Losing to Libertyville smarts for Grayslake Central

That hurt.

And for Grayslake Central's softball team, we're not talking about how the Rams failed to hold an early lead that could have been bigger and lost to Libertyville 14-4 in six innings Tuesday.

"She got hit hard," Grayslake Central coach Abbey Tadelman said of sophomore Sarah Kuligowski. "I heard it. Nasty."

What Tadelman and a lot of other people heard at Grayslake Central's field was a throw from left field ricocheting off the knee of a sliding Kuligowski.

Kuligowski was safe at third, as freshman Jordyn Bowen hustled into second base with a double. Kuligowski jogged off the obvious pain, wincing but choosing to stay in the game. She even raced home on a wild pitch for the game's first run, before limping back to the dugout.

Grayslake Central's leadoff hitter was done, though, and so were the Rams, who led 2-0 and had runners on second and third and none out, only to settle for just those lone two runs.

Grayslake Central fell to 0-3.

"For her size, she's very strong," Tadelman said of Kuligowski. "But she had to come out of the game because she's all swelled up in her knee."

Libertyville senior pitcher Mandy Vogg struck out the side in the bottom of the first after her team fell behind 2-0.

The Wildcats then erupted offensively in the third off Rams starter Claire Brennan, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring 8 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks, a pair of fielder's choices and a throwing error on a bunt.

Libertyville, which was playing its season opener, got RBI singles in the inning from seniors Nicole Smith and Athena Cocallas, as well as a run-scoring double from sophomore Samantha Bone and a sacrifice fly from Vogg.

"It was our first game so, basically, being able to settle in is always a challenge after being inside for a while," Wildcats coach Mary Tiegs said. "Once we settled in, then things just kind of fell into place."

Sophomore Nicole Kruckman cracked a pinch-hit 2-run double in the Libertyville fourth, and junior Toni Kintzel smashed a 3-run homer in the fifth. Senior Brittany Schick's RBI triple in the sixth capped the scoring.

Vogg struck out nine in 4 innings to get the win. Sophomore Calley Kaluzny, who started the game at third base, fanned five of the six batters she faced in 2 no-hit innings.

"It took a little while to get going (offensively), but I know that we have a lot of variety this year," Tiegs said. "We have a couple of slappers, and Toni Kintzel has been hitting for us the last three years."

Bowen, the daughter of former Rams coach and current Waukegan assistant boys basketball coach Tim Bowen, went 2-for-3 with her double. Brennan also had a double.

"I thought that we had a great start and that really helped me out," Brennan said. "But then after that everything went downhill."