Softball: Huntley hammers Hampshire, clinches share of FVC crown
Rylie Porretto sure knows how to put an exclamation point on a Huntley victory.
The senior outfielder blasted a walkoff home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against Hampshire on Monday, giving the Red Raiders an 11-1 win and clinching a share of the Fox Valley Conference championship.
Porretto also drilled a game-winning home run against Jacobs and delivered another walkoff hit against Ottawa.
"I was just looking for any pitch I could drive," said Porretto, who transferred to Huntley from Geneva before her junior year. "I just wanted to get the game over with. I knew I could do it."
Huntley (22-5, 12-1) can clinch the conference outright with a win in any of its final three FVC games.
"First time one-side conference, so this is the first time for something," Red Raiders coach Mark Petryniec said. "Last year we won our first one on the big side. We challenged the girls to do something different and unique and leave their mark in Huntley history."
Huntley got all 10 of its hits from its one through five hitters - Tiffany Giese, Caitlin Brown, Porretto, Sofia Tenuta and Autumn Kasal - who combined to go 10-for-16 with 11 runs scored and 8 RBI.
Brown had 3 hits, and Tenuta drove in 4 runs to cool off a Hampshire (19-9, 9-4) team that had won 10 of its last 11.
"We knew they were going to be a tough game, they are always a tough competitor we have," Porretto said. "This was a big game for us. We knew our heads needed to be right and in it and everyone needed to do their job and we got it done."
Giese only had 1 strikeout in 5 innings but held the Whip-Purs to 1 run to improve to 20-4. She pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first.
Brown doubled in the first and eventually gave Huntley a 1-0 lead when she scored from third after Porretto got in a rundown between first and second.
The Whip-Purs tied the game in the third. Melissa Esparza's single up the middle plated Delaney Rummell, who had singled leading off the inning.
Huntley took control with a 4-run third - a rally that featured consecutive hard hit balls from Giese, Brown, Porretto, Tenuta and Kasal - and then scored four more times in the fourth for a 9-1 lead. Tenuta delivered the big blow in the fourth, a 2-run double.
"Once we gave up four or five hits in a row that kind of builds momentum for them and takes it from us and it was kind of downhill from there," Hampshire coach Kelly Wasilewski said.
Petryniec helped keep momentum on Huntley's side in the fourth. Trailing 5-1, the Whip-Purs put runners at first and second with two outs for Rummell. Petryniec elected to walk Rummell intentionally, loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate.
The move paid off when Giese induced a grounder to Kasal at shortstop to end the inning.
"Rummell's one of the best hitters in this area. If we are going to lose I'm not going to let Rummell do it," said Petryniec, adding it was the first time this year he's walked an opponent intentionally. "That move worked out. I'm really going to look really smart or I'm going to look really dumb. With her swing of the bat she could have put 3 runs up on the board. I'll take my chances with the rest of the lineup. We were lucky this time."
Petryniec said his club carried over its strong play from the weekend when it went 3-0 at the Marengo tournament.
"We had a nice quality weekend and had some nice swings against some great competition," Petryniec said. "It only prepares us to face a good team like this. We knew we had a battle coming in today and the girls really responded today."