Duehr’s dynamite as Antioch tops Mundelein
On the same day that both Antioch senior first baseman Cat Dinklenburg and former Sequoits shortstop and current Georgetown freshman Allie Anttila underwent major knee surgery, Olivia Duehr played surgeon.
The Northwestern recruit displayed a deft touch, slicing up Mundelein with a season-high 16 strikeouts, as visiting Antioch won 8-2 in a North Suburban Conference crossover Friday.
Duehr’s strikeout total was her career best for a seven-inning game. The three-year varsity ace walked only one.
“It looked like there was more life on her pitches,” Antioch coach Jeff Tylka said. “She was throwing a little bit harder, like she did against Cary-Grove (earlier this season).”
Antioch improved to 10-6 and will play the rest of the season without the veteran Dinklenburg, who tore her ACL against Vernon Hills this month on a catch behind first base.
Efforts like the one the Sequoits got against Mundelein (6-7) will help compensate for Dinklenburg’s loss.
Amber Mysliwiec (2-for-4) drove in the Sequoits’ first run with an RBI single in the first, and Jess Liszka (2-for-4) gave Duehr a 3-0 lead to work with when she lined a 2-run double in the fourth.
“I thought we played really well as a team,” Duehr said. “It’s nice to see that because we haven’t really done that. Playing together like that is something that gives us encouragement for the next game, knowing that we can do that for seven innings all the time now.”
Duehr led off the fifth by launching her seventh home run of the season deep to left field, and the Sequoits enjoyed a 5-0 lead before the inning was over.
Mundelein pitcher Hillary Bunnelle aided her own cause in the sixth with a 2-run homer to left for her third of the season.
Mustangs leadoff hitter Justina Doll went 3-for-3 against Duehr, who fired a 4-hitter.
“She did a nice job of putting the bat on the ball and fighting off some tough pitches,” Tylka said of Doll. “She’s a tough hitter.”
Doll is hitting around .500 on the season. Her second and third hits came with 2 strikes on her.
“All winter and all this year I’ve been practicing my two-strike hitting,” Doll said. “It’s helped me get on base, and it’s helped me execute a lot at the plate.”
“She’s been the one constant girl in our lineup hitting the softball,” Mundelein coach Ted Juske Jr. said. “But she can’t do it by herself.”
No other Mustangs could solve Duehr, who struck out the side in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh innings.
“(My pitches) have been kind of flat the last couple of games, so my dad (Kurt) and I worked on my movement and figured some things out,” Duehr said.
“It helps to practice,” she added with a laugh.
Kaylene Ressler added a 2-run single for Antioch in the seventh. The Sequoits got 2-hit games from Liszka, Mysliwiec and Amber Larson.
Mundelein committed 6 errors.
“We didn’t have our best day,” Doll said. “We’re a lot better than that. We just didn’t have the focus and the execution.”
Bunnelle allowed 4 earned runs in her complete-game effort. She struck out four, walked three and hit a batter.
“I don’t think Hillary had her best game of the year, but she pitched well enough to keep us in the game,” Juske said. “Defensively, we didn’t do anything to help ourselves. To me, it’s just a mental approach to the game, knowing that when you step on the field you’re going to compete and do everything you can to win. At times, we looked kind of mentally lazy out here.”