Duehr deals a night gem

A long day for Wauconda.

A great night for Antioch.

Of course, most days have been great for Antioch's softball team this season, too.

"Fun year," Sequoits sophomore pitcher Olivia Duehr said. "Great year."

Against Wauconda, Duehr was great.

She struck out a season-high 17 batters and allowed only 2 singles, as Antioch defeated Wauconda 7-0 under the lights at Cook Memorial Park across the street from the high school in Wauconda on Friday night.

The win moved Antioch's record to 14-0 and 6-0 in the North Suburban Prairie Division.

"I love it," Antioch coach Jeff Tylka said of night softball. "I'm from Wisconsin and every high school field has lights."

The night game was scheduled after rainouts earlier in the week scrambled the schedule. Wauconda hosted Antioch on Wednesday, with Antioch winning 5-2. On Friday, Wauconda lost on its new field to Grant, 2-1, then walked across the street to play its second game of the day. Antioch was considered the "home" team in the makeup game.

The venue change didn't help the fortunes of Wauconda (11-6, 2-3), which hadn't lost consecutive games since early April of last year.

Antioch broke open a 1-0 game in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of 4 errors. The Sequoits sent 10 batters to the plate and scored 6 runs.

"We kind of fell apart," Wauconda second baseman Stephanie Olson said. "We let it get to us mentally."

Olson, the Bulldogs' cleanup hitter, was the only hitter on her team not to strikeout. She broke up Duehr's no-hit bid with a sharp single leading off the fifth and walked in the seventh.

Cara Nance had Wauconda's only other hit - a one-out single in the seventh.

Duehr ended the game by striking out the final two batters.

"She had a good riseball," Olson said. "Obviously it fooled all of us. We all kept swinging high for them and falling for her pitch. But other than that, we should have been able to hit her. We just weren't as prepared as we should have been."

"We didn't adapt real well (to Duehr)," said Wauconda coach Tim Rennels, whose team also lost to Duehr on Wednesday.

While not as overpowering as Duehr, Wauconda pitcher Kayla Stos kept her team in the game.

Antioch didn't score until Samie Seamon (3-for-4) tripled home Jen Precht with two out in the fifth. Bulldogs center fielder Amanda Pausa made a diving attempt on Seamon's long drive into left-center but couldn't hang onto the ball.

Rennels thought Pausa made the catch.

"(The umpire) had the best angle," Rennels said. "He insisted he saw (the ball) hit the grass."

Seamon added her second RBI triple of the night in the sixth, which also included run-scoring singles by Ashley Mysliwiec and Allie Anttila.

Duehr didn't need the insurance runs.

"She's mean," Tylka said of what makes Duehr successful. "She's intimidating. Even when she doesn't have her best stuff, she expects to get everybody out."

"I can't do it without my team - and my catcher (Hannah Vandevoorde)," Duehr said. "The reason that I can always come out strong is knowing that my defense is always behind me."

Your defense, Olivia? You didn't need it.

"Some games," she said, "you will."