Softball: Prospect's riding high after win against Buffalo Grove
Looking out toward right-center field at Prospect's softball field, you can't miss the impressive-looking building under construction that will house the school's swimming pool.
On a chilly day in Mt. Prospect, the Knights softball team was treading water until it made a big splash in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Trailing 8-6 against Buffalo Grove, Prospect scored 7 runs and went on to a 13-8 decision and its first win in the Mid-Suburban East.
"It was a very good win," said Northwestern-bound Lauren Caldrone, the Knights' sophomore third baseman. "We definitely needed it. It boosts our confidence and now we will try to continue to attack on offense."
Caldrone (3-for-5, double, RBI) was one of two Knights with 3 hits in the game which started on Thursday in the top of the fifth inning with BG ahead 8-6. It had been suspended at that point on Monday.
The other Knight with 3 hits was senior Hannah Brummer, who went 3-for-3 in the best offensive game of her career.
"She is one of those seniors who is involved in everything we do and has done a great job sticking it out with us," said Prospect coach Jim Adair. "She's a fighter, a real battler. at the plate. And she is really into playing the game."
Freshman Maddie Borkowski threw the 3 innings on Thursday to earn her second win against one loss. The right-hander allowed only 2 hits.
"She goes out and battles," Adair said. "People hit groundballs and we play defense."
The Knights made BG play defense when they started out with 6 singles and a walk before an out.
The other top hitters for Prospect were Alex Kanter (2-for-4, double, 4 RBI), Alyssa Cacini (2-for-4, home run, 4 RBI) and Cate Meersman (2-for-4). Teammates Colleen Palczynski, Jackie Orel and Borkowski each had 1 hit.
The Bison finished the game with 5 hits, including a 2-for-5 effort by sophomore Olivia Morini, who also walked and scored 2 runs.
"Olivia has been hot at the plate, and hitting over .450," said Bison coach Starr Dorsey.
Katie Fontanetta, Emily Carnes and Grace Gran had the other hits for BG.
The Bison did not have junior pitcher Alyssa DePhillips, who had thrown all but two innings for BG this season. She was having her wisdom teeth pulled.
Freshman Jacqueline Bickhaus made her varsity pitching debut for BG.
"She kept the ball low and in the park," Dorsey said. "Katie Fontanetta made some nice plays for us in center field.
"They (Prospect) just kept chipping away and we couldn't push any run across.
"Our offense looked good when we started the game on Monday. That day was probably one of our best offensive efforts across the board with good at-bats."
The Bison (3-11, 1-6) will host Schaumburg (11-5, 5-1) today and Palatine (5-9, 3-3) visits Prospect (3-13, 1-6).
"We are really excited now," said Caldrone, who will be facing a head coach (Nicole Pauly of Palatine) who played at Northwestern. "You could see that we've been right there in a lot of our games and we finally broke through for the win."