Stratman's hit sparks St. Edward past Wheaton Academy
Many top athletes thrive when the pressure is on.
Count St. Edward junior Allie Stratman among them.
After frustrating strikeouts in her first 2 at-bats, Stratman delivered a clutch RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to spark St. Edward to a 3-1 Metro Suburban West softball win over Wheaton Academy Thursday at the Elgin Sports Complex.
"Before I went up there I just wanted so badly to make up for (the strikeouts)," Stratman said. "It was a pressure situation and I just clicked more into focus. It made it easier for me to do my job."
Green Wave junior Lindsay Zdroik, a Valparaiso recruit, ran her record to 9-1-1 for the season with 9 strikeouts, giving her 113 for the season. She didn't walk a batter and allowed 7 hits, but only 2 in the last four innings.
"It's tough going against a pitcher like that whose going to Valpo," said Wheaton Academy coach Norb Pivaronas. "This was a tough one."
Warriors' sophomore Andi Pivaronas (5 IP, 3 hits, 6 Ks, 0 BBs) held the Green Wave (10-1-1, 5-1) in check for the better part of the 5 innings she pitched, but Norb Pivaronas chose to go with freshman Courtney Kinnane in the sixth.
"I just wanted to give (St. Edward) a different look," he said. "It didn't work out for us this time."
The Warriors (4-3, 1-3) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when freshman leadoff hitter Madison Ebeling (3-for-4, 2 doubles) opened the game with a double to the left field corner. She went to third on Meghan Gagliano's groundout and then scored on a bloop infield hit from senior Autumn Ratliff.
The Wave came back to tie in the bottom of the fourth.
Senior Ryann Scully led off the inning with a double to the fence in right-center and scored when Wheaton Academy made an error on Zdroik's groundball that ended up in the outfield.
Wheaton Academy had chances in the third and fifth innings to add to its run total but each time Zdroik pitched out of the jam.
In the third the Warriors got runners to second and third with no outs after Ebeling doubled and Gagliano beat out an infield single then stole second. But Zdroik struck out the next three batters.
In the fifth, Ebeling singled and went to second on an outfield error but Zdroik got two groundouts and a strikeout to leave Ebeling stranded at third.
Senior Megan Strong led off St. Edward's sixth with a walk and after Scully lined out hard to center field, Strong took second on Zdroik's groundout. Stratman then laced a 1-0 pitch to left and Strong scooted home with the go-ahead run.
"It's a lot easier when I get the momentum of my team going with me," Stratman said. "They help me focus."
"She kept her composure at the plate," said St. Edward coach Jaci Corn of Stratman. "She knew that was a key moment in the game and she was clutch. She came through like she should. Her confidence kicked in and that's what shows she's a good hitter."
After sophomore Devyn Ernst drew a walk, Stratman was able to score an insurance run for the Green Wave when Wheaton Academy made an error on Rachel Lesh's grounder.
"Two walks and two errors," said Norb Pivaronas. "It's a tough loss but we've got good kids and we'll look forward to playing better."
St. Edward will take a 5-game winning streak into Saturday's Chicagoland Challenge tournament, hosted by the Green Wave at Anderson Park in Wasco. The Wave won the tournament last year and Corn says her team's confidence is even greater this year.
"We fight every game," she said. "Last year we had fight but we had moments of falling apart. This year we've stayed pretty consistent with all parts of the game and maintained out confidence and built on it. That has helped us maintain our composure."