Park, Glenbard West come through with clutch hits
Glenbard West junior left fielder and varsity softball newcomer Hallie Park delivered a clutch 2-run, game-tying single with one out in the top of the seventh inning Monday at Lake Park.
"Definitely the biggest hit I've had this season," Park said. "It was really cool. I was really nervous, but then I just went up there and tried my hardest. Good things happen from that."
When Park singled again in the eighth, the Hilltoppers were enjoying their biggest inning of the season.
They scored seven runs - all with two outs - for an uplifting 14-8 nonconference victory in Roselle.
Glenbard West (2-7) had 8 hits in the eighth, including two singles by Katie Stone. Katherine Porter and winning pitcher Caylin Potter (1-5) hit back-to-back doubles to increase the lead to 13-7.
Park's single that scored seniors Rachel Terwilliger and Shelley Warmolts tied the game 7-7 after the Hilltoppers' 3-run sixth created a 5-5 tie.
"We never gave up. We kept fighting the whole way. It was awesome," said Warmolts, who had 3 doubles, her first of the season.
"We finally found that fire and that we can put up 7 runs in one inning. We're capable of much more than we thought. We knew we always could so it finally came together and we finally found it."
Park, Warmolts, Terwilliger and junior Amanda Posegay each had 3 hits in a 21-hit attack. Waverly Del Valle, Porter, Potter and Stone had 2 apiece.
The Lancers (5-6) had 7 hits with two each by seniors Mari Colucci and Maria Zepeda and freshman Jessica Gaseor. Colucci hit a 3-run homer in the second for a 5-2 lead and was stranded on second in the bottom of the seventh after her two-out double.
"It was a great win. We didn't put up a good showing at all last week and the biggest disappointment was our lack of effort," Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane said.
"I loved their fight today. That's something we're going to have to do because we can score runs when we have good, quality at-bats. It's just a matter of can we play the full seven innings."
For a while Colucci's third homer of the season to complete a 4-run second looked like a possible game-winner. After the Hilltoppers tied the game in the sixth, Lake Park scored twice in its half of the inning.
With Monica Williams and Angel Virella on third and second and one out, Julia Caesar pulled back on a squeeze bunt, but an errant throw past third allowed Williams to score.
Caesar then scored Virella with a safety squeeze. Caesar also was busy at third base with 6 assists and 2 putouts.
"I'm very impressed with how Glenbard West was able to take the mentality of we're never out of the game and we're always going to fight," Lake Park coach James Chellson said. "You like playing teams like that because it shows even your girls that anything's possible.
"I think our girls will rebound from this very easily because we know our fundamentals can carry us forward through those little things that happen."
Lake Park pitcher Elisabeth Brown had three straight 1-2-3 innings. With one out in the sixth. Warmolts' second double was the Hilltoppers' sixth hit to that point. Park, Porter and Potter followed with singles. Stone's groundout scored Park and Del Valle infield single brought in Porter.
"Once we all went through the order once or twice, we knew what adjustments we had to make at the plate, mostly wait back," Warmolts said. "And hits are kind of contagious on our team. Once one person started rallying, we all got fired up and everyone just started stringing them together."