Dennison, Bartlett roll by Elgin
After losing a tough extra-inning game to Upstate Eight Conference front-runner St. Charles East on Wednesday, the Bartlett softball team was looking to bust loose.
The Hawks did just that Friday, pounding out 10 hits, including 2 home runs, in a 12-0 UEC win at Elgin.
Not only did Bartlett (9-6, 3-4) hit with authority Friday, it also got a stellar 1-hit pitching performance from junior Callie Dennison, who also hit one of the home runs.
"We had a good practice (Thursday) and as a team our confidence is high, said Dennison, who struck out three, walked two and got errorless defense from her teammates. "My coach calling my pitches today (Thijs Dennison, Callie's brother) did a really good job. We just have to play good softball. The conference is so crazy this year. There's only one undefeated team and you can't underestimate anybody."
Bartlett jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning. Senior Elizabeth Kay (2-for-2, 4 runs scored) belted a leadoff triple and scored on Rachel Anello's one-out rope to right field.
After Elgin freshman Hannah Perryman walked Allyse Taormina to lead off the top of the third, Elgin coach Peg Corcoran opted to go to senior Kelly Patchett in the circle. The move backfired when Kay greeted Patchett with a long home run over the center field fence to make it a 3-0 game.
"Bartlett is a good hitting team and we wanted to try to keep them off balance and make them adjust," said Corcoran of the pitching move. "The first couple batters she faced Patchett wasn't quite ready and she struggled. I still felt good at 3-0 but then the wheels fell off."
After a 1-2-3 fourth, Patchett struggled again in the fifth, walking three and allowing 4 hits as Bartlett took its lead to 7-0. Dennison had an RBI double and Kelsey Warrick's double drove in 2 runs for the Hawks.
Bartlett put the game away in the sixth with 5 more runs - 4 of them off Perryman who came back into the game - with Dennison's 3-run bomb about 40 feet over the center field fence the big blow. Stevie Treskow also drove in a run in the inning and another came home on a wild pitch.
"Elgin's been playing well, so it felt good for us to get some good swings going today," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith. "E-Kay broke out and I know Callie felt good with that big one off a good pitcher in Perryman. We had an outside practice for the first time in three weeks (Thursday) and a lot of things we worked on I saw today."
Dennison (8-4) had great command in the circle for the Hawks, allowing only one ball to be hit out of the infield, and that a short pop up to shallow left field. Caris Alan beat out an infield single in the fourth inning for the Maroons' only hit.
"Callie was on her game today," Wolfsmith said.
Elgin (5-14, 3-5) faces another UEC test this morning when it travels to Lake Park. Bartlett hosts Stagg in a nonconference doubleheader today.