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Glenbard North gets its big inning

That really fun, big inning had yet to surface this spring for Glenbard North, but unfortunately for Glenbard East, the Panthers busted it out late in a tie softball game Monday afternoon.

With the score tied 3-3, visiting Glenbard North scored seven runs in the top of the sixth en route to a 10-5 nonconference win over the Rams (2-7). Two Glenbard East pitchers walked three of the first four batters in the big inning, then Kayla Quanstrum blasted a 2-run double over the left fielder's head and Stephanie Campos followed with a deep 2-run triple to left-center field.

Before the inning was over, Sarah Petzold, Emma Carlson and Mariah Roman also added RBI hits as Glenbard North (3-6) flexed some of the muscle it showed during last year's state-trophy run. Roman walked and scored to start the inning and later drove home a run with a double as 11 Panthers stepped to the plate in the sixth.

"You're battling there 3-3 and we haven't really had that big inning where you score six, seven runs there," Glenbard North coach Josh Sanew said. "You saw it … that hitting is a little contagious. You saw some confidence. We put a few hits together and we got a break with one and we took advantage of it. That's the name of the game offensively, you've got to keep attacking."

Quanstrum, the team's leadoff hitter, stepped into the batter's box in the sixth with the bases loaded and one out and the score tied at 3-3. She then jumped on the first pitch she saw from Rams reliever Marissa Campos and sent a screaming liner to the wall in left to make the score 5-3. She then came home on Petzold's high, deep drive in the gap in left center.

"I was just trying to drive it the other way. I just wanted to get a hit and drive the runs in and help my team out as best as I can," Quanstrum said. "We started off a little slow, but then we broke it open a little in the fourth inning and it was great. All around we started cracking the bats open. It was a great team effort."

Glenbard East scored in the first when Kailey Lyons opened with a bunt single and came around without the benefit of another hit. But the Panthers scored three times off Glenbard East freshman pitcher Elisa Versetto in the fourth for a 3-1 lead.

The hosts got one run back on a Marissa West homer in the fourth and then tied the score 3-3 on an RBI single by Marissa Campos in the bottom of the fifth before the Panthers exploded in the sixth.

"I can't complain with the defense we had out there through the first five (innings)," Rams coach Nikki Simpson said. "It was just that one inning. It's always the back-to-back walks and then sometimes errors compound it.

"We've just got to learn to stop the bleeding. We have to make sure that can't happen. You have to get a groundball or a strikeout, something so that it doesn't keep going."

Panthers pitcher Casey Boland went the distance and picked up the win after her teammates staked her to the big lead late. Glenbard East did tally twice in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a walk, an error and a 2-run hit DoniBrooke Ross.

"It definitely feels good (when you bat around). We started a little slow, but we kept the emotions up today," said Boland, now 3-4 on the year. "We were definitely cheering for each other and that's what turned us on and hallway through the game we started hitting well."

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