Elk Grove 7, Palatine 1

The record for Elk Grove's softball team keeps rising.

And so does the fastball thrown by Elk Grove sophomore ace Stephanie Maday.

Maday (12-0) used her rise and curve to stymie the potent Palatine bats in Tuesday's Mid-Suburban League game on the Pirates' diamond.

The right-hander tossed a 4-hitter with 8 strikeouts and no walks, lifting Elk Grove's overall record to 17-1 and 7-0 in the MSL East, 1 game in front of Prospect (9-3, 6-1).

"It's amazing," said Palatine's dangerous slap-hitting leadoff batter Nikki Linares of Maday's rise ball.

"You know it's coming when you have two strikes on you, but it's so good, you can't stay off it. It happened to me, and maybe a lot of us."

When contact was made, the Grenadiers' defense was usually there to support their ace.

Except for back-to-back infield errors in the second inning, the Grenadiers were perfect in the field.

"Elk Grove is a real good team," Linares added. "And they had their bats going, too."

The Grenadiers pounded out 12 hits, led by Kayla Mahoney (3-for-4, RBI), Nikki Goranson (2-for-3, walk, RBI), Stephanie Dolce (2-for-5) and Amanda Mertes (2-for-5).

Brittany Tranchita's single to left center gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the top of the second but the Pirates (6-5, 4-3) answered in the bottom of the inning.

Freshman Katie Mnichowicz's bases-loaded, two-out slap single down the third base line scored Bre Quaritsch, who had singled to right-center.

Elk Grove, though, took the lead for good in the top of third when freshman Jessica Balzano led off with a walk.

Dolce singled to left-center and Goranson's one-out RBI single to right made it 2-1.

Mahoney then singled up the middle to score Dolce for the 3-1 lead.

Balzano's groundout to second brought home Tranchita (reached on an error) for a 4-1 lead in the fourth.

The Grenadiers capped the scoring with 3 runs in the fifth, getting a leadoff double to right-center by Goranson.

Mahoney lined a single to left, then Goranson came home when Olivia Roback bunted and reached on an error to make it 5-1.

Catcher Amber Hane's 2-run single to center provided the 7-1 margin.

Pirates coach Jeff Manz started junior Anne Wcislo (4-4) and brought in sophomore Chrissy Roto with 1 run in and no outs in the fifth.

Pitchers Amy Mitchell (2006) and Wcislo (2007) had defeated Elk Grove the past two years, 8-2 and 5-2.

"We haven't been able to get past them the last two seasons," Mahoney said. "So this feels good. We're definitely on a good streak. We hope we can keep it going."

The Grenadiers travel to Wheeling (1-9, 1-6) today and host five-time defending MSL champ Barrington (15-2, 6-1) on Thursday.

"We know Stephanie has a good rise and curve ball," said second baseman Jamie Campus, the Grenadiers' only other starting senior beside third baseman Mahoney. "So we just have to back her up on defense. Everyone expected a lot from us this season and so far we're doing well."

Campus lined a double to right-center in the seventh inning following a bunt single by Tranchita.

But the Pirates turned a nice defensive play when Balzano hit a hard grounder off Roto's glove and the ball was fielded by shortstop Heather Zimmerman.

Zimmerman fired home to catcher Caitlin Carpenter, who made a nice tag on the sliding Tranchita.

Roto then got out of the jam with a strikeout and an impressive grab of Dolce's liner back to the mound.

Carpenter also doubled to the centerfield wall to lead off the sixth but Maday came away unscathed with 2 strikeouts and a grounder back to the mound.

"I just went into the game confident," Maday said. "I knew that if I could hit my spots, that my defense could do the rest."

Elk Grove coach Ken Grams liked what he saw from his offense.

"I couldn't be more pleased that we had a lot of good trips to the plate against a good pitcher," he said. "We had a lot of base runners and a lot of good hits, even when we made outs."

Maine W. 8, Highland Park 2:ŒSenior Caryn McGinley (1-1) threw a 7-hitter with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks for visiting Maine West (11-2, 5-0) in the Central Suburban North game.

Senior Jacki Janecek (2-for-4), senior Nicole Eisenberg (3-for-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBI) and McGinley (3-for-4) led the offense for the Warriors.

Fenton 5, Schaumburg 2: Sophomore Nicole Chase went 4-for-4 with a double for the host Saxons (6-6) in the nonconference game.