but is still second in scoring for West Aurora with four goals and three assists in just three games. She led the Blackhawks last year with 15 goals and seven assists.
Their dad, Ricky, teaches in the foreign languages department at West Aurora and also serves as an assistant coach for the Aurora University men’s soccer team. He previously coached high school in Indianapolis and at Marmion.
Like her mom, Gracie also hopes to play softball in college. West Aurora coach Randy Hayslett recently flipped Del Toro from batting second to third in the order, exchanging places with Hayton.
‘She’s fast and pretty quick,” Hayslett said of Del Toro. “Gracie’s getting stronger. She’s small, but she packs a punch and she’s stronger than people think.
“She’s a captain of this team, and everybody thinks the world of her. She’s one of our leaders.”
Del Toro is hitting .380 with four doubles, a triple and 15 RBIs. She also has 10 stolen bases on 11 attempts.
“Individually, I’m doing better this season,” she said. “Last year, I struggled some with the quicker pitching at the varsity level. This year, I’ve gotten used to it.
“As far as flipping me to third in the order, Keira does a lot more soft slapping and bunting for a hit. I’m more of a hard slapper, and it has helped my RBI total.”
Del Toro also gave another sport a try this past fall, playing for West Aurora’s inaugural girls flag football team, which won a regional title and advanced to the sectional final.
“I had several friends on the softball team who were going to try out,” she said. “They convinced me to try it.”
She was joined on the team by sophomore infielder Bella Marzullo and sophomore catcher Macie Spenny, who split time at quarterback for the surprising Blackhawks.
“I ended up playing wide receiver,” Del Toro said. “It turned out to be a lot of fun, and I’ll play again this fall. A lot of the drills involving footwork were similar to some things in softball.
“After our run last year, there seems to be even more interest. I’ve had a lot of people asking me about it, and I think in a few years, flag football is going to be pretty big.”
