Glenbard North tops Benet in bottom of the seventh

With the cold wind blowing out of the Glenbard North softball field Tuesday, a neat and tidy pitchers' duel wasn't going to happen. This game was going to be won at the plate with the winning team getting the last hit.

And that's exactly what happened. Sophomore second baseman Gabby Melchiorre's one-out single to right scored Shruti Amin in the bottom of the seventh to give Glenbard North an 8-7 win over Benet.

The Panthers (2-3) trailed the Redwings (3-3) until the bottom of the fifth inning when Glenbard North's 3 runs tied the game at 3-3. Those three runs were part of an 8-run outburst by the Panthers in the final three innings. Seven of Glenbard North's 10 hits came in the final three innings.

"We've been struggling to score. We've been waiting for the offense to come around and get the big hits," said Panthers coach Josh Sanew. "We've been playing from behind. We have to learn to score early."

What also pleased Sanew is that Glenbard North hitters struck out just five times as opposed to 14 times in the team's previous contest.

The Panthers' rally in the fifth began when Abby Paragon doubled to right and scored on a fielding error that put leadoff hitter Kayla Quanstrum on second. Quanstrum later scored on Steph Campos' groundball out. Then with two outs Trinity Medina reached base on a dropped flyball with catcher Sarah Winkleman scoring her on a single to center.

Glenbard North was not done with its offense. It racked up four runs in its half of the sixth. A Benet fielding error scored two Panthers runs. A single by Campos and double to left by Medina brought home the other two runs.

Benet wasn't going down without a fight and tied the game at 7 with a 4-run seventh inning. Megan Stoppelman, who finished with 3 hits, doubled to right to scored 2 runs. She scored on a wild pitch as did the hitter before her, Emily York, who also finished with 3 hits.

"We didn't quit. We're young and we made mistakes that cost us. But we hit the ball and as long as we do that we have a chance to win," said Benet coach Jerry Schilf.

Benet also finished with 10 hits.

Meagan McCormick and Alexis Potapczak each homered in the second inning to help Benet jump out to an early 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Amin walked with one out and that set the stage for Melchiorre.

"The pitch was low and inside and that's a good pitch for me to hit," Melchiorre said. "Today felt great. We were making plays, making throws, getting the hits and got the win."