Softball: Schaumburg rallies for 15-11 win at Elk Grove

Going into top of the seventh inning, Schaumburg trailed Elk Grove 11-8 and the perfect conference pitching record of Michelle Birkholz was on the line.

But the Saxons were right on line with their bats and rallied with 7 runs for a 15-11 triumph at Elk Grove on Thursday.

The victory gave Birkholz a 5-0 record in the Mid-Suburban League and 8-2 overall.

And guess who had the game-winning RBI?

Yep, Birkholz' first hit of the game in 5 at-bats was her fifth homer of the season, a two-out, 2-run blast over the right-center field fence that gave the Saxons a 12-11 lead.

Christina Candotti (2-for-5) and Natalie Napier (2-for-5) each added RBI singles while Cate Poplar (2-for-4) scored on an error for the next 3 runs which made it 15-11.

Birkholz then got out of jam in the bottom of the seventh when the first two Grenadiers, Keeley Cronin and Haley Itzenthaler, each reached base.

But Birkholz got a pop out to second baseman Alex Cook, a fly out to center fielder Kaiden Jackson (2-for-4) and a force out by Candotti at short to wrap up the Saxons' 17th win in 24 games.

Schaumburg improved to 11-3 in the MSL West while MSL East leader Elk Grove slipped to 20-4 and 10-4.

Birkholz knew the Grenadiers' lineup would be tough. She played first base last spring on the same diamond when the Saxons defeated EG for the MSL championship behind pitcher Paige Alt.

Alt,a senior, was in the Saxons' dugout on Thursday with an injured left knee. It was suffered in the fourth inning the night before when she earned the win and belted 2 homers in a 3-2 win over Barrington.

Her status for Friday's Breast Cancer awareness game at Conant at 4:30 p.m. is to be determined, according to Schaumburg coach Ellen Abreu.

"I knew Elk Grove was a very good team," Birkholz said. "I was really trying to hit my spots because I knew from last year they could hit.

"I was nervous when we fell behind (7-2 after two innings) but I knew my team could hit and my defense would back me up."

Her Saxons sure did hit, collecting 16 hits, including 3 home runs.

Michaela Encarnacion (2-for-3, walk, 3 runs) belted her first of the season and junior catcher Brittany Butt (1-for-3, 2 walks) hit the first of her varsity career.

Encarnacion's blast came in a major way as the junior right fielder belted a grand slam in the Saxons' 5-run fifth inning.

"It was so exciting," said Encarnacion who had 3 homers in one game last spring.

Butt's homer ignited the Saxons' winning run rally in the seventh which also included a double from Sarah Schwind and single from Jackson.

All nine Saxons in the batting order got at least 1 hit, including No 8 hitter Alex Cook (3-for-4) and No. 9 batter Sarah Schwind (2-for-4), who had a pair of RBI doubles.

"We started out a little slow," Abreu said. "But we pulled it together and then we scored 5 runs in the fifth and 7 in the seventh. And Michelle was due for a big hit like that."

"As soon as I hit it I knew it was gone," Birkholz said of her big 2-out home run which put the Saxons in front to stay. "I was just trying to make contact and trying to help us extend our rally."

The Grens' biggest lead was 7-2 after they scored 5 runs in the bottom of the second.

The big blast ws Kylie Thomsen's 10th home run of the season, a 3-run shot over the center field fence which made it 7-2.

It was Thomsen's second homer in two days.

Thomsen, Itzenthaler, Anna Bonder and Mackenzie Flannery (double) all went 2-for-4 for EG while Keeley Cronin was 2-for-3 with a walk and RBI double in the fifth inning.

Senior Alex Masnica, who caught pitchers Bonder and Sabra Morton, Sarah Pauscher (1-for-2, 2 walks) and Morton also had hits for EG.

"After our game on Wednesday (6-5 win at Hersey that clinched a spot in the MSL title game), I didn't know what to expect," said Elk Grove coach Ken Grams. "Schaumburg is a good team with a lot of good hitters, and they produced. "We'll just file this one away and know that we played a good team."