Big sixth inning lifts South Elgin past D-C
South Elgin sweated out its regional opener against Dundee-Crown a little more than the 9-2 final score shows.
In fact, it got downright scary. The top-seeded Storm finally broke the game open with 7 runs in the sixth inning to advance to Saturday's final of the Class 4A Streamwood softball regional.
Kim Pierce drove in 3 runs and winning pitcher Lauren Vitiello had 2 hits and 2 RBI for the Storm.
South Elgin (23-12) tied the school record for wins that it set last year.
South Elgin coach Jason Schaal was concerned how his players would react to being the ones with the targets on their backs.
"We have to bring our A game every day," he said. "Everybody's gunning for us now. We have to bring our best. So, yeah, there's a little nervousness there."
He didn't relax much when the Chargers (5-27) tied the game with 2 runs in the fourth. Pitcher Emilie Kerkman's single drove in the tying run.
"Before the sixth inning it was just scary," said Vitiello. "In the dugout, it wasn't normal. We weren't hyped up enough."
Vitiello said she was never able to get into a rhythm in the circle, but still improved to 6-1 on the season.
It took some small ball to finally get the Storm rolling in the sixth.
Leadoff hitter Layla Ismajlaj was safe when her infield grounder was misplayed. Shannon Conway beat out a bunt, and Rae Bosteder was safe on a throwing error when she attempted to bunt the runners over.
Brittany Boelter and Katelyn Stonecipher followed with RBI singles. Pierce singled in 2 runs and Vitiello's hit to right field brought in another. An error brought in a final insurance run.
"When someone hits the ball, then everyone starts hitting," said Pierce.
Vitiello then retired the side in order in the seventh. She struck out 10 for the game while walking just two.
Despite getting just 3 hits, the Chargers battled the Storm for 5 innings.
"Before the sixth inning, I thought it was some of the best ball-playing that we played all season," said Chargers coach Tracy Beatty. "We made some plays happen at the plate, defensively I thought we took care of it. They've got some strong hitters and we were pretty much able to sit on them, which is a huge accomplishment."