Rock 'em, sock 'em game as Lake Zurich defeats Stevenson
She wasn't sweet-swinging Sweeney on Monday.
That's because Erin Sweeney never really got the chance to swing the bat. Instead, the junior contributed 3 sacrifice bunts in Lake Zurich's win over visiting Stevenson.
"I've been all over the (batting order) this year," she said. "They've been having me bat ninth because I can bunt."
On Tuesday at Stevenson, Sweeney swung away and showed she can sock.
The third baseman jacked an inside-the-park homer, ripped a double and drove in 4 runs - in the third inning.
Led by its Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Alex Block and Sweeney, Lake Zurich was on Cloud Nine after scoring 9 runs on 9 hits in the third en route to a 10-0, five-inning win that wrapped up the Bears' third straight North Suburban Lake Division crown.
Lake Zurich (26-5, 10-2), which pounded out 16 hits, will seek its third straight conference championship when it hosts NSC Prairie champ Antioch (27-2) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The fact that the Bears earned a "3-peat" in the NSC Lake is impressive considering, one, they entered the season having graduated Lake County's best pitcher last year in Katie Buczynski, and two, they started out divisional play 1-2 with a pair of losses to Warren.
"We never expected to be here," Bears coach Becky Lewandowski said. "These kids just worked and worked and worked hard to get back (to the conference championship game). I'm so impressed with them."
In the clincher against Stevenson (18-12, 8-4), which needed a win to earn a share of the division title, Lake Zurich erupted in the third after wasting a leadoff triple by Kelli Blume in the second.
Block roped a leadoff triple to left and then Sweeney got a pitch up in the wind - which was blowing straight out - and hit it over the head of speedy center fielder Ashley Niedermayer. The ball rolled to the fence and Sweeney never stopped running, beating catcher Annelise Docel's tag.
Paige Goldberg followed with a single, and then Tabbetha Bohac one-hopped the fence down the left-field line and sped to third with an RBI triple.
After a flyout, Ella Aslan and Blume hit back-to-back singles. That was all for Stevenson ace Allison Micucci.
"They weren't afraid to power through the ball," Stevenson coach Larry Friedrichs said of the Bears. "Yeah, it was a tough one."
Lake Zurich didn't let up against reliever Katie Loerch. Megan Mattera walked, Kyra Boyer reached on a bunt single, and Block stroked an RBI base hit. Sweeney then doubled to right-center, scoring two more runs and capping the 9-run frame.
Block (triple, single) and Sweeney (homer, double) combined to hit for the cycle in the third.
"Erin's been a really great bunter," Block said. "(Monday) she did an awesome job pushing people over with her bunts. It was good to see her hit."
Blume and Block each finished 3-for-3 with an RBI, while leadoff batter Paige Goldberg went 3-for-4. Besides Blume, Block and Bohac, Coryn Schmit also crushed a long triple.
"On the bus, we had a long team talk and then the last few minutes it was quiet," Sweeney said. "We just picked each other up (during the game)."
First-year ace Mattera scattered 5 hits, including a pair to Niedermayer and a double to Genny Duffy, and struck out four in improving to 18-4.
The Bears figure to enter Thursday's game with plenty of confidence.
"It's really exciting," Block said. "Coming off this game, I think we're going to be awesome and ready to go."