Radke, Grayslake Central shine brightly at Mundelein

Maybe it just wasn't going to be Reagen Radke's day at Mundelein again.

"When we pulled into the parking lot, we said, 'Remember last year?' " Grayslake Central softball coach Jason Schaal said. "Reagen was like, 'Yeah. They lit me up.' "

True. Mundelein's Nicole Parney no-hit the Rams in a 10-0 win on the exact same day last year (March 17), as Radke suffered the loss in the five-inning game.

Thursday, in both teams' season opener, Radke tried to ignite her team in the top of the first inning. She launched a Parney pitch down the left-field line, and the ball cleared the fence by at least 25 feet. Radke began her home-run trot ... prematurely.

Foul ball.

"I thought it was fair," Radke said. "But it's OK. Calls will be calls."

What's fair is to say it was Radke's day after all. The junior righty took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, before settling for a 3-hitter, as Grayslake Central exacted some revenge with an 8-2 win.

"I'm glad this was Game One and not (Game) 36," Mundelein coach Brett Wilhelm said. "Clearly it wasn't our best brand of softball, but I thought Radke did a great job. She definitely improved from last year."

With a young team, Schaal, who started the only two seniors on his roster, wasn't sure what to expect.

"Honestly, I was a little concerned about whether we were going to be focused," he said.

Then Rams senior Teagan Truskowski ripped a double down the third-base line to start the game. Morgan Smigielski's perfectly placed bunt resulted in a rare infield double, putting runners on second and third for Radke, who crushed a pitch.

"It was a bomb," Schaal said. "It curved and landed foul, yes. But there's no way it was foul when it crossed the fence."

Radke eventually reached on the first of 4 Mundelein errors, and Grayslake Central plated a pair of runs in the inning.

"The first inning, we didn't expect," Wilhelm said. "But the nice thing with this being Game One is we know a lot of things we need to improve on."

Mundelein scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first, but the visitors tacked on in the third to go up 5-1. The big blow was Lindsay Brust's 2-homer to left-center.

The run support was more than enough for Radke, who struck out 11, walked one, hit two and scattered 3 hits. She had a no-hitter until Kaitlyn Griffin reached on an infield single over the head of Radke with one out in the sixth. Mundelein had scored another unearned run an inning earlier.

"If she can keep (hitters) off-balance, she's going to do really well," Schaal said. "I firmly believe that by the time she graduates she's going to end up being one of the best players in Lake County. She's going to continue to grow and develop. She's strong, and she's a leader."

Radke had Mundelein swinging and missing often with a curveball that resembled a rise. Her changeup was also effective.

"I can hit my curve low and inside or high and inside," said Radke, who was the Rams' first-year ace last season. "I heard (Mundelein) saying, 'Watch out for the rise.' I was like, 'No, it's a curve.' "

Grayslake Central senior Maddie Marshall lined a solo homer in the fifth. Radke (1-for-3) and Brust (2-for-3, 3 RBI) hit back-to-back doubles in the seventh.

Mundelein got singles from Olivia Michalski and Amanda Diaz (run scored, 2 stolen bases) in the seventh, but Radke retired Karlee Busscher on a deep flyball to center field with the bases loaded to end it.

It was a quality win for Grayslake Central, which graduated nine players.

"We have a whole new team this year," Radke said. "Everybody is super excited to come out and give it their all."