To say that Cheryl Mikolaitis started her softball career at a young age would be an understatement. Before playing with the Hickory Hill Spoilers in seventh grade, she honed her skills playing “street ball” against her brothers and many of the boys in her neighborhood, competition that produced the toughness she needed to later compete at softball’s top levels. The Spoilers won the championship of Kasey Meadows Park District four of the five years. She was later recruited to play with the Sulky Inn Favorites and their coach, Roy Logan, at Calumet Park and Blue Island where they won numerous league and tournament championships. She also lent her talents to Rose”N”Crown and Badayos in tournaments during the 80s and 90s. In the 90s she also played with the Worth Sting and helped the Diamond Girls tournament team win the ESPN Miller Lite championship at Grant Park. For her efforts on the diamond, Cheryl Mikolaitis won numerous MVP awards with Spoilers and Sulky Inn. She was also named MVP in the Windy City championships in the 80s. While at the Windy City tournament, she was scouted by the Chicago Ravens semi-pro team, but was too young to make the team. By the time she was old enough to play, the league had folded. Cheryl Mikolaitis contributes much of her success to Coach Bill Lambe for his ability to teach the fundamentals of softball and for driving them to perfect these fundamentals. She remembers playing the Windy City tournaments against the more established teams like Pets and other top women’s teams of the era. Cheryl Mikolaitis was primarily a center fielder, but she also played left field, third base or shortstop. She was known for her speed in the outfield and her ability to hit the cutoff man. She was a leadoff hitter who switched to third or fourth in the batting order later in her career. Although accurate hitting records were not kept , she does have a trophy for an .800 plus batting average with the Spoilers. Cheryl and her husband, Jim, own Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville. They have a son, Dave.
