Mychko launches 2 HRs to lead Huntley past Jacobs

There is a reason Huntley senior catcher Jenna Mychko will playing in the Big Ten the next four years for the University of Illinois.

She cannot only hit for average but has extreme power.

Mychko belted two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in 6 runs Monday to power the Red Raiders to a 15-10 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division softball win over Jacobs.

"The grand slam homer was an outside pitch and I was able to get all of it," said Mychko. "The second homer I got all of it and really hit it hard. We knew as a team we had to keep scoring because Jacobs is a good team. We have a tremendous hitting lineup 1 through 9."

In a game that featured 36 hits -18 for each team - Mychko was the difference. With Huntley trailing 4-1 in the second, Mychko crushed her grand slam well over the center field fence. In the sixth inning, with the Red Raiders nursing a 11-10 lead, Mychko hit a 2-run homer to give her team a 3-run cushion. Along with the 2 homers and 6 RBI, she also had a single and was intentionally walked.

"What you can say about Jenna," said Huntley coach Mark Petyiniec. "She is a great player."

Jacobs (6-5, 3-2), which grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first inning on 2-run doubles from Marissa Lombardo and Ashley Morales, took a 9-7 lead in the fifth with 3 runs. The key hits in the fifth were RBI singles from Nicky Chapa and Jenna Teson along with an RBI double by Kelsey Petersen.

The Red Raiders (10-4, 4-1) won the game with 4 runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Nikki DeMarco and Tara Lycos each had 2-run singles. In the sixth, Mychko and Valparaiso recruit Amanda Wisniewski slugged 2-run homers as the Red Raiders seized control of the game.

Mychko, Kelsey Hagan (2 RBI) and Lycos (3 RBI) collected 3 hits each for the Red Raiders.

Teson paced Jacobs with a 4-for-5 effort from the plate which included a 2-run single. Sara Jacobson was 3-for-5 from the plate for the Golden Eagles with a triple and 2 RBI.

"We knew when we scored 4 runs in the first inning that would not be enough runs," said Jacobs coach Jeremy Bauer. "We know Huntley has a lot of power and can hit homers. We had a lot of timely hitting but we made too many errors and our pitching wasn't good."