Carley Frauenhoff says her job is easy.

That’s not the conventional wisdom for a catcher, the most demanding position on the diamond. But with a 1-2 punch like West Aurora brings with junior Hannah Beatus and freshman Payton Lundberg, Frauenhoff’s reasoning becomes crystal clear.

Beatus and Lundberg teamed up Tuesday on a 2-hit shutout of Naperville Central, leading the No. 2 seeded Blackhawks to a 6-0 win in the Class 4A Batavia regional semifinals.

West Aurora (27-3) will play either Batavia or Bolingbrook for the regional championship at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“They make my job so much easier,” Frauenhoff said. “All I really have to do is catch it. It’s great to have such a great pitching staff. (Naperville Central) knocked us out last year so we really wanted to knock them out this year.

“We know we have good pitching, we have our defense behind them, and then we just have to hit.”

Frauenhoff did her share of that, going 3-for-3 and driving in West Aurora’s first 3 runs.

“I wanted her to face (Lindsay) Gonzalez and a couple good hitters. We’re not going to be hesitant to throw her when we need to. Hannah is a bulldog but if the situation calls for a change of pace we’ll do it,” Beatus said.

Gonzalez, the leadoff hitter for Naperville Central (11-23), had been 6-for-6 all-time against Beatus, but Beatus got the best of her Tuesday striking her out three times before Gonzalez walked against Lundberg in the seventh.

Naperville Central committed 4 errors behind freshman pitcher Halle Arends, who stranded 9 runners on base to keep the Redhawks close. Arends and Annie Tassi both singled for the Redhawks’ only hits.

“(Arends) gave us an opportunity to win,” Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said. “Frauenhoff hurt us. I thought Halle did a really nice job. She’s got a lot of potential. We had to play perfect defensively, get hits at the right time and get a couple lucky breaks. And I don’t think we got any.”

— John Lemon

Conant 17, Glenbard East 2:

Less than a week after winning the Mid-Suburban League title, Conant’s softball team advanced to another championship game, this one at 11 a.m. Saturday.

With a five-inning 17-2 win over No. 18-seeded Glenbard East on Tuesday, the No. 2 Cougars will meet the winner of today’s game between No. 8 Bartlett and No. 10 Rolling Meadows for the championship of the Class 4A Bartlett softball regional.

Senior shortstop Marissa West has been part of Glenbard East’s team for four years and went out in style, with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, including a sharp fly out to center in the second inning.

“It was her last game as a senior and she has been great all four years,” said Rams coach Nikki Simpson. “She is a very special. Whatever you ask of her, she’ll do.”

She’ll be doing her softball work at Kankakee Community College next spring.

“I’m really going to miss my teammates and coaches here,” West said. “Conant is really good. They’re really good hitters and just an all-around good team.”

The Rams (10-21) scored their final 2 runs of the season in the top of the fourth inning when West led off with her single to center.

After two were out, Kate Tadda reached on a dropped third strike.

Elisa Versetto Tyler drew a walk and West raced home on a wild pitch for the first run.

After a walk to Donibrooke Ross loaded the bases again, Sam Dooley was hit by a pitch, allowing Tadda to cross the plate for the second run.

“Like I always tell my girls, you’ve got to fight to the end,” Simpson said. “You’ve got to keep playing your game, and they did.” — John Leusch

Fenton 5, Niles North 4:

No. 16-seeded Fenton upset No. 4 Niles North at the Class 4A Fenton regional. Trailing 4-3 with two outs and two strikes in the top of the seventh inning, Diana Pikul blasted a 2-run home run to give the Bison the lead. Pitcher Taylor Spizzirri went the distance, throwing only 80 pitches. Leadoff hitter Ellie Wassmann went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored.