Softball: Waubonsie Valley rally stuns Neuqua Valley
Even coach Val Wood, who has seen her softball team come through quite a bit in the clutch already this spring, was starting to think that Friday just might not be a good day for Waubonsie Valley.
Neuqua Valley pitcher Julia Rainer blanked the visitors on 3 hits through six innings and had a 2-0 lead with two outs in the top of the seventh. But the Warriors delivered four straight two-out hits while turning that 2-run deficit into a 4-2 lead and a huge comeback win by that same score.
"It was not looking good at all, but they just have that fight in them and when they need it they come through," said Wood, whose team is 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference. "That's what's happened the last few games, we kind of get started late, and today we got started real late."
The top of the seventh inning started innocently enough, with a flyout and a strikeout sandwiched around a single through the left side of the infield by Warriors catcher Sabrina Scardamaglia. But No. 9 hitter Jordan Bennema kept the game alive with a single to right that brought up the top of the order, but still with two outs and the Wildcats on top 2-0.
When Veronica Zahn dropped a single in front of the left fielder, the shutout was broken and then Tiffany Kuta followed with a soft liner just over shortstop Julia Huebner. Just like that it was 2-2 and the Warriors were fired up in the dugout, which exploded moments later when Michele Calabrese lashed a single down the left-field line that scored two runs to make it 4-2. After managing just 3 hits through six innings, the Warriors had 5 hits in the seventh, the final four of which came with two outs.
"We're definitely Warriors. We fight back," said Calabrese, who went 2-for-4. "Julia, their pitcher, did a phenomenal job. She had us off speed the whole entire game, but finally when it mattered we just kicked it up.
"We always find a way to fight back and find a way to get those girls in when we really have to. That's one thing I really like about this team this year."
Zahn, who was 2-for-4, was impressed by Rainer's riseball on this afternoon but also knew she needed to come through with the game on the line.
"When I came up with two outs I knew I had to get it done," the junior outfielder said. "Then Tiff hit that line shot, that was awesome. It was an amazing comeback.
"(Rainer) had a riseball and it was very good, but that was an awesome comeback."
The rally made a winner of Warriors pitcher Stephanie Wilczynski, who looked to be a tough-luck loser before the late charge helped her improve to 3-0 in conference.
"We've been doing this a lot lately. They fight until the end and I'm so happy that they do," the winning pitcher said. "We have a great connection as a team and we know we can pick each other up if we're down or even lift each other higher. It's great."
For Neuqua (2-4, 2-1), it was a tough end as they came within one out of a 3-0 week in the DVC. Danielle Olson singled in the fourth and scored the game's first run on a throwing error, and Zoe Herdman's RBI single scored Danielle Ernest in the sixth as the home team took that 2-0 lead.
"Julia Rainer had a great game. She threw the ball well," Wildcats coach Christina Frontera said. "Hats off to them, they got the hits going and they played a great game. It was a tough loss, a tough home opener.
"It was a great game against a rival and Julia had a great game, but we didn't have enough hits today."