Lake Zurich's a hit at Stevenson

Despite the small disappointment of not quite hitting for the cycle, both Lake Zurich shortstop Brittney Pettinger and center fielder Jessica Puccinelli were feeling pretty good after visiting Stevenson High School on Monday afternoon.

The two Bears players combined to reach base all eight times in a 13-3, 5-inning softball victory over the Pats.

They also combined for 3 triples and 2 doubles.

The Pats (10-13) averaged a hit per inning. Lake Zurich (12-14) quadrupled that rate.

"They really had a good hitting day here,'' said Stevenson coach Alex Vikartofsky of Lake Zurich.

Yep, the Bears produced 20 hits in just 5 innings.

"We've seen both of their pitchers, so we knew what they had,'' Puccinelli said.

Pettinger, batting first in the Bears' attack, had a 4-hit day with a pair of triples, a double and a single.

"When we all hit together, we can be a very good team,'' Pettinger said.

Pettinger led off the game with a ringing two-bagger. She scored on sophomore Amanda Guercio's booming sacrifice fly.

First baseman Sarah Schnecker had the first of her 3 hits. She also fell a homer-short of a cycle.

Lake Zurich had 5 hits in the first inning and scored 3 runs.

Pettinger has proven to be a potent hitter at the top of the Bears' lineup.

"She's had 24 leadoff at-bats,'' said Lake Zurich coach Amanda Rodriguez. "And she's reached base 15 times."

Stevenson held Lake Zurich to just 1 run in the second. Pettinger was right in the middle of that rally. She had the first of her triples and scored on Vanessa DiVincenzo's two-out hit.

Puccinelli's 3-bagger drove in a run and the Bears opened up a 6-0 lead heading to the Pats' third.

A rare laugher sure helped the Bears on this day.

"It's all about working together,'' Puccinelli said. "We are our worst enemy. We make some mental errors. But this a fun team."

Despite the 10-run loss, Stevenson managed to get a runner on base in every inning against winner Katie Malek.

"Katie had a good drop curve,'' Vikartofsky said. "We hit the ball well today. But their second baseman (DiVincenzo) made some good plays."

Stevenson third baseman Emma Oriatti managed to find DiVincenzo's glove all three times in this loss.

The other third baseman, Melissa Goldberg, had better luck, with three singles.

Lake Zurich blew this game open in the fourth inning. Of the outstanding 7 safeties, four of them went for extra bases. Schnecker, Pettinger and Guercio had the triples in the 5-run frame.

Stevenson scored in the last three innings. Tricia Porzycki (2 hits) singled leading off the fourth inning and scored a run.

In the final at-bat for the hard-hitting Bears, Pettinger led off with a single and stole second base. Guercio jumped into the 3-hit crowd with a hard single.

"We've haven't been slaughtered this year,'' Rodriguez said. "We played right with a lot of good teams. We are making strides. We are working on our mental game."