Softball: Mundelein wins Wilhelm matchup at Stevenson

Brett Wilhelm didn't get the call, despite the umpire agreeing that Brett's dad illegally substituted a softball player.

But freshman Kira Buckner got all of it, hitting a tiebreaking homer in the top of the eighth inning, and Mundelein got its first win, 8-6 over host Stevenson on Tuesday.

"It was crazy," Buckner said after her first varsity home run lifted the Mustangs in the North Suburban Conference opener for both teams. Rain made Mundelein's field unplayable so the game site was switched.

"It was a great feeling," Buckner added.

No one was happier than Brett Wilhelm, who squared off against his dad, new Stevenson coach Perry Wilhelm, for the first time. While son greeted dad with a hug and kiss at home plate during the exchanging of lineups before the game, he didn't shy away from pointing out an illegal substition in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Mundelein improved to 1-6, while Stevenson fell to 0-6.

Pinch hitter Mic Faunce led off the Stevenson half of the fourth by getting hit by a pitch. After Mundelein pitcher Breanna Adams then threw a ball out of the strike zone to Maggie Trotter, Brett Wilhelm told the home-plate umpire that Faunce was never announced as a pinch hitter. While the umpires agreed, they ruled Faunce could keep her base because a pitch had already been thrown to the next batter.

Brett Wilhelm argued unsuccessfully for several minutes that Faunce should have been ruled out.

"It was fun," a smiling Brett said of calling out his dad on a rule-book infraction. "Both of us were pleading our case. (Laughing) It's something we've done our whole life. I somehow am always trying to plead my case to Dad."

"I thought I had (reported Faunce as a pinch hitter)," Perry Wilhelm said.

It turned out to be a big moment in the game, as instead of one out and none on, Stevenson, which was trailing 2-1, had one on and none out. Faunce eventually scored, and Alyssa Pauly singled in another run. A third run scored when another call went against the Mustangs, as catcher Peyton Pribyl was ruled to have illegally blocked the plate on a throw home. Alana Labaschin's sacrifice fly capped a 4-run fourth and Stevenson was up 5-3.

Mundelein, which got a 2-run homer from Kaitlyn Griffin in the first, pulled even in the sixth on Buckner's RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Allison Lambert (1-for-3, 2 RBI).

Jordyn West and Meghan Ehemann successfully executed a double-steal to give Mundelein a 6-5 lead in the seventh. The Mustangs were more than aware of the father-vs.-son coaching dynamic.

"It was a little weird, but that gave us more energy and motivation to just do what we can," said leadoff-hitter West, who went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and 3 runs scored. "I think we definitely showed it."

Stevenson was motivated too and forced extra innings thanks to Gwen Heilman's one-out single in the bottom of the seventh.

Buckner then led off the eighth by hitting a Riley Housinger pitch over the 215-feet sign in center field. As her teammates greeted her at home, Buckner hopped excitedly onto the plate.

"I was just trying to make contact," Buckner said. "I knew that she was throwing low. I was trying to help the team out anyway I could."

Ehemann added an insurance run with a double that scored West, who singled with two out and stole second.

Stevenson's Anna Fossier drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the eighth, but Adams retired the dangerous Faunce on a groundout. Pauly was 3-for-5, and Vera Pflugradt went 2-for-3 with a double for the Patriots.

"I was real pleased," said Perry Wilhelm, who coached the mothers of Ehemann and Adams when he coached Mundelein in the 1990s. "I thought a number of girls had some real quality at-bats. They didn't quit."

"Hat off to him," Brett Wilhelm said of his dad. "His girls played a heck of a game."

Mundelein got 10 hits, by eight players, while Adams (4 strikeouts, 9 hits allowed) went the distance in the circle.

"I couldn't be more proud of our girls," Brett Wilhelm said. "In the last week or two we've played some bad softball. Tonight, we reversed everything. We had every reason to put our head down, walk away and concede the loss - and our girls did the opposite. We got big hits in prime-time with young kids, and Bre (Adams) just beared down and got the job done. Every single girl here contributed."