Softball: Hampshire stays hot, handles Elgin
Hampshire senior Joslyn Nelson doesn't mind a little tough coaching, which is good because that's exactly what she's getting this spring at Hampshire from first-year head coach Kelly Wasilewski and assistant Cray Allen.
"So far, so good," Nelson said after Hampshire improved to 4-0 on Friday with a 25-2 win at Elgin. "They are tough on us for sure but so far it's been working. We've been scoring a lot of runs. We've all been working together."
The Whip-Purs put up crooked numbers in 4 of the 5 innings against the short-handed Maroons, scoring 4 in the first, 7 in the second, 5 in the third and 9 in the fifth.
Hampshire has been doing that a lot to start the season with 13 runs against Larkin, 14 versus Round Lake and 15 against Wheaton Academy.
"At practice you sit there and think, 'If you yell at me one more time ...'" Nelson said. "But once you get in games and are winning by this much it feels great. I'd rather them be tough on me and call me out than have a bad season or coast through. I'd rather be pushed."
Elgin, playing without ace Jessica Rago on a visit to Wisconsin Lutheran and also missing 2 other starters, committed 7 errors and walked 10 batters. That gave the Whip-Purs plenty of chances to show off what they've been focusing on in practice.
"The big thing is we're working a lot with baserunning and taking advantage when the other team is making mistakes," Wasilewski said. "Taking that extra base. Then we have a timely hit and we are able to score them."
Hampshire had 16 hits Friday led by Nelson (4 for 5, 3 runs, 4 RBI), Lauren Egger (3 for 5, 4 runs, 2 RBI) and Jasmine Lopez (3 for 6, 4 RBI).
Nelson, who improved to 2-0 in the circle, provided the exclamation point in the fifth inning with a home run over the center field fence. She hit 3 home runs as a junior and is looking to find that power stroke again to move out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
"Coach Allen told me to focus on my back hand being up today so all pregame that's all I did," Nelson said. "It happened to work for me. In practice we've really been focused on hitting and baserunning. It's all about the details they tell us. They have drilled that into our head and now we're all starting to put it together and play as a team."
Elgin (0-4) had 2 hits, singles from Dannah Perryman and Cassidy Sell. Madison Latham, who relieved Perryman after 3 innings, pitched a scoreless fourth inning.
The Maroons scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. Hampshire second baseman Morgan Haefling prevented a bigger inning with a diving catch on a soft line drive, and she then doubled a runner off third base.
"They do a good job, make contact," Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales said of the Whip-Purs. "It's spring break and it is what it is. Not unusual for a spring break game. We've played them on spring break the last few years and struggled against them."