Softball: Meadows rally as Wolanski wins No. 200

Rolling Meadows senior infielder Mallory King says Mustangs coach Tony Wolanski always has his girls' backs.

King will now make sure Wolanski has the game ball from Monday's historic win for the 15-year veteran coach.

Down 5-0, the Mustangs rallied with 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge visiting Glenbard East 7-6 for their first win of the season and 200th win in Wolanski's career.

"Coach (assistant Jeff) Manz gave me a ball from the end of the game so I could have everyone sign it," King said.

And what a fitting signature win it was for Wolanski.

"It was awesome because he is so just encouraging all the time," said King, who had 2 of the Mustangs' 14 hits. "Even when we have a game like this, when we get down and things don't look so good, he always has our backs and never gets down on us.

"He always believes in us that we can come back and that's why we do come back. This game was really indicative of his coaching."

Wolanski gave No. 3 hitter Sara Benner the green light with a 3-0 count in the bottom of the seventh and the junior came through with a one-out double to right center scoring juniors Stephanie Thompson (single to right) and Emily Schmidt (walk) to tie the game at 6-6.

Junior Caroline Slowik then belted her third straight single up the middle, advancing Benner to third base.

Senior Parker Cavanaugh then delivered the first walk-off hit of her career with a hard grounder to right field.

"I was just trying to get the ball on ground and make sure Sara could get home," Cavanaugh said. "It feels good to get him (Wolanski) this win. He expects a lot from us and makes sure that we are at our best all the time. There are never any excuses. He really pushes us to always do better."

And Wolanski is looking to see the Mustangs (1-3) get better as the season progresses.

"The key thing is if we can catch the ball, pitch and hit together at the same time, we'll be a much better team," said Wolanski, who is also assisted by former head coach Greg Benes.

"We don't always play the best softball but our kids do a nice job staying in the game, coming back and giving full effort to the end. When we were down 5-0, they kept battling. Emily Schmidt had a big at-bat getting a walk after being down 0-2 and Stephanie and Caroline had hits in the inning. Sara got the big double to tie it and Parker the big single that won it."

Glenbard East jumped ahead 1-0 on Alivia Chuman's first homer of the season with two outs in the first inning. Elisa Versetto singled and eventually score on a wild pitch in the second inning to make it 2-0.

The Rams pushed across 3 runs in the third inning getting RBI singles from Chuman and Joselyn Molinar and an RBI double by senior pitcher Tori Tyler, who went all seven innings with 10 strikeouts.

"We had that nice jump to start the game," said Rams coach Dawn Chantos. "But as the game went on we made defensive mistakes that cost us. It was tough. The girls didn't give up. They kept playing hard the whole game."

Chuman went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI while Sam Dooley also had a hit for the Rams (0-4) who have lost every game by 1 run.

"Our record is 0-4 but every game has been like this," Chantos said. "We've had the lead and the other team comes back at the end. So we've just got to hang in there and believe we can win. We're close. The girls just need to believe in themselves and I think we'll have better results."

The result ended in Meadows' favor despite leaving the bases loaded in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Multiple hitters for the Mustangs were Thompson (2-for-4), Benner (3-for-4, 2 RBI, walk), Slowik (3-for-4, walk), and Cavanaugh (2-for-5).

Winning pitcher Elise Kowalski entered the game in the top of the fifth. The junior right-hander did not allow a run or hit while striking out six.

"Give Elise a lot of credit," Wolanski said. "She came in and shut the door."

And credit Wolanski with 200 wins.

"Our teams have always tried to give full effort at all time," he said of his 15 seasons. "The girls do nice job of staying in the game and we'll keep trying to get better. Sometimes it's hard when you are on the other side of games, but our kids have always given the effort and that gives us a chance to compete."