Softball: Wingerter wallops her way into Hersey's record book

Hersey softball coach Molly Freeman calls her players this spring a great group and she wanted them to experience a fun outing together.

So the Huskies went to the White Sox game on Friday night.

"We stayed after the game, too, because we wanted to see the fireworks," said Huskies junior shortstop Katie Wingerter, who happened to supply plenty of fireworks in Hersey's 12-8 and 11-10 doubleheader sweep at Maine West on Saturday.

Wingerter broke her own single-season school record for home runs in the opener by belting her 10th in the second inning, a 3-run shot that staked the visitors to a 4-1 lead they never relinquished.

She was hardly through.

The Northern Illinois recruit finished the game by hitting for the cycle, with her two-out double in the first inning, 3-run triple in the fourth and RBI single in the seventh.

"First cycle since I've been playing the game," said Wingerter, who collected 7 RBI while going 4-for-4 with a walk. "It was a good day."

And to top it off, Wingerter connected for a grand slam in Game 2, once again after hitting a double in the first inning.

Unfortunately, she did not have a shot at back-to-back cycles. After walking in the third inning, Wingerter left the game due to an injury in the field.

While trying to cover second base on a steal attempt, the ball hit off Wingerter's face.

"It put a welt on her face," said Freeman, who readjusted the infield and watched the Huskies hang on for their fourth straight win.

"Katie has been playing great," Freeman added. "She has been hitting great and her defense is outstanding. This is the time of season you want a person to be hot, and she certainly is."

Maine West coach has someone in that same category.

Senior center fielder Kayla Pociejewski (4-for-4) belted 2 homers in Game 1 while also collecting a double and single for 4 RBI.

"Today was a hitter's day," said McGovern, who was Freeman's softball coach at Illinois-Chicago. "It was like Wrigley Field."

Other top hitters for Hersey (13-10) were Makayla Tsagalis (3-for-5), Hannah Graff (3-for-5), Kim Labahn (2-for-4), Sophia Cano (2-for-4, double) and Kaitlyn Denten (1-for-3, RBI sacrifice fly).

Catcher Nicole Byerly went 2-for-4 with a double for West, which was down 10-4 at one point.

Pociejewski's second homer, a towering leadoff blast in the seventh inning (her fifth of the season) cut the deficit to 12-8.

Monica Liwag then reached base with no outs but winning freshman pitcher Sarah Bailitz (8-6) got a fielder's choice grounder and a nifty 4-6-3 double (Graff to Wingerter to Labahn) to end the game.

Denten (3-3) earned the win in Game 2, leaving after 3⅔ innings with a 10-7 lead. Freshman Brianna Luciano worked the final 3⅓ innings, allowing 2 runs.

Pociejewski completed a perfect day (7-for-7) in Game 2, going 3-for-3 with a double, 2 RBI and a walk.

Teammate Grace Feldkamp missed a cycle by a home run. The junior, who returned to the field from shoulder surgery (last fall) two weeks ago, went 3-for-4 with a 2-run triple and an RBI double.

Katelyn Aragon went 2-for-4 for West (5-12) while teammate Nora McDonald had a double and RBI sacrifice.

Byerly (double), Gabrielle Demma, Liwag (RBI) and Anne Lipinski also had hits for the Warriors.

Hersey's 14-hit attack was led by Tsagalis (2-for-3), Graff (2-for-5), Wingerter (2-for-2, walk), Denten (2-for-4, double), Jackie Bednar (2-for-4) and Jodie Hermann (2-for-4, 2 doubles).

"We are starting to hit," Denten said. "And we are playing some solid defense."

Just like in Game 1, Hersey built a 10-4 lead and Maine West gradually chipped away at the lead.

Luciano's two-out RBI groundout in the top of the fifth proved to be the decisive run, making the score 11-8.

West got 1 run in the bottom of the inning on McDonald's sacrifice fly and another in the sixth on Pociejewski's double.

Luciano struck out the first two batters in the seventh. After McDonald's double to left, Luciano got the final out on a grounder to second.

Freeman was able to walk away with bragging rights against her former coach on Saturday.

"The pupil surpassed the teacher but I'm not going to be upset that she is winning," McGovern said with a laugh. "I'd just rather she do better against other teams, not mine."

"He's a wonderful guy," Freeman said of her college coach after her standout career at Fremd High School. "It's always so fun to come out and see him doing well and listen to all the stories we tell. I think he has a better memory than me."

One thing for certain, it was a memorable day for Wingerter.

"I was not happy with how I batted the day before," she said about a 10-0 win over Wheeling. "I didn't even take warm-ups before these games. I just focused on seeing the ball and hitting it hard."

She hit herself right into the Hersey record books with a school-record 11 home runs - and counting - for this spring.