Mundelein 13, Round Lake 1

Mundelein junior Melissa Diaz and freshman Deanna Wise began Monday's play-in sectional softball game against Round Lake on the bench.

They wound up playing a central role in the game ending an inning early.

Diaz began the bottom of the sixth with a 2-run homer to give Mundelein a 10-1 lead. Wise's 3-run homer later in the inning was the exclamation point on the Mustangs' 13-1 victory.

By rule, Wise's homer ended the game because it gave the Mustangs a lead of at least 10 runs.

Wise said she had a hunch she might put a charge in one.

Her reaction when the ball sailed over the left-field fence?

"Oh my God," she said with a smile.

This was her first varsity homer but probably not her last.

"She's steadily improved all year," Mundelein coach Ted Juske said. "She has a lot of potential."

Although she hit 4 homers while on the junior varsity, this was Diaz' first varsity homer.

"It was pretty much right down the middle, and I went for it," Diaz said. "I definitely knew it was (gone). I (wanted) to show that I can hit at the varsity level."

Mundelein, the No. 14 seed, took command of the game with a 3-run first inning. The Mustangs had 1 hit in the third inning but scored 3 runs to take a 6-0 lead.

The lone run for No. 19 Round Lake came in the fourth inning. With two outs, Debbie Russ came through with a double. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when the throw went into left field.

Mundelein senior Leslie Harshey pitched three scoreless innings to start the game. She did not allow a hit and struck out five. She faced one over the minimum, with one runner reaching on an error.

"I worked my spots and tried to get the first batter in every inning," she said.

Mundelein will travel to play No. 3 Lake Zurich at 4:30 p.m. today. When the two teams met in the regular season, the Bears scored 14-6 and 3-0 victories.

"Our defense has improved a lot since then," Harshey said.

While Monday's play was encouraging, Juske encouraged his team to quickly switch its focus to Lake Zurich.

"I want them to keep this in perspective," he said. "The bigger prize is Lake Zurich."