Lancers get it together

Alexis Munaco didn't pull any punches - it's time for Lake Park to put a lukewarm regular season in the rearview mirror.

"We didn't really have the best record," said the Lancers senior catcher, "but now we're playing like it could be our last game. We're coming together as a team and hitting."

The Lancers bats were simmering in the playoff opener on Wednesday, pounding out 15 hits in a 10-0, six-inning win over York at the Class 4A Lake Park regional semifinal in Roselle.

Lake Park (20-14), which limped into the postseason on a five-game losing skid, will play the winner of today's St. Charles North-Geneva semifinal on Saturday morning for the regional title.

"What I've been telling the girls is that we're waiting for the playoffs," Lake Park coach Tom Mazzie said. "We went 34-5 last year and didn't even win conference. We play one of the toughest schedules around, and the reason why we do that is to prepare us for right now. Hopefully, now we're peaking."

With Tuesday's rainout the Lake Park girls were able to get in a couple hours of batting practice on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. It showed.

The Lancers batted around in a 5-run first inning. Kelly Mieszala singled to start things off, and after Carly Willert and Munaco singled to load the bases Vicki Tomaka brought in Mieszala with a single. Jamie Pomahac singled off the pitcher's glove to score Willert, and sophomore Vanessa Wegner later added a run-scoring single.

"We were ready to go," Tomaka said.

Lake Park tacked on 2 runs in the fourth and 3 in the sixth. Mieszala went 3-for-4 and scored 3 runs, Munaco 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, Tomaka 3-for-4 and Wegner 3-for-3. Pomahac had 2 hits.

"We know we need to hit to move on," Munaco said. "We have a lot to live up to after last year."

Not lost on Mazzie, the Lancers also played flawless defense behind starting pitcher Kelly Loy. Loy (14-4) gave up a leadoff single to Gina Knutson to start the game, then retired the next 14 batters. She struck out three.

"If our defense comes to play, we're going to be in every game," Mazzie said. "The girls focus on the hitting because it's flashy, but the reality is our defense is what's going to make us or break us. Our bats are going to be there. We're going to hit people and score some runs."