Play Ball! Get Your Prep Baseball and Softball Previews Here

Spring is in the air, and to celebrate the beautiful weather we're starting to round up all of our local baseball and softball previews to give the best guide to get out and see some ballgames.

Last week, we previewed the baseball and softball teams at the three New Lenox high schools, and on Monday debuted our power rankings for the entire region of Patch sites.

It was good news for New Lenox, with Providence Catholic , and Lincoln-Way Central in our "next best" category. Providence was also represented in the .

Here's a short recap of our previews with links back to the full story. This can be your one-stop shop for all you need to know about the local teams.

Providence Catholic: The defending Chicago Catholic League champs are looking good again this season, returning nine of their top 10 pitchers and boasting a bunch of college recruits.

Lincoln-Way Central: The Knights look to follow up a regional championship season with more success, but will rely heavily on a young pitching staff to do so. Rick Amaya (a junior right fielder) is a transfer from El Paso, Texas, and is projected to hit at the top of the lineup.

Lincoln-Way West: The Warriors return most players and have many seniors, including first baseman Cody Vogler, who hit .473, belted 10 home runs and drove in 47 runs last season.

Providence Catholic: The Celtics return most of their pitchers from a 28-win season last year, highlighted by sophomore Amanda Wilson, who will be the No. 1 starter this season. She returns after going 20-5 as a freshman with a 1.07 ERA in 157 IP.  

Lincoln-Way Central: It could be a rebuilding year for the Knights, who lost 11 seniors to gradation. But they've got ace Nicole Walshon, who will play in college at St. Ambrose, leading the pitching staff.

Lincoln-Way West: Many sophomores and juniors will lead the Warriors, who are still a young team coming off a 14-21 season. Alex Stull (junior, utility player) led the team in hitting (.377) as well as home runs RBI, runs and stolen bases last season.