Softball: Dierks, Geneva blank Bartlett

Paced by Alissa Dierks' 2-hit shutout, the Geneva girls softball team beat Bartlett 5-0 to win its Fox Valley River Division Conference opener Friday afternoon.

Only 4 Hawks batters reached base as the junior right-hander fanned eight and walked none.

"She was sharp. She was hitting her spots very well and mixed in a few different things," said Geneva coach Greg Dierks about his daughter. "For all 7 innings she was on top of her game."

The game, originally schedule to be played in Bartlett, was moved to Geneva since the Hawks' field was unplayable. The Vikings, although playing at home, were the visiting team and wasted no time in taking the lead.

Leadoff hitter Katelyn Keller smashed Bartlett pitcher Janelle Ulaszek's first offering into left field for a double. After advancing on a sacrifice bunt, the shortstop scored on Kaitlyn Plocinski's single.

Molly Wrenn hit the first pitch she saw into center field for a double moving Plocinski to third, who later scored on Dierks' single to left, the fourth hit of the inning.

Ulaszek (4-2) settled downed and kept Geneva (5-2, 1-0) from scoring again until the seventh, scattering 3 hits (all singles) between the second and sixth inning.

"They did a good job in the top of the first jumping out and getting their runs across the plate. They had really nice early at bat contacts," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith. "I thought we settled down pitching wise and defensively for innings 2 through 6."

"In the middle, Ulaszek got the best of us," Dierks said. "We were off balance and maybe a couple of times we could have been a little more disciplined with a couple of things."

Wrenn, batting cleanup for the first time, went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI.

"This is the first game she batted fourth for us. She was injured to start the season so she is really starting to hit her stride right now," said Dierks. "She had great swings today."

Ulaszek appeared to be out a jam in the seventh after an unusual double play. Geneva's Meghan Mraz led off with a bloop single. Anilise Bragg tried to move Mraz to second with a sacrifice bunt. She popped the ball up which Linnarzt caught and then threw to first baseman Taylor Rotondo to double up Mraz.

Keller followed with a flyball that the Bartlett (7-4-1, 0-1) right fielder could not handle. Ulaszek then yield 3 straight hits - a single to Katherine Geary, a double to Plocinski and a single to Wrenn - that plated 3 more runs.

Dierks (3-2) yielded singles to Rotondo in the first and to Amber Pagan in the fourth. Linnartz reached base in the third when a Dierks pitch hit her in the helmet but was picked off a first base to end the inning.

Rotondo almost ended the shut out in the bottom of the seventh when she reached second on a Viking error and advance to third on a ground out. The junior first baseman was the third and final out when Danielle Kleeman hit into a 5-3-2 double play.