Elk Grove teams up for no-hitter against Geneva

After three decades at the helm of the Elk Grove squad, coach Ken Grams has one cardinal rule.

"We're all in this together," Grams said.

That helps explain why Grams lifted Stephanie Maday after 5 innings, even though the senior hurler was in the midst of a no-hitter against Geneva in the first semifinal of the Class 4A St. Charles North sectional on Wednesday afternoon.

It made little difference, however, as Dani Goranson was equally formidable, retiring the all six Geneva batters she faced to complete a nearly perfect outing for the duo. Bridget Weitzel walked to lead off the fourth inning, spoiling what otherwise would have been a perfect game for the Grens in their 3-0 victory.

Elk Grove (34-4), the top seed, not only set a program record for wins in a season but also advanced to its first sectional final in seven years. The Grens play Saturday morning against either No. 3 West Chicago or 15th-seeded York. Upset-minded Geneva, the No. 12 seed, bowed out at 21-17.

"The kids understand what we need to do to win," Grams said of his decision to lift Maday in the midst of a no-hitter. Goranson has regularly closed games this season, so neither she nor Maday were surprised by the move.

"We knew coming here it was going to be half and half," said Maday, who improved to 17-2 on the season. "All of my pitches were working very well. I was just trying to stay ahead of the hitters."

Elk Grove had all the offense it needed in its half of the first inning. Olivia Roback and Devan Parkinson had back-to-back singles with two outs, and Megan Keegan delivered Roback with a solid single up the middle.

Maday had six punch-outs the first time through the Geneva lineup, and the Grens' defense was flawless behind its two pitchers all afternoon.

But Geneva, which knocked off traditional powers Glenbard North and Lake Park to reach its first sectional in five years, was equally solid in the field.

Senior Kristyn Ruitenberg (9-7) allowed only 3 more hits in 5-plus innings of work, also benefiting from an error-free defense.

"The plan was to keep them off balance and then make the plays in the field," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said.

But with Elk Grove nursing its 1-0 lead through the first four and half innings, Geneva had no margin for error.

Amanda Gattone and Jessica Balzano made sure the Vikings' bid for a third straight postseason upset fell by the wayside. Gattone, the Grens' No. 9 hitter, started the bottom of the fifth with a double into the left-field corner. Conventional wisdom suggested that Balzano would attempt to move the runner with a ball to the right side.

"(Ruitenberg) put it on the inside, and I just put it that way," Balzano said of her double smoked down the left-field line that easily scored Gattone.

Balzano scored the final run when the Vikings failed to gun her down at the plate on an infield grounder.

Goranson had three consecutive caught-looking strikeouts in the sixth as part of the combined no-hitter. "Their pitchers won more battles than they lost today," Dierks said. "(Maday) had good movement and hits her spots well. It was a fun postseason run."