Addison Trail gets the big hits to defeat Fenton
The Addison Trail softball team's 9-2 win over Fenton at The Rosemont Dome on Friday afternoon was a story of a team that made its own opportunities and took advantage of the opportunities given it.
The Blazers (3-2) racked up 9 hits, including RBI basehits from Alyssa McMahan and Carla Muell, along with the big Addison Trail hit of the game, a two-out, two-run triple from Ari Renc in the fourth.
What also helped the Blazers was the pitching of winner Crystal Marinelli and an off-day by the Bison defense.
Addison Trail coach Mark Olson considered it a good day for his team, but like any coach, he believes his team can take steps up the ladder of improvement.
"I think our best softball is still ahead of us. We still need to clean up some things," he said. "We've played two very good teams, Montini and Fenton, the past two days and have responded well. If we can field consistently and run the bases better, we'll be in good shape."
After a scoreless first inning, the Blazers tagged Fenton (5-2) for five runs on three hits and were helped by three Fenton errors in the inning. And the offense all came with two outs.
Muell's infield hit was the first of three consecutive basehits, with Cori Cooney and McMahan also connecting. McMahan's hit scored Muell. The first Fenton error of the inning scored Cooney and McMahan. Another error put Natilie Palermo on base and the third scored her and gave Marinelli a trip around the bases.
The Blazers scored two more runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. Renc's two-run triple was the big blast of the fourth, and Muell's hit brought home Rachel Baumgartner in the fifth. Kelly Delawder led off that inning by reaching base and scoring on two errors.
Winning pitcher Marinelli, a senior, went the distance, allowing just one earned run, on four hits and striking out six.
"I felt my team was behind me and that boosted my confidence," Marinelli said. "It was a great team win. Everyone contributed and everyone did their roles."
After the fourth inning with her team leading 7-1, Marinelli allowed just one more hit the rest of the game.
"She's the type of player that every coach wants on their team. She thrives in pressure situations," Olson said. "After we scored some runs, she was around the (strike) zone consistently."
Fenton scored once in the third and once in the sixth. Jocelyn Souvannasy walked and scored on Hannah Wassmann's double for the first run. In the sixth Wassmann, the team's leadoff hitter, reached third on a dropped flyball and Dana Fritz's groundball out brought her home.
The Bison committed seven errors, and coach Dave Mello said they are not that type of team.
"Prior to the game we had the highest fielding percentage in the seven years I have been on the varsity level. We didn't want to pile on them (in the postgame) meeting. Tomorrow is another day."
Mello praised the efforts of junior starting pitcher Fritz. Only one run scored by Addison Trail didn't involve an error of some sort.
"She was hitting her spots and keeping the girls off-balance," he said.