Almost two weeks into the regular season, there are still five undefeated Little Illini Conference softball teams. Five!

The league also boasts of a collective non-conference mark of 21-4 (.840) through games of March 21. All eight teams sport .500 or better records.

And, we’re just getting started.

As per usual, Casey-Westfield has drawn much of the early-season attention. The Lady Warriors are ranked second in a Class 1A pre-season poll authored by the Illinois Coaches Association. Dalton McFarland’s team is the quickest out of the gate, too, with a 6-0 season record already, which includes a 10-0 victory over Champaign Central, who received votes in the Class 3A poll. On Tuesday, Casey-Westfield plays at Class 1A 10th-ranked Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg.

Arhianna Bonds is off to a 3-0 start in the circle, while Gyllyane Gilbert is 2-0 after a five-inning, one-hit shutout against Champaign Central on Saturday, the longest stint by a starter to date.

On offense, the Lady Warriors have three home runs to their credit, including two grand slams —  by Lucy Moore against Neoga, and Ava Goble against Champaign St. Thomas More.

Mt. Carmel is off to a 3-0 start, which includes a 16-8 win at Edwards County, ranked 18th in that ICA Class 1A poll. Evie Sellers is on an early-season power grab for the Lady Aces. She has 13 RBIs in the first three games. Riley Hershey came up big too, going 4-of-5 at the plate against Edwards County, with a solo home run and five RBIs in the win.

Robinson is also 3-0 with a marquee win to its’ credit. The Maroons staged a dramatic rally against Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg on Saturday. Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, Robinson tied the game on a throwing error, setting the stage for Mallory Moseby, who hit a walk-off triple to center, scoring Ella Bunten with the game-winning run in the 3-2 game. Moseby also went 4-of-4 at the plate against Red Hill. Meanwhile, pitcher Eva Hermann has all three Robinson wins. She went the distance against WSS, finishing with 11 strikeouts.

Marshall is 2-0 after a pair of 2-1 victories. One of them, Saturday’s narrow win over Flora, featured a virtual masterpiece of a start by pitcher Kyla Gustafson. She struck out 22 batters and walked none in the nine-inning win, while allowing only three hits and one unearned run. Klaire York broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run to center to lead off the top of the ninth, and that held up as the game winner. Avery Cornwell also went the distance in the season-opener against Oakwood  Schlarman, fanning 10 batters while giving three hits and three walks.

Olney is the fifth undefeated team, at 1-0 after rallying for a 4-3 win against Benton. The Tigers trailed, 3-2, entering the bottom of the seventh, but came from behind without a hit. A throwing error allowed the tying run to score, then Olney won it on a passed ball which allowed Miranda Dowty to score the game winner. Jaylen Gwyn was perfect at the plate, going 3-of-3 with two RBIs.

Newton, last year a co-champion with Mt. Carmel, is 3-1 on the year, losing only to Cumberland, 7-4. The Eagles opened with a 13-1 win over Red Hill, highlighted by Claire Probst’s four-RBI day at the plate. Audrie Reich and Jacee Dhom both led the way in a 15-0 win over Vandalia, both finishing with threed hits in three trips. It was Allie Hermann’s day in an 11-0 win over Cowden Herrick Beecher City. She was 3-for-3 and collected four RBIs.

Paris stands at 2-2 after losing Thursday at Teutopolis (another team receiving votes in the ICA 2A poll), 5-1. The Tigers opened the season with a 10-9 loss at Oakwood before defeating Sullivan, 14-3, and Okaw Valley, 17-1, prior to the T-town loss. Jacie Young collected three hits in three at bats against Sullivan, while adding a home run against Oakwood. Young and Morgan Coombes each had three RBIs against Okaw Valley. Right-handed pitcher Ava Tarr picked up the win against Sullivan, while three Tiger hurlers combined to limit Okaw Valley to two hits in that win.

Lawrenceville (1-1) bounced back from a 9-0 season-opening loss to Hutsonville-Palestine to defeat Grayville, 5-1, on Thursday. Elaina Hoke went 3-of-4 at the plate to lead the Lady Indians.