Teson, Lombardo power Jacobs to 19-3 rout of Huntley
If Jenna Teson continues to set the table and Marissa Lombardo continues to pitch like she did on Tuesday, it could be an interesting month of softball for the Jacobs Golden Eagles.
Jacobs kept itself very much alive in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division race Tuesday, thumping Huntley 19-3 in five innings to move into a second-place tie with Huntley, each just 1 game behind division leader Cary-Grove.
Teson, the Golden Eagles' leadoff hitter, was 3-for-3 with a double, triple and RBI and is now 7-for-7 with a walk this week. Lombardo allowed 8 hits but got tough every time she needed to and held Huntley's high-powered offense to one of its lowest run totals of the season.
"I'm feeling more comfortable and I'm hitting better," said Teson, who sparked Jacobs' 15-hit attack off Huntley's Taylor Larson.
Teson, a proficient slapper, said she's been swinging away more lately if defenses play her to slap.
"Defenses are always playing up on me so I decided to try something different," she said.
Jacobs coach Jeremy Bauer knows that in Teson, he might just have the best leadoff hitter in the conference.
"She's doing phenomenal," said Bauer of his junior shortstop. "She's tough to get out. If she's got her mechanics down and she reads defenses, she's got the green light. She clearly knows what she's doing. She's got a lot speed and she can swing the bat and drive the ball to the gap. With her speed it's a double or a triple. And, she can drop one down when needed. She's fun to watch play."
Lombardo and the Golden Eagles (13-7, 7-3) spotted Huntley (15-7, 7-3) a 2-0 lead when Red Raider slugger Jenna Mychko launched a two-run home run to right-center field in the top of the first inning.
But then Jacobs came back with an inning most teams only dream about, scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the first while sending 13 batters to the plate. Teson's triple set the table, Kara Arceneaux had an RBI single, Ashley Morales the first of her two 2-run doubles and Huntley committed four of its 7 errors in the game.
"It was like an avalanche," said Huntley coach Mark Petryniec. "We made that first mistake and it just snowballed. This was our worst outing of the season offensively and defensively. Once is tolerable. Let's see what happens from here."
Jacobs added 6 runs in the second and four more in the third. Sara Jacobson and Arceneaux each had 2 RBI each and Kelsey Peterson drove in a run. Arceneaux finished with 2 hits, Nicky Chapa and junior Amber Livingston each had 2 hits and Morales finished with 3 hits. Senior Brooke Frederiksen added a double.
Meanwhile, Lombardo bent but didn't break in the circle. She was aided by good defense, which included a rare and sparkling double play started by Morales' quick release from behind the plate to freshman second baseman Chapa when Huntley had runners at first and third in the second inning.
"I knew they were really good hitters," said Lombardo of Huntley. "I just had to keep them off balance and we knew off-speed pitches would throw them off."
Which was all according to the Golden Eagles' strategy.
"We had a plan," said Bauer. "They're a very good offensive team that puts the ball in play. Lombardo kept them off balance and we made some defensive plays."
Mychko added 2 doubles for the Red Raiders, scoring Huntley's other run on a Kelsey Hagan double in the fifth inning. Lycos also had a double for Huntley, as did Nikki DeMarco.
"Jacobs is a great hitting team and Lombardo had us off balance all day," said Petryniec. "You can't have that kind of effort when you play Jacobs."