Burlington Central gets important win over Sycamore

Saturday nonconference games are often used for experimenting with lineups and giving players who don't get a lot of playing time during the week a chance to show what they can do.

That was not the case at Sycamore on Saturday, when Burlington Central and the host Spartans met on the softball field.

With the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 3A Genoa-Kingston regional likely on the line, BC coach Kyle Molik didn't exactly want to pull out all the stops to win, but he did acknowledge the importance of a victory when looking at the big picture.

And the Rockets did pull out the win, using an RBI groundout from junior Alyssa Mish in the top of the seventh to bring home the go-ahead run in a 5-4 triumph.

Now 3-0 against teams in the G-K regional (2 wins over Genoa), and with its game against Hampshire not scheduled until after seeding, the Rockets (12-9) likely sewed up the top spot in the four-team field. Equally as important, Central won its fifth straight game as it heads into a week that includes games against Johnsburg, which beat the Rockets earlier, and BN-East leader Marengo.

"We got to the halfway point of the season and we were below .500 so we had a really long team conversation that we were going to go out and play the way Central softball does the second half of the season," said Rockets' senior Kassy Gaylord, who was 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and 2 walks in Saturday's win.

"We beat Genoa twice and we're trying to get the top seed so we knew had to win this game. It was definitely an important win. We've had some injuries but we're getting some other people to step up."

The game was anything but clean as the teams combined for 10 errors, Central overcoming 6 miscues to sneak away with the win.

"The last 10 days we've been playing our best defense of the season but today was just one of those days," said Molik. "But at the end of the day it's a W and we move on."

Molik didn't pitch junior ace Emily Kisch until the bottom of the seventh but sophomore left-hander Ashley Ratliff did a credible job for 6 innings, allowing just 1 earned run and 6 hits while striking out 3 and walking 3.

"Ashley did a nice job and our confidence in her has grown tremendously," Molik said.

Sycamore (11-9) scored an unearned run in the second and the Rockets tied it in the fourth on Gaylord's RBI double that scored sophomore Gretchen Schrubbe, who had reached on a 2-base infield error and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Spartans starter and loser Rachel Reifsteck.

Sycamore went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on Sophie Benson's sacrifice fly but 3 Spartan errors in the fifth allowed the Rockets to go ahead 3-2. Kisch scored after reaching on an error and sophomore Kristina Ahlers doubled and scored on an error.

Then it was Central's turn to kick the ball around a little. Two errors and RBI singles from Taylor Aasen and Reifsteck gave the Spartans a 4-3 lead. The Rockets tied it in the sixth when pinch-hitter Sarah Kinney drew a one-out walk then sophomore Kelly Wiater, who re-entered, stole second and came home on a clutch two-out double from senior Amanda Ratliff.

Ahlers led off the top of the seventh with a single and was forced at second on Schrubbe's fielder's choice grounder. Gaylord walked and the runners moved up on a wild pitch, which allowed Schrubbe to score on Mish's groundout to first to put BC up 5-4.

Molik turned to Kisch for the bottom of the seventh and even through the Spartans used an error and a hit to get the tying run into scoring position, Kisch got a strikeout for the third out.

"We didn't want to show off the No. 1 but we wanted to come out with the win and get that No. 1 seed," Molik said. "We got a few timely hits and we were able to see some opportunities and run with it. You put the ball in play you never know what's going to happen. Our mental approach at the plate was good and it's been much better lately."