Cary-Grove squeaks past Grayslake Central
Lindsey Marshall has pitched better and will likely pitch better in the future.
But after a shaky first inning the Cary-Grove junior shut down the Grayslake Central offense. Utilizing a solid changeup, curveball and fastball, Marshall's pitching turned out to be the key in the Trojans' 5-3 Fox Valley Conference crossover win over Grayslake Central at Cary-Grove Thursday.
After giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in the first inning, Marshall yielded only 1 run while scattering 6 hits during the final 6 innings. The Cary-Grove junior gave up 3 runs while giving up 8 hits in 7 innings of work. She struck out eight and walked four.
"I made some mistakes in the first inning but pitched much better the rest of the game," said Marshall. "My curveball was moving and I was hitting my spots with the fastball. I was able to relax when we got the lead. Our offense was awesome today."
Grayslake Central (3-8) roughed up Marshall for 2 runs on 2 hits in the first inning. RBI singles produced by Claire Brennan and Abbie Goetsch gave the Rams an early 2-0 lead.
Grayslake Central pitcher Monika Wedick blanked the Trojans for 3 innings before Cary-Grove got on the scoreboard with 3 runs in the fourth. The key hits in the innings were RBI singles by Meredith Riemann and Taylor Dunne as the Trojans grabbed a 3-2 lead.
The Trojan lead was short-lived as the Rams scored a run in the fifth on a RBI double by Brennan to tie the score at 3.
Cary-Grove won the game in the bottom of the inning with 2 runs. Emma Gaulke drove in a run with an infield groundout and Dunne collected an RBI single.
Grayslake Central pressured the Trojans in the top of the seventh. Rachel Perkowitz led off with a single which was followed by a one-out single from Goetsch. Marshall got tough and induced Wedick to hit an infield pop up and ended the game by striking out Kara Dones.
"Lindsey was a little off in the first inning but she settled down," said Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson. "Her off-speed pitches kept the Grayslake hitters off balance."
Dunne led the Cary-Grove offense with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Katie Berg and Alexis Haley added 2 hits each for the winners.
Goetsch paced the Rams with a 3-for-4 performance that included a double and an RBI while Brennan added 2 hits and 2 RBI.
"We are a good team when we play focused, but we had too many mental blocks today," said Grayslake Central coach Abbey Tadelman. "We had a lack of execution today and we weren't thinking."