Glenbard West 7, Hinsdale South 0

Glenbard West's bats just keep right on clicking.

For the length of its strong start to the season, the Glenbard West softball team has been steadily driving in runs and piling up hits.

Tuesday afternoon proved no exception, as the Hilltoppers scored 7 times on 9 hits, cruising to a 7-0 victory over Hinsdale South in Glen Ellyn.

Glenbard West (10-2) drew first blood in the bottom of the third when junior Kathryn Lux tripled home Jayme Hefler to make it a 1-0 game.

The Hilltoppers increased their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth, capped by Briana Wyatt's 2-run triple in the West Suburban Conference crossover game.

The consistent offense gave starting pitcher Cassie Goggin a comfortable cushion on the mound, helping the sophomore improve her record to 5-1.

"It makes it so much easier, you get to relax a little," Goggin said. "You know that not everything is riding on you and just that your team can back you up throughout the whole thing."

"It's a good feeling. We're on a roll as far as hitting goes," Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane said. "It's the same thing every day. I just tell the kids when we go up to bat that we want to get good at-bats, and we also want to be aggressive."

McGrane feels confident in her team's ability to make adjustments at the plate as the game goes on, and the Hilltoppers exhibited why. After not earning a single hit the first time through the lineup, Glenbard West scored at least one run every inning thereafter.

"I always tell the girls you can have one at-bat," McGrane said, "and then we need to start making those adjustments."

The Hornets (7-4) had scoring opportunities in the third and sixth innings with runners at second and third but were unable to connect at the plate when they needed it most.

"For some reason it's just like when we hit as a team, we all hit," Hinsdale South coach Carrie Nelson said. "We need somebody to start it off, keep it contagious and keep it going."

Tuesday's Hornets lineup featured just two seniors, and while that may hurt Hinsdale South in the experience department, it also gives Nelson a team that is easily capable of rebounding from tough losses.

"They bounce back well, which is nice," she said. "They're learning, and they know how to bounce back. They need to pick each other up, and we've been doing that all season."