Softball: Foote, Antioch persevere past Grant

In the midst of a great day at the plate, Antioch senior third baseman Jill Foote felt greatly defeated.

After all, she and her teammates trailed visiting Grant 10-2 in the middle of the fourth inning Thursday.

"We were pretty low when we were on the field," Foote said. "We thought it was going to be the end (soon) and we were going to get slaughtered. But (coach Anthony) Rocco told us that we should start hitting and that we should get our heads up - and we can actually take them."

Stephanie Bonaguidi agreed with her teammate: The Sequoits were all but done in their Northern Lake County Conference opener.

"I thought, 'We're so much better than this,' " Bonaguidi said.

The Sequoits proved it. A particularly efficient Foote went 5-for-5 with 2 homers, and starting pitcher Bonaguidi - who didn't record an out and was pulled after four batters - drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh, as Antioch rallied for an improbable 11-10 win.

Antioch improved to 3-0, while Grant (6-2, 0-2) suffered its second loss in a row. The Bulldogs built their early lead in part due to Erin Bengston, who hit a 3-run homer (off Bonaguidi) and solo shot (off Hannah Cook) in her first two at-bats.

"We just can't start like that," Rocco said. "Any team - it doesn't matter if they're good, bad or whatever - they'll put you away. Fortunately, we have enough good bats and we were able to make some good plays to put us in position to win."

The Wisconsin-Green Bay-bound Foote swings one of those good bats for the Sequoits. Amazingly, her 5 hits were all on first pitches. The homers were the first two of the season for the leadoff hitter.

"I wanted to be aggressive at the plate," Foote said. "Luckily, (the 5 swings) were all hits. It was nice to contribute to the win, and it was an awesome win. Everyone contributed at the end, and we did it."

Foote singled three times.

"She put a nice, solid charge on every pitch she saw," Grant coach Chris Van Alstine said.

Foote's last hit loaded the bases in the Antioch seventh after Ashley Stephens (3-for-4, 3-run homer) led off with a single and Jackalyn Geraty reached by getting hit by a pitch following an out. Bonaguidi's sharply hit grounder was snagged on a bounce by second baseman Maddy Nourigat, but pinch runner Abby Pyburn easily beat the throw home.

"That felt really good," said Bonaguidi, who finished 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. "The girls are awesome and are always there to pick you up when you're not doing so hot. We all got that boost of energy to help us finish the game. It was all a team effort."

Antioch scored 6 runs in the fourth, highlighted by Stephens' homer and Annie Wagner's 2-run double, to pull within 10-8. Foote had an RBI single in the fifth, as the Sequoits scored twice to tie the score.

Cook, who relieved Bonaguidi in the first inning, shut out Grant over the final three innings. Antioch's 16-hit attack also included a 2-for-4 effort by Megan Lawrence and a double by Carlie Gaylord.

Grant leadoff hitter Calista Warmowski was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Bengston and Megan Mitchell (RBI double) each went 2-for-3. Sarah Gallivan, Liz Schram and Sydney Goessele had RBI singles for the Bulldogs.

"I'll take that loss if we learn from it and we go on a run and we (win) a regional," Van Alstine said. "This loss won't mean anything to me. It's early in the season. We're 6-2."