Softball: Dundee-Crown a solid 2nd at Larkin Slugfest
Dundee-Crown's softball team was two outs away from winning the 24th annual Larkin Slugfest title when things took a strange turn Saturday at the Elgin Sports Complex.
Joliet West loaded the bases without hitting the ball out of the infield, then went on to score 3 runs and claim the crown with a 4-2 win over the Chargers.
Chargers' junior pitcher Sydney Ruggles was an escape artist all day. The Tigers got their leadoff hitter on base in every inning but one. But after giving up a first-inning run, Ruggles got out of trouble every time - until the seventh.
She did her best Harry Houdini impersonation in the sixth, when the Tigers loaded the bases on two bloops and a 10-foot roller toward third base. She then knuckled down and struck out Morgan Gersch, Natalie Edwards and Jeliza Pecheco to end the inning.
"Even when we had the bases loaded she kept her composure and threw strikes," said Chargers coach Tracy Beatty of Ruggles. "And she had some good defense behind her today. I felt like her team supported her 110 percent today."
It was like déjà vu all over again in the seventh as the Tigers loaded the bases without hitting a ball out of the infield. Sarah Gersch led off with a walk after falling behind 0-2. After a sacrifice, Karlee Barton and winning pitcher Kiley Robb followed with shots to third base. DeAnna Origer fielded both balls and held the runner at third base, but was unable to get the out at first.
DeShonte Smith and Sidney Budzinski followed with solid singles, bringing in 3 runs.
The Chargers had taken the lead in the first on back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Claire Weeks and Andrea Conway.
All-in-all, it was a good day for the Chargers (10-7), who rolled past St. Edward 12-0 and edged Hampshire 2-1 to get to the title game.
Cady English homered and tripled for the Chargers against St. Edward while Ruggles threw a 4-hitter with 11 strikeouts against Hampshire.
"I'm still proud of these girls," Beatty said. "Defensively, they stayed so strong. I thought we had a great game today. That's a good team, so when you play with them, it's a victory."
Hampshire (10-7) took third place, cruising past Streamwood 13-0. Sarah Bowen's 3-run homer helped power the Whip-Purs, who also got a home run from Delaney Rummel in their 2-1 win over Oak Lawn in the opening round.
Streamwood (7-7) opened the tournament with a 22-9 win over Elgin before falling to Joliet West 18-2. Laura Dietrich had a home run and 2 doubles against Elgin.
St. Edward (7-12) salvaged a win in the final round, beating Elgin 14-3.