Thursday's Fox Valley roundup
South Elgin's softball team came back with a vengeance, and with a win that keeps the Storm's hopes of an Upstate Eight Conference championship alive.
Senior Kim Pierce went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double, and senior Cary Thereon shut down Neuqua Valley's offense as the Storm (13-8, 7-3) came back from Monday's loss to Neuqua Valley with a 5-0 win in Naperville Thursday. Pierce is now hitting .618 and has 4 homers and 20 RBI.
"I'm very proud of the way we played today," said South Elgin coach Jason Schaal, whose team moved to within 2 games in the loss column to league leader St. Charles East. "We played error-free ball and our bats were working."
Thereon (6-4) allowed 7 hits and struck out two with 1 walk. Courtney Bosteder also drove in a run for South Elgin, which is now tied for third place in the UEC in the loss column with Neuqua and Lake Park.
CL South 6, Jacobs 2: Senior Emily Mahoney had another stellar day for Crystal Lake South, hitting a 2-run home run in the Gators' 4-run first inning, and pitching a 4-hitter as South downed Jacobs 6-2 in a key Fox Valley Conference Valley Division game. The win moves South (17-6, 5-3) to within one game of division-leading Jacobs (12-9, 6-2).
Mahoney struck out seven and walked three in earning her 12th win of the season against 4 losses. Sam Hardie was 2-for-3 with an RBI, Kaitlin Hardie added a double for the Gators and Liz Adams had a triple. Marissa Lombardo suffered the loss for Jacobs. She struck out five and walked two. Sam Vojtsek had a double for the Golden Eagles.
Larkin 4, Streamwood 1: Leah Rybakowski had a triple and 2 RBI and Ashley Frey drove in a run as Larkin (5-13, 4-6) returned to the field after the swine flu closing and a day of rain to win this Upstate Eight game. Megan Johnson (3-5) struck out four and didn't walk anyone to gain the win for the Royals in the circle. Bri Bodgewicz and Ashley Patterson each had 2 hits for the Sabres (1-18, 1-10) and Delaney O'Malley had an RBI. "The kids came ready to play," said Larkin coach Larry Hight. "They came out great after being off for eight days with no practice."
Prairie Ridge 3, Huntley 1: Jordan Hogue had a double for Huntley (16-9, 6-3) in this FVC Fox loss. Sam Clemons (15-7) was the losing pitcher. Lexi Wachman had a double for Prairie Ridge (21-5, 9-0).
St. Edward 9, Driscoll 8: In a battle of the top two seeds in the upcoming Class 2A Driscoll regional, St. Edward (14-9, 6-3) scored 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim the Suburban Catholic Conference win. Sarah Field was the winning pitcher for the Green Wave. She allowed just 1 earned run and the Wave overcame 6 errors. Field was also 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, while Lea Diaz (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Kristina Brockner (2-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI) and Megan Smith (RBI) also contributed to the offense. The Wave also benefitted from 12 Driscoll walks.
Burlington Central 18, North Boone 2: Mackenzie Scott hit her second grand slam home run of the season and had 3 hits and 6 RBI as BC (15-3, 7-0) rolled in the Big Northern East. Scott (10-1) also pitched three innings of hitless softball. Jet Kein finished in the circle for the Rockets. Kayla Oranger (3-for-3), Haley Albamonte (2-for-2) and Jessica Herrmann (2 doubles) also contributed for BC.
Cary-Grove 6, Dundee-Crown 3: Winning pitcher Emma Gaulke was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI and Taylor Dunne added a double as Cary-Grove (11-12, 4-4) got past Dundee-Crown (4-15, 0-7) in the FVC Valley. Gaulke (6-5) struck out eight and allowed 5 hits. Melissa Summaria had 2 hits and Dayna Schultz drove in 2 runs for the Chargers. Emilie Kerkman was the losing pitcher.
Harvard 13, Hampshire 6: Losing pitcher Ally Kent (6-5) had a triple and Jordan Moore doubled for Hampshire (8-11-1) in this Big Northern East loss.