DeVito and Co. deliver in Mundelein sweep

No way was Hersey softball coach Molly Freeman going to give Mundelein's scorching-hot Maria DeVito a chance to end the game with one swing.

Not after DeVito had 3 hits in Game 1. Not after DeVito belted a grand slam in Game 2. Not after DeVito had jacked another homer - her seventh hit of the day - just an inning earlier.

So, with Mustangs occupying second and third base, Freeman barked to her battery, "I want to put her on," which the Huskies did, throwing four straight pitches purposely out of the zone.

"I tried to crowd the plate," DeVito, who resisted temptation and didn't offer at a pitch, said with a smile.

That left it up to Abbey Rosenow to end the game, and the left-handed hitter delivered, punching a sacrifice fly to left field - which was dropped - to give Mundelein a 15-5 win in six innings.

It was Rosenow who came through with a rare, 2-RBI sacrifice fly in the opener that lifted the host Mustangs to a come-from-behind, 7-6 win.

It was Hersey's ninth 1-run game.

"We like to think that it's building character," Freeman said. "We just don't like to see the mental mistakes that we made today. Overall, I didn't think that we made a lot of physical mistakes. It was just focus, and (not) being in (the game)."

For Mundelein (14-6), the sweep at its cozy confines on its third annual Mundelein Baseball Softball Association day capped a productive week that also included wins over Libertyville and Wauconda. Hersey left Mundelein with a 7-9-1 overall record.

"I've heard really good things about Hersey," Mustangs coach Brett Wilhelm said. "I know they're very well-coached. They hit the ball real well today too. I thought our pitchers (Nicole Parney in Game 1 and Jamie Hemmer in Game 2) did a good job when Hersey did hit the ball of just coming back and battling."

The lefty-hitting DeVito went 7-for-8 on the day in extending her hitting streak to 16 games. After singling three times and driving in a pair of runs against right-hander Kim Labahn in Game 1, she went 4-for-4 with 7 RBI against Huskies lefty Kaitlyn Denten. DeVito cracked an RBI single in the first, hit her first career grand slam to highlight an 8-run second, singled again in the third and homered one more time, with a runner on, in the fifth.

Her two-game performance raised her season batting average 40 points to .582. Her homers - both to center field - were her fourth and fifth of the season.

"Working hard," said DeVito, a junior and three-year varsity starting infielder. "I've just been practicing a lot in the off-season, working really hard when we're in practice, taking things seriously and trying to get better every day."

Hemmer (3-for-3) also homered for Mundelein in Game 2 and doubled, as well. There were 7 home runs hit on the day, with junior Cassie Zouras hitting 2 of Hersey's 3 long balls. In Game 1, Zouras' 3-run homer highlighted a 4-run first inning for the Huskies. She hit a 2-run shot in Game 2 and finished 3-for-3.

Angela Schmiederer led off the Hersey third in Game 2 with a homer to right-center. Lauren Fairweather crushed a long home run to center field in Game 1 for Mundelein.

"I know this is a hitter friendly ballpark," Wilhelm said. "But I thought all the home runs today would have been out at most places."

Mundelein hit the ball hard all day, racking up 11 hits in the opener and 16 more in the second game. Besides DeVito and Hemmer, other Mustangs who swung the bat well in Game 2 included Danielle Beelow (2-for-3, 2 doubles), Holly Petlak (2-for-3, double), Karlee Busscher (2-for-5, triple) and Brittany Woodyard (2-for-3).

Game 1 saw Mundelein's Maddie Zazas (2 doubles, triple) sting the ball three times in going 3-for-3. Besides her homer, Fairweather doubled off the top of the fence in center and also singled. Maggie Mahar also had a double for Mundelein.

Schmiederer and Emily Butler (double) were both 3-for-4 for Hersey in Game 1. The Huskies led 4-1 after an inning and enjoyed the lead until the bottom of the sixth.

Trailing 6-5, Mundelein got its first two hitters on base via a walk and hit batsman. With one out and runners on second and third, Rosenow sent a flyball to deep right field. Hersey's right fielder made the catch and then started jogging in, tapping gloves with the center fielder, not realizing the inning was not over.

Amanda Diaz tagged from third and scored the tying run easily. Pinch-runner Beelow kept running from second, as Wilhelm waved her home, and she slid in with the go-ahead run.

"I knew I dropped my shoulder (on the swing), so I was just hoping I got the job done and we could get at least one run in," the Aurora University-bound Rosenow said. "Then I was really excited that we got 2 runs in, too. ... I was just pumped."

Parney retired Hersey in order in the seventh to finish off the Mundelein win. The Huskies weren't hanging their heads after the tough loss, however.

"I think we were all just fired up because the game was so close," said Zouras, who was 5-for-6 with her 2 homers and a double on the day. Her only other homer this season was a walk-off shot against Palatine. "It was a good motivator."