Softball: Reynolds, Grant wrap up clutch win against Grayslake Central

The game could not have had a better finish.

Grant starting pitcher Juliana Reynolds spied the tying run on first base with two outs in the top of the seventh. Up came Grayslake Central first baseman Elisa Koshy. After two at-bats on Thursday, Koshy was halfway to a cycle with a 2-run homer and a run-scoring double.

"I was thinking about that," Reynolds said. "I was holding my breath."

Reynolds fanned Koshy with a changeup, giving Grant a come-from-behind, 6-5 win in a Northern Lake County Conference thriller.

"She has an amazing changeup," said Grant cleanup hitter Sydney Goessele, who usually pitches for the Bulldogs.

Grayslake Central (11-7, 6-3) had everything going its way early. After 5 hitters in the first, the Rams were up 3-0. After the Koshy double, it was 4-0. Right-hander Corinne Heidloff took a 2-hit shutout to the Grant fourth.

"Yes, we were down 4-0," Grant coach Chris Van Alstine said. "But the last few weeks, our pitching has kept us in games. We also have the kind of offense that can come back."

The first four hitters had singles in the Grant fourth. In the next two frames, the Bulldogs offense erupted for 7 more safeties. Goessele's last two at-bats drove in runs with a double and single, respectively, giving her a 4-for-4 day.

"I've been seeing the ball much better," said Goessele, who was recruited by Aurora University as a pitcher. "I have been in a better mindset. We don't worry about being down. We were down 9-0 to Lakes and scored 8 runs."

Reynolds shut the Grayslake Central offense after the Koshy blasts. In the fifth, Reynolds fanned back-to-back hitters.

"I needed to calm down," she said. "I had to collect myself. Koshy hit a dropball for the homer and it was a little too high. I started getting my fastball inside."

Grant (12-5, 5-1) tied the game in the fifth. Goessele's double brought in a run, and Ivy Clark's RBI single knotted the game at 4-4.

The bottom of the Grant batting order helped in the two-run sixth. Madeline Quinn and pinch-hitter Becca Fabry produced back-to-back doubles. Shortstop Calista Warmowski had 3 hits and scored a pair of runs.

Grayslake Central catcher Brooke Heraty drove in the Rams' final run with a sacrifice fly.