Softball: Elk Grove gains win in tune-up for Hersey

Elk Grove senior pitcher Sabra Morton was well aware she was facing a very good lineup when Whitney Young visited from Chicago on Tuesday.

"Mr. (Ken) Grams told us they were like the No. 1 team in Chicago," she said. "We wanted a game like this to get ready for Hersey (today's opponent).

"We tried to throw a lot of off speed. In my last game, I threw too many fast balls and they (Metea Valley) hit them well. So we tried to do more off speed to keep them off balance."

It worked out quite well, as the Grenadiers registered their 28th 20-win season and 18th in a row under hall of famer Grams with a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Public League power (24-3).

"It was good," said Morton who raised her record to 7-3 while throwing a 4-hitter to catcher Keeley Cronin. "It was good to get our confidence up for (today's) game."

The Grenadiers (20-7) host Hersey (18-6) at 4:30 p.m. with first place in the Mid-Suburban East on the line. Each team is 8-5 with three to play.

Morton played a solid all-around game as she also went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI single in the second inning.

"Sabra was at the top of her game," Grams said. "She was very impressive."

Also impressive was senior Haley Itzenthaler who has been hitting the ball as hard as anyone in the league.

In addition to hitting numerous doubles, she also hit her third base coach in the foot with a foul ball during the Buffalo Grove game on Monday.

"She brought me chocolates," said a smiling Mullaney, who has a bruised toe. "She feels real bad."'

Itzenthaler continued her amazing hot streak at the plate, going 3-for-4 with yet another double.

She also came up huge with her glove, saving a run in the top of the sixth with a nifty leaping stab of a line drive to rob junior Ashley Bravo with a runner in scoring position.

Bravo, a Purdue University Northwest recruit, came on to pitch in relief of Bellarmine University-bound Natalie Magnus (8-3), who went four innings and left with her team trailing 4-1.

That 1 run was a homer by Magnus with one out in the top of the fourth. Bravo allowed only 1 run in her three innings.

The Dolphins scored twice in the top of the sixth on back-to-back RBI singles by freshman Lauren Mosele and junior Kiara Negron.

"I think it took us too long to figure out their pitching," said Dolphins coach Mike Hinrichs, who starts four freshmen and a sophomore. "We hit a couple of balls hard but right at them.

"And you can't give a team like Elk Grove extra outs. They're good. Part of their lineup is very strong, they're very sound defensively and their pitcher wasn't going to beat herself. She let her defense do what it had to do."

Morton did not walk a batter while striking out seven.

Senior Kylie Thomsen, who barely missed her 12th homer when she doubled high off the right-center field fence in the second inning, Jessica Kearns (leadoff triple in the third inning), Jaimie Klicka and Cronin each added 1 hit for the Grens.

"We knew they (Whitney Young) were good coming into game," said Thomsen, who made a nice scoop for the game-ending putout at first base. "We didn't think much about it. We just went out and played our game.

"We're back at it (today). It was good to see their pitching speed (Whitney Young) because Hersey also had good pitching."

The Grens hope to carry Tuesday's momentum over to today's game.

"That was a good team we played," Grams said. "I thought we played very well and made smart decisions with good plays."