Vest slams door in Kaneland's win over Burlington Central

Delani Vest wanted no part of Burlington Central slugger Emily Bell in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday afternoon.

Bell won their second meeting in decisive fashion when the two sophomores tangled in the third inning. The Rockets' first baseman blasted a towering 2-run homer to left field. But Kaneland rallied over the rest of the game, and the Knights' softball season opener was on the line as the team nursed a razor-slim lead.

Vest pitched around Bell to put runners at first and second with one out.

"When she came up there, of course I was thinking about the home run," Vest said.

Vest, the Knights' crafty right-handed ace, did the rest, however, inducing back-to-back ground balls, including a game-ending comebacker, to preserve the Knights' 3-2 nonconference victory in Maple Park.

"I tried to keep everything low (to the final two batters)," Vest said. "We needed a double play (to get out of the jam). But I got the two ground balls."

There could be little doubt that Central had the more prolific at-bats in the game, but Kaneland got the job done when it mattered. The Knights trailed 2-1 entering its half of the sixth, only to see Brittany Davis coax a one-out walk. Davis scampered all the way to third on McKinzie Mangers' bunt single and subsequent fielding error. Alexis Villarreal ran for Mangers and promptly stole second base when the Central infielders hesitated on a squeeze attempt.

"Defensively, that's unacceptable," said Central coach Scot Sutherland. "Our bunt coverage was way too slow."

It provided Taylor Velazquez a glorious way to begin her career at Kaneland. The freshman lined a sharp single to the right-center field gap, Davis trotted home to knot the score at 2-2, and Villarreal slid under the tag of Central catcher Sara Kisch for the go-ahead run.

"I knew I would have to try and hit it (to the right side)," Velazquez said. "The pitch was a little outside. I would have to go that way."

Vest, who fanned six Rockets over the first three-plus innings, surrendered 7 hits on the afternoon, only to deny several Central threats, including a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with her eighth and final strikeout. Vest changed speeds effectively, complementing her riseball with a brilliant straight change. In addition, the sophomore had considerable late movement on her pitches.

"By moving the mound back three feet (from 40 to 43 feet), you get a lot more movement around the plate," Vest said. "But it also gives the batter more time."

Bell staked Central to a 2-0 lead with her 2-run third-inning blast, but Kaneland promptly halved its deficit in its half when freshman Allyson O'Herron had a perfectly executed hit-and-run single to plate sophomore Sam Hansen.

"We hit the ball hard all day long," Sutherland. "I'm very happy with the way we swung the bats."