Energized Elk Grove handles Dundee-Crown
No one can say the battery for Elk Grove’s softball team wasn’t charged up to start the state tournament on Tuesday.
Senior pitcher Dani Goranson (4-for-4, 2 RBI) and her classmate and catcher Devan Parkison (3-for-3, 3 RBI, walk) each missed the cycle by one extra base hit as the No. 2-seeded Grenadiers posted a 12-0 five-inning victory over No. 15 Dundee-Crown (8-24) in their own Class 4A regional.
The Grens (27-8) advanced to Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game against the winner of today’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal between No. 10 Schaumburg (17-14) and No. 6 Elgin (20-11).
“We want our season to end with a win,” said the Michigan State-bound Goranson. “This is the first one.”
After the first hitter of the game squibbed a grounder for an infield hit, Goranson struck our the next seven batters and finished with 12 strikeouts while tossing a 3-hitter.
“Dani always knows what to do with the pitch,” said Parkison, who will play at the University of Chicago next season. “When I call the pitch, she throws it right where she has to be.”
Goranson and the Grens were right where they wanted to be in the first inning when they grabbed a 3-0 lead.
After striking out the side in the top of the first, Goranson started the bottom of the inning with a single, stole second, took third on passed ball and scored on Parkison’s single to center.
Megan Keegan followed with an RBI single to left for a 2-0 lead and her pinch runner Marjorie Sloan came home on a wild pitch for the 3-0 lead.
Goranson’s next at-bat was stand-up double to left-center, followed by another single and a solo home run (her ninth of the season) in the fifth to miss the cycle by a triple.
Parkison belted a double to center in the second, tripled down the right field line in the third and walked in the fourth, missing her cycle by a homer.
The Grens did get another homer as senior Andrea Starr (2-for-3, 3 RBI) belted her third one of the season, a 2-run blast in the Grens’ 6-run third inning.
Carly Danek, Krista Soesbe and Becca Maher also had singles in the Grens’ 13-hit attack.
“I was very pleased,” said Grens coach Ken Grams. “We’ve had a little goal here of saying ‘let’s hit the ball hard’, where we don’t overanalyze things, and we sure did hit it hard. Everyone had good at-bats and hit the ball well, and Dani was terrific.”
Dundee-Crown leadoff batter and senior pitcher Melany Love (2-for-3) had 2 of the Chargers’ 3 hits.
After a walk to sophomore Abby Perillo (0-0, 2 walks) with one out in the third inning, Love (. 533 for the season) blooped a single to center and sophomore Lauren Mercado followed with single up the middle to load the bases.
“Lauren is only a sophomore,” said Chargers coach Tracy Beatty. “To me, that says something to get that hit off (Goranson). We made some contact.”
But Goranson (22-7) kept her shutout in tact as junior Amanda Eissler lined out sharply to second baseman Maher, who threw to shortstop Soesbe to double up the baserunner.
Other than that double play, the only other out for Elk Grove other than a strikeout was Love’s fly out to center in the fifth.
“She (Goranson) was probably the best pitcher we’ve seen all season,” Beatty said. “And Elk Grove hit the ball well. When we had opportunities to make the plays, we made them.
“We’re a young team. We knew we would have a battle in this game. We were just hoping to take advantage of whatever we could.”