Softball: Rockford East shuts out Larkin

ROCKFORD - A series of small miscues added up a to a lopsided defeat for the Larkin softball team.

The Royals committed 6 errors leading to 6 unearned runs as host Rockford East collected a 10-0, 6-inning nonconference victory Thursday behind sophomore Grace Berlage's 4-hitter.

"We just really didn't come out here sharp right off the bus," said Larkin coach Anne Vogt. "We had quite a few errors today and that's not typical of us. Our infield is experienced. It's the same exact infield from last year, so there's no excuse for that."

Rockford East (1-1) parlayed a string of seeing-eye singles and Larkin errors into a 5-0 lead after two innings against tough-luck starter Hannah Gross.

"It was nice to put the ball in play early on and put pressure on their defense, especially with the wind blowing in," said Rockford East coach Jackie Hennelly.

The early support was more than enough for Berlage, who struck out seven and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles.

"She didn't do anything fancy, but she just came after us," Vogt said. "We were a little behind her. I said we were five seconds late on everything we were doing today."

Larkin (0-2) had a chance to cut into the deficit in the third inning as Sophie Young and Haley Bohne laced consecutive singles, but Berlage worked out of the jam with a key strikeout.

The Royals threatened again in the fourth as Kiara Villa and Gross reached base, but came away empty as Berlage induced a comebacker.

The E-Rabs, who finished with 14 hits, scored twice in the fourth and fifth for a 9-0 lead.

Larkin stranded a pair of runners in the top of the sixth and Rockford East closed out the game with a run in the bottom of the frame.

"We didn't capitalize with runners in scoring position at all today," Vogt said. "A lack of confidence today showed and we're going to keep working on it."