Jacobs rolls past Rockford Jefferson
One moved to the JV field, one started but couldn't make it through the second inning and two others didn't even get on the field.
Welcome to the softball postseason.
Jacobs was able to get its Class 4A DeKalb regional game in on Monday, albeit on the Golden Eagles' JV field, while Streamwood's Class 4A Schaumburg regional opener was suspended in the second inning and will be resumed Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Streamwood with visiting Glenbard North leading 3-0.
Elgin and Larkin, meanwhile, had their respective games postponed to Tuesday.
Jacobs 15, Rockford Jefferson 0: The Eagles scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning then just had to get five innings in before the rain came, which they did, to advance to a 4:30 p.m. semifinal Tuesday against top-seeded Huntley. The game will be at DeKalb High School.
"The bats came today and that was good to see," said Jacobs coach Katie O'Brien. "We talked about making sure we came in with good momentum. You always worry on a holiday weekend if they're ready to go but they were."
Leadoff hitter Taylor Belo led the 13-hit attack for Jacobs (16-18) by going 3-for-4.
"We just wanted to attack early in the count," said Belo. "Lately we've been slow in our at-bats and today we started hitting strikes right away."
Sarah Murray hit a 2-run home run, her third of the season, in the first inning, followed by a solo shot from Emily Borg, her seventh of the year, to make it a 3-0 game.
Halley Lonigro (2 RBI), Teaghan Richman (2 RBI), Katie Borchert (2-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI) and Jessica Powell (2B, 2 RBI) also contributed offensively in the win and Alexis Addante tossed a 3-hitter with 5 strikeouts and no walks.
Now Jacobs gets a chance to upset a No. 1 seed in Huntley (22-8), a team the Eagles beat twice during the Fox Valley Conference season, 5-4 in nine innings, and 3-1.
"We know they have a really good pitcher, we just need to do what we did today and attack early in the count," said Belo.
"We feel comfortable having played them twice," O'Brien said of the Red Raiders. "They play a lot of small ball."
O'Brien said her team can't come into Tuesday's game overconfident just because it has beaten Huntley twice.
"We have to guard against coming in too confident," she said. "We have to make sure we play all seven innings and not assume anything."
Glenbard North 3, Streamwood 0 (susp.): Five pitches into the game, the Panthers and Sabres survived a 5-minute rain delay. The rain that came with one out in the top of the second inning, though, made the field unplayable. The game will be resumed from that point at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday with the winner moving on to meet host Schaumburg on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Mariah Roman had a 2-run single and Gabby Melchiorre added an RBI single in the first inning for the Panthers.
Postponements: Elgin's game at Glenbard East, a play-in game of the Fremd regional, and Larkin's contest at Wheaton North, a play-in game of the Glenbard West regional, were each postponed Monday and will be played at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.