South Elgin puts it all together in win over Geneva
Timely hitting, solid defense and effective pitching. Any coach will tell you when their team gets those three things, it's likely to be successful.
That's exactly what the South Elgin girls softball team got on Tuesday in its season opener as the Storm downed Geneva 7-4 in a nonconference battle of future Upstate Eight Conference rivals in South Elgin.
Senior Catie Stredde smacked 2 doubles, including a huge 3-run rip in the second inning, sophomore Sam Bolin was stellar in the circle in her first varsity start and the Storm made all the plays they had to in holding off Geneva's comeback attempt.
"I thought our energy was real good today," said Storm coach Jason Schaal. "We still have things to work on, but that's what's going to make it even better."
South Elgin, which relied on power hitting in the middle of its lineup last season with the now graduated Kim Pierce and Lauren Vitello leading the way, got the production it needed Tuesday from its new No. 3 hitter, Stredde, to highlight a 6-run second inning.
The Storm already led 3-0 after one run scored on an error and Victoria Watt and Katelyn Stonecipher drove in the other two. Then, with the bases loaded and two outs Stredde used a little help from Stonecipher at second, who alertly signaled pitch location to her teammate at the plate, and Stredde delivered a bases-clearing shot to the right-center field gap to put the Storm up 6-0.
"My teammates definitely helped me on that one," smiled Stredde, who recently signed to play next year at NAIA Division I McKendree University in downstate Lebanon. "Our team did a good job of getting the momentum going and I just fed off that. I worked really hard all winter and it's starting to show."
Schaal expects big things from Stredde this season, both in center field and as the Storm's No. 3 hitter.
"Stredde is going to be an unbelievable leader for us," Schaal said. "She's been our No. 2 hitter the last two years and she led off as a freshman. She's in the 3-spot now and she'll do well there."
Geneva (0-2) came back to make it a 6-4 game in the top of the fourth. Dori Rogers, Melissa Barber and Stacey Cladis all singled to load the bases and Rogers was out at home on Kirsten Searcy's grounder to short. Then, second baseman Julie Orwig jacked a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left-center and suddenly the Vikings had their first runs of the season and were back in the game.
"We lost our first game 7-0, so we were a little down," said Geneva coach Greg Dierks of the 6-0 deficit. "That was a nice breakthrough hit from Julie and it got our spirits up. But we're still looking for a little more consistency in hitting the ball with more authority."
Bolin allowed the Vikings nothing after that, walking one and allowing just 1 hit over the final three innings. For the game, she allowed just 6 hits, struck out six and walked two.
"I know the defense behind me is really good and that helps me stay calm," said Bolin, who pitched for South Elgin's JV team last season.
"When you have a big lead it's easier to pitch," said Schaal. "Sam is going to be an excellent pitcher for our program. She battled through it and did well today.
Alyssa Krause's bloop RBI double in the fifth inning gave the Storm an insurance run against Geneva senior Kristyn Ruitenberg, who overcame the rough second inning to register 13 strikeouts. She walked four and allowed 7 hits.
"Thirteen strikeouts is a lot," said Dierks. "She had moments of greatness out there and looked real good at times. Other than that one inning Kristyn pitched a real good game."