Lisle falters against Wilmington
Lisle coach Jen Pomatto liked some of the improvements she saw from her team on Thursday, but unfortunately for her Lions, they saw too much of Wilmington's Miranda Southall.
While Pomatto saw the team's renewed focus on fielding and on throwing to the right spots pay off, Lisle didn't have an answer for Southall, who used her arm and her bat to lead the visitors to the 7-3 Interstate Eight Conference win.
Southall (6-2) blanked the Lions on just one hit through five innings before Lisle (6-4, 3-3) scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to climb to within 5-3. But Southall, who was 4-for-4 with 3 extra-base hits, smacked an RBI triple down the left-field line as Wilmington added two more runs in the top of the seventh.
"I told our girls coming in that this would be a tough game against one of the better teams we'll face all year," Pomatto said. "I knew they could hit. Jack (Skole) always has them playing well. I told them it would be a good game for both of us."
Lisle pitcher Summer Stitt, who dropped to 4-3 on the spring, had 5 strikeouts but allowed 11 hits to the Wildcats (6-5, 4-2). But like her coach, Stitt is happy to see the young squad make strides from game to game.
"We're coming together really well. We have a lot of young talent on our team. They're developing as players really well and I always know that they're there to back me up out there."
Wilmington started a two-out rally in the first with a single and after a stolen base, Southall's single made it 1-0. The Wildcats center fielder/pitcher then doubled and scored in both the fourth and sixth innings before she capped her big day with a triple in the top of the seventh.
Lisle did make things interesting with that 3-run sixth that started with an infield single by Erin Johnson, who had two of the team's five hits off Southall. Stitt then reached on a fielder's choice and an error on the play allowed Johnson to reach second base safely.
An RBI groundout and run-scoring singles from Erica Krause and Catherine Coppin followed and all of a sudden it was a 5-3 ballgame.
Wilmington coach Jack Skole was impressed with how his girls put that 3-run inning behind them right away.
"I was proud that after they scored those runs that we didn't panic," he said. "The girls responded like they needed to do. It's always a great game when we play Lisle."
Thursday's outcome aside, Stitt likes what she has seen from the Lions of late.
"We've been hitting really well and everyone in the lineup has been hitting hard," she said.
"I believe that we're going to be a really tough team to beat later on when we get to regionals."