Wunderlich sisters hold Hilltoppers in check
Naperville Central pitcher Natalie Wunderlich was a little frustrated with what happened in the sixth inning of Game 2 at Glenbard West on Saturday.
The Redhawks senior struck out Hilltoppers leadoff hitter Bri Wyatt, only to have the speedy Wyatt reach base on a dropped third strike. Wyatt promptly stole second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and then with two outs came home safely with a head-first slide at the plate following another wild pitch.
Wunderlich (13-4) did blank the hosts in the seventh to wrap up a 2-hitter in a 3-1 defeat of Glenbard West, so she couldn't be too upset. But that frustrating inning not only cost her a shutout, it kept her from keeping pace with little sis Alyssa, who picked up a shutout and 9 strikeouts in Naperville Central's 2-0 win in the opener.
"They shouldn't have gotten it," the older Wunderlich said of allowing the one run. "But we got two good wins today. They're a real good team, and it was nice to see us score more than 1 or 2 runs for a change."
The Hilltoppers used some solid defense to keep the nightcap tight, but Taylor Steinhilber suffered the loss after the Redhawks "exploded" for 3 runs, ignited by Megan Silke's first-inning home run. Naperville Central (19-5) added what proved to be the winning run in the second when Kelsey Gonzalez opened the inning with a single and scored on a basehit by Kristin Vizza.
That same pair then helped pick up an insurance run in the fourth when Gonzalez reached on an error, took third on another single by Vizza and came across to score on a grounder by Maggie Bouy. It was the first time in 10 games that Naperville Central scored as many as 3 runs in a game.
But two tallies were enough in the opener for Alyssa Wunderlich, a sophomore who moved to 5-1 on the year while picking up her third shutout. She drove home one run with a double in the third and a Gonzalez RBI single in the fourth made the score 2-0.
"I take it pitch by pitch and try and stay relaxed," the younger Wunderlich said of her strategy during all these tight, low-scoring games. "I'm getting used to it."
Hilltoppers coach Mary McGrane couldn't complain much about the way Steinhilber and Game 1 starter Cassie Goggin (10-5) pitched on Saturday. It's just tough to win when you're held to one run in a twinbill.
"I thought Cassie and Taylor both did a great job for us today," she said. "(The Redhawks) were able to capitalize on some mistakes, while we had some chances but just couldn't take advantage of them."