Wrap: Bartlett, C-G notch wins; BC loses 1st
It took a while for Bartlett's bats to heat up on a raw windy day at Larkin, but once they did the Hawks were off to the races.
Leading just 1-0 into the fifth inning against Larkin senior Heather Graff, Bartlett exploded for 8 runs in the final three innings to beat Larkin 9-0 in an Upstate Eight Conference softball game Friday.
Senior Lauren Wydra scattered 5 hits and struck out 11 as the Hawks moved to 8-1 on the season and 4-0 in the UEC with their eighth straight win.
"We weren't expecting the soft thrower," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith of Graff. "We were expecting to see (Sarah) McCleary. But (Graff) did a really good job of keeping us off balance."
The Hawks scored in the top of the first as junior Elizabeth Kay extended her streak to 13-for-13 with a triple to right field. She scored on Wydra's groundout.
"She gets off the bus ready to hit," said Wolfsmith of Kay, who was 3-for-5 with a triple, double and 2 RBI.
Larkin (2-6, 2-2) had a golden opportunity to gain some momentum and tie the game in the bottom of the third but for the second day in a row a baserunning mistake cost the Royals. Leigh Wyatt led off the inning with a double to left-center and took third on a wild pitch. But on Ellis Hatchett's one-out dribbler down the third base line, Wyatt strayed too far off third and was picked off.
"That's' two games in a row with baserunning blunders killing us," said Larkin coach Larry Hight. "We have to get over that."
Larkin's defense didn't do it any favors either as the Royals committed 8 errors, 6 of them in the final three innings. Bartlett scored twice in the fifth, both on errors, and 4 more times in the sixth, 2 runs coming in on a Callie Dennison single The Hawks then added 2 runs in the seventh on a Kay single. On the day, 8 of Bartlett's 9 runs were unearned.
"We did a better job of playing in the conditions and fielding the ball," said Wolfsmith, whose team didn't commit an error. "We hit the ball hard and when you hit the ball hard in cold weather it makes it tougher to field."
Rachel Anello added 2 hits including a double and an RBI for Bartlett while freshman catcher Victoria Nino had 2 hits for Larkin.
"We had bad game defensively," Hight said. "I thought Heather pitched well enough and this really should have been a 1-0 game."
Cary-Grove 4, Huntley 0: Huntley had yet to experience a hitting slump through its first 5 games of the season.
Rain, wind and cold temperatures coupled with a strong day on the mound from Cary-Grove pitcher Julie Clemment did the trick.
Clemment did not allow a hit through the first 3 innings and threw 7 shutout innings as the Trojans took a 4-0 Fox Valley Conference crossover game in Huntley.
"All of my pitches were working good," Clemment (2-1) said. "The defense was working strong behind me."
The Trojans also had the bats working. Clemment extended the Trojans' lead to 3-0 when her RBI single scored first baseman Lindsay Fritz in the fifth inning.
Clemment added an insurance run in the top of the seventh after scoring on a illegal pitch. She finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
The run came as a relief after Huntley scored in the sixth. Jenna Mychko nailed a 2-out double for Huntley (5-1), which starting pitcher Samantha Clemons (5-1) followed with a single. A walk loaded the bases, but Alexys Robbins hit the ball back to Clemment, who quickly threw it to first to end the inning and leave 3 runners stranded. Huntley finished the sixth with 3 hits. Prior to that, Huntley recorded just 2 hits and had only 3 baserunners.
"You have to play through (the weather)," Red Raiders' coach Mark Petryniec said. "They seemed to put the ball in play."
Cary-Grove (6-2) took a 1-0 lead in the third as leadoff batter Maggie O'Brien singled and scored. McKenzie Vaughn's RBI double made it 2-0 in the fourth when she drove in Amanda Leibforth. The Trojans finished the game with 11 hits, but left 14 runners stranded. Cary-Grove had runners at third in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but could not drive in the runs.
"It was atough day to play," Trojans' coach Tammy Olson said. "It was a difficult day to hit. You have to have some great mechanics. We had some great mechanics that scored us our runs."
Defensive mechanics also aided the Trojans. Cary-Grove finished with just 1 error in the game, while Huntley tallied 5 in the field.
Clemons finished the game allowing 3 runs off of 10 hits and striking out 4 and walking 7. Clemment gave up 5 hits and struck out 4 with just 1 walk.
-- Matt Stacionis
Byron 1, Burlington Central 0: Byron senior Lindsay Nauman stroked a seventh-inning double to drive in the game's only run as Byron (6-3) upset Burlington Central on Rocket Hill.
Burlington Central junior Mackenzie Scott allowed just that 1 hit and had 18 strikeouts but she walked Byron's leadoff hitter in the seventh. The Tigers then sacrificed her to second before Nauman's game-winning hit.
Nauman was also the winning pitcher, throwing a 1-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Lyndsay Lange's double to lead off the seventh inning was the only hit for the Rockets (7-1), who had the bases loaded in the fifth inning but failed to score.
"They executed and we didn't," said BC coach Scot Sutherland, whose team opens the Big Northern East season at rival Marengo on Monday.
Prairie Ridge 8, Dundee-Crown 7: Trailing 7-2 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Prairie Ridge (5-2) had a 1-run fourth, a 4-run fifth and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh for this Fox Valley Conference crossover victory.
Danielle Samuels got the game-winning RBI while going 2-for-4 on the day. Erika Trojan (3-for-4) and Kelsey Brennan (2-for-2, 2 runs) and Lexi Wachman (2-for-4, 2b, 2 runs) contributed.
Jacobs 14, Grayslake Central 1: With big offensive contributions from Sara Jacobsen (3-for-3, HR, 2 doubles), Lizzie Andrews (2-for-2, 2b) and Jenna Teson (3-for-3, 2b), Jacobs (4-1) walked away with this Fox Valley Conference crossover win. Becky Wilson was inside the circle for the 5-inning victory allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits while striking out six.