Griffin, Naperville Central break through

Naperville Central leftfielder Meghan Griffin knew that once her Redhawks figured out Wheaton Warrenville South pitcher Julianne LaFleur, the hits would come in droves.

After scoring single runs in the first and second innings, the Redhawks broke out for 3 runs in the fifth and sixth, dispatching the Tigers 9-2 Wednesday afternoon in Wheaton.

"When we start getting hits, it kind of follows," Griffin said. "When one person gets a hit, then another person does, so we just had to get the momentum going."

Wheaton Warrenville South (12-7, 1-1 DuPage Valley Conference) seemed to have grabbed the momentum back from the visiting Redhawks in the bottom of the fourth, erasing Naperville Central's early 2-0 advantage when a swinging bunt off the bat of leftfielder Timmie Rappe knotted the game at 2-2.

The Redhawks promptly responded with 3 runs in the top of the fifth, putting Wheaton Warrenville South out of reach. Griffin's one-out single to left field with the bases loaded scored centerfielder Nicole Kappelman and shortstop Kelsey Gonzalez. Third baseman Katie Walker followed with a sacrifice fly to give Naperville Central (8-6, 2-0) the 3-run lead.

After being called out on strikes in her previous at-bat, Griffin, who finished 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI, adjusted her eye at the plate.

"I kind of thought she was going to go inside on me, because she struck me out and three inside pitches before," Griffin said. "I kind of thought it was coming."

As happy as he was to regain the lead, Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum preferred the 3-run sixth inning over the fifth, as his team scored all three runs with two outs to expand its lead to 8-2.

"We had a very good outlook. We attacked the game the entire time, and I liked the way we hit the ball in the last three innings," Nussbaum said. "Good teams get the runs with two outs."

After catching the Redhawks at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Wheaton Warrenville South lost its touch at the plate. The Tigers mustered just two hits in the final three innings, leaving four runners on base during that span.

A slew of errors most disappointed Wheaton Warrenville South coach Denise McCance, whose team could ill afford to commit multiple errors against a strong Naperville Central squad.

"They're a good hitting team, so we were expecting them to hit the ball," McCance said. "We just didn't play well today."