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Gaulke’s blast lifts Cary-Grove

Emma Gaulke showed what a little patience and perseverance can accomplish.

After fouling off 6 pitches on a 3-2 count, Gaulke hammered a long 2-run homer to center field in the bottom of the sixth inning, sparking Cary-Grove to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Jacobs in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in Cary Wednesday afternoon.

It was the Cary-Grove senior shortstop’s fifth round-tripper of the 2011 season.

“The pitch was a high fastball and it was high,” said Gaulke. “It was well out of the strike zone and I knew it was gone. I got all of it. I just kept fouling off pitches until I got my pitch. It was my most rewarding hit of the season. It was a fun game to be in. The game was played with a lot of intensity by both teams.”

Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson praised Gaulke’s approach at the plate.

“She was very disciplined at the plate and she fouled off a lot of stuff and waited for her pitch until she got it,” said the Cary-Grove coach. “We have a lot of clutch hitters on this team and Emma is definitely one of them.”

Cary-Grove (15-1, 6-0) entered the bottom of the sixth trailing the Golden Eagles (7-8, 3-3) 2-0.

Eleni Polites led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Alexis Haley. Polites scored on an error to slice Jacobs’ lead to 2-1 before Gaulke’s blast gave the Trojans the lead for good.

In the top of the seventh, Cary-Grove sophomore Lindsay Efflandt retired the Golden Eagles in order. The last out came out an infield grounder to Efflandt by pinch-hitter Ashley Morales.

Amber Livingston, who was the hard-luck loser for the Golden Eagles, blanked the Trojans through five innings on 3 singles.

“Amber pitched a phenomenal game,” said Jacobs coach Jeremy Bauer. “She did a great job of mixing her pitches and she kept their hitters off balance. She did a great job of hitting her spots. We made some defensive mistakes in the bottom of the sixth and it cost us.”

Jacobs scored a run in the first on an RBI single by Alyssa Lach and added a run in third on am RBI-single by Jenna Teson.

“It was good to start the game with a run,” said Bauer. “We played well offensively and put a lot of pressure on their defense.”

Polites led the Trojans offensively with 2 hits, a run scored and 2 stolen bases.