York powers up against Conant

York first-year softball coach Jenna Bode Nolan watched her undefeated Dukes hit 1 home run in their first three games.

That might come as a surprise after watching the Dukes in their home opener on Monday.

They sent four balls over the fence at their field on the Bryan Middle School campus in Elmhurst en route to an 8-6 victory over Conant in a nonconference battle between state-ranked teams.

Freshman Krya Kroll (2-for-3, 3 RBI) hit two no-doubt blasts over the left field fence while juniors Abby Solem (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 hit by pitches) and Amanda Karnatz (2-for-3, double RBI) had one apiece to lead York, which collected 11 hits.

"I think they just got their confidence," Bode Nolan said of the home run surge which saw all the balls roll across Bryan Street. "They came out with fire and wanted to hit the ball."

It was Conant hitting the ball with authority first, as consecutive line drives by DeeDee Durr (single), Alissa Wachal (single) and Dream Aaron (2-run double to left center) gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

But York senior left-hander Brooke Bandy, a DePauw University recruit, did not give up another hit until Kim Zaucha's infield single in the fifth.

In the bottom of the first Karnatz walked, stole second and scored when Gabby Magnifico reached on an error to cut the lead to 2-1.

Magnifico had been the only Duke to homer going into Monday's games. But that all changed when Solem belted her 16th career blast, easily clearing the left center field fence on a 2-0 pitch that also scored Karnatz for the 3-2 lead in the third inning.

"It's crazy (the 4 homers)," said Solem, who had 5 homers as a freshman and 10 last spring. "We've been working really hard on our batting apparatus. We were all really behind each other and pumped up to play our first home game.

"And we real wanted to help Brooke (Bandy)."

Bandy's cushion increased in the bottom of the fourth when the bottom of the order name through.

Senior Isabella Jaeger started with a single to left, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on junior Sarah Maciejewski's single to center.

After a sacrifice bunt by No. 8 hitter Audrey Kosman, Maciejewski took third. Kroll then belted the first of her two homers, getting the ball just inside the left field foul pole.

"It was the right pitch for me," the freshman said. "When I hit it, I said 'Wow, that felt good.' On the second one, I just wanted a single and I didn't think it was going over.

"This has been really fun playing on the varsity. I know I've got to work hard and my teammates have been so supportive."

The Cougars (4-1) got to within 6-4 in the top of the sixth with back-to-back RBI singles by senior first baseman Hailey Rothstein and sophomore third baseman Morgan Bihun.

The Dukes (4-0) answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to back-to-back homers by Kroll and Karnatz, the first of her career.

The Cougars made things interesting again in the top of the seventh.

No. 9 hitter Rachel Falbo singled to left and her sophomore classmate Lauren Grzelak homered over the left field fence to make it 8-6 with no outs. But Bandy retired the next three batters on infield groundouts to improve to 2-0.

"We didn't bring our bats consistently," said Cougars coach Cathyann Smith, whose team is the defending Mid-Suburban League champion. "Their pitcher (Bandy) had a great change-up that we were having some problems with. Obviously, they're a great team. They were fourth in the state two years ago (with a loss to Barrington in the Class 4A third-place game)."

Smith gave 2014 all-area center fielder Elisa Ambrose her first action of the season with a pinch-hit at-bat in the in the fifth inning.

Smith said Ambrose has been battling back problems

"We are trying to ease her back into things," Smith said. "As a team, we'd rather learn about things now that we have to work on."

Durr (2-for-4) and Aaron (2-for-3) were multiple hitters for Conant while Jaeger (2-for-3) also had a pair of hits for York.

"It's a great group of girls with so much energy," said Bode Nolan, who has been in the program the last four years as an assistant. "They are so fun to be around. This is the best part of my day. It's been a great transition (from assistant to head coach). These kids don't take themselves too seriously. They're just fun to be around."