Softball: Larkin rallies past Elgin
It didn't seem to matter much that the Elgin and Larkin girl softball teams entered Tuesday's contest with just one win a piece. When these two crosstown rivals meet it is almost always guaranteed to be an entertaining battle and the latest clash was no different.
The host Royals squandered a 6-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning only to rally for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning and went on to an 8-6 Upstate Eight River Division win.
A big difference in the game was Larkin was the beneficiary of 11 free passes with 9 walks and 2 hit batters. They turned those baserunners into 5 runs. On the other side, Larkin pitcher Hannah Gross walked just 2 batters.
"We didn't necessarily outhit them, but we had really good pitch selection," Larkin coach Anne Vogt said. "We worked a lot of counts in our favor. And Hannah is not the type of pitcher that is going to blow fastballs by people. But last year she was walking around 10 people a game. This year she has made it a goal to keep it under 3. She's done a great job with that."
The Royals scored their 2 go-ahead runs in the bottom of the sixth inning without a hit. There were 4 walks and one hit batter.
The Royals (2-11, 1-5) had taken a 6-2 lead with 5 runs in the sixth inning. After just getting under the ball on her first 2 at-bats, junior Haley Bohne ripped a laser beam shot over the left center field fence for a 3-run homer.
"I think I tensed up on my swing a little the first the first two times," Bohne said. "The next time up I just relaxed and tried not to get under it. It's the best feeling to win this game. I have been looking forward to it all week."
It was the third long ball of the season for Bohne.
"You always expect something to happen at the plate," Vogt said. "Before she hit that homer I was thinking there would be no better time for her to get one than right there with a couple runners on base. She is such a special hitter. We just remind her to just wait for a pitch you love."
Gross did surrender 15 hits to the Maroons, but made them work for every run.
"I just try to throw the ball over the plate," Gross said. "I think my level of focus has been a lot better on throwing strikes and I don't get down on myself if they are getting hits."
The Royals' first run came on an RBI single form Morgan Poile in the second inning.
The Maroons (1-8, 1-2) tied the game at 6-6 with 4 runs in the sixth inning on RBI hits from Kacy Perfors, Dannah Perryman, Nereida Rosas, and Nayelli Sanchez. Sanchez also had an RBI single earlier in the game. Catlyn Keith had an RBI double.
Perryman took the loss in relief. She walked the two batters in the bottom of the sixth and both scored.
"It's always a lot of fun playing in a game like this where it is going back and forth," Elgin coach Jenna Szabo said. "The walks hurt us. It is something we have struggled with and we are trying to get our pitchers to not think they have to do it all themselves and to trust their fielders."