Elk Grove meets Conant’s challenge

Becca Walz put it best.

“When the pressure was one, we broke through,” said the Elk Grove junior first baseman.

And Walz played a major role in the breakthrough.

The host Grenadiers and Conant were locked in tense battle when Walz smacked a bases-loaded 2-run single to right for a 4-1 run in the sixth inning.

Junior Tori Lierwergen followed with a 2-run double to left for a 5-run cushion and the Grens went on to post a 6-2 triumph in a battle between two teams with a combined 16-1 record going into the Mid-Suburban League crossover.

“What a key hit,” said Elk Grove coach Ken Grams. “To go from 2-1 to 4-1, what a difference.”

Elk Grove (8-1, 1-0) was the only MSL East team to win on Monday so the defending champs already own a 1-game lead over everyone in the division.

Walz connected on a 1-2 count for her big sixth-inning single and ended up 2-for-3 with a double.

“I think we were just getting pumped up at that point,” she said of the sixth, when Elk Grove scored 4 runs on 6 hits. “And we really wanted to win our first conference game.

“This was two very good teams,” Grams said. “It was tooth and nail and then we were able to string together some hits.”

Grens junior Dani Goranson (8-1) fired a 8-hitter with 8 strikeouts for the win.

She also had the RBI single to center which tied the game in the third inning. The single scored catcher Devan Parkison, who had tripled to lead off.

The Grens edged ahead 2-1 in the fifth when Walz led off with her double and came home on a throwing error one batter later.

“It was good conference win for us against a very tough team,” Goranson said. “They have some tough hitters.”

One is leadoff batter and ace pitcher Briana Cavin (8-1), who went 2-for-3 and gave herself a 1-0 lead in the third inning when she singled to center to score freshman Rachel O’Malley.

O’Malley also had a big day at the plate. The Cougars’ No. 8 hitter was 2-for 3 with a triple to lead off the third.

“I was happy with our young talent,” said Conant coach CathyAnn Smith. “Rachel is not scared at all. She brought her bat. She got her confidence up against one of the best pitchers in the area.”

The Cougars (9-1, 0-1) scored their final run in the seventh when shortstop Allie Bauch (2-for-3) led off with a double to left center and came home on O’Malley’s single to right.

“The only thing I liked is how our girls didn’t quit,” Smith added. “There is a lot of character in these ladies and that will make a difference when June comes.

“We knew we were not supposed to win this game. Elk Grove is such a respectable team. They went to state last year (third place in Class 4A). We came here to give everything we had and we took away some positives from things we learned.”

Grams got base hits from nine different players, including senior second baseman Jessica Balzano, who extended her hitting streak to 43 games with an infield hit to lead off the bottom of the first.

Cavin (6 strikeouts) retired eight of the next nine batter until Parkison led off the fourth with a triple.

Other Grens with hits were Megan Keegan, Kristen Cetkovic, Krista Soesbe and Carly Danek.