Panko’s clutch hit gives Benet win
Benet coach Jerry Schilf said of his freshmen before the season, “I don’t think they’ll wilt under pressure.”
Marissa Panko proved him prophetic Tuesday.
Panko’s basehit with two out in the top of the seventh scored courtesy runner Tracy Griffin to break up a scoreless game, and Benet held on to beat Wheaton Warrenville South 1-0 in Wheaton.
Nora McGuire reached on an error with one out, and Griffin advanced to second on a groundout. On a 3-1 pitch Panko cued a soft shot just fair in back of third base. Griffin stumbled between third and home but still scored.
“I was just looking to get a basehit there and score that run,” Panko said. “I wasn’t really thinking too much about the pressure of the situation. My coach just said, ‘Get in there, be confident and hit your pitch.’”
Earlier in the game Panko made a great backhanded stop on a grounder hit in the hole at shortstop. Benet’s other freshman, Julianne Rurka, is off to a sizzling start at the plate.
Schilf, who lives in Warrenville, felt especially good about the win. Two years ago WW South (9-4) beat Benet 3-2 in the last at-bat, and the Redwings (8-2) played poorly in losing 7-2 in Wheaton last year.
“We’ve had a hard time here,” Schilf said. “It easily could have gone the other way today. They have a good team.”
A matchup of two good-hitting teams on a cool day with the wind blowing in was played more like a softball game when the mound distance was at 40 feet. Benet’s Allyson Staats and WW South’s Hannah Granger gave up a total of 5 hits between them.
“Even though they are nerve-wracking games, I wish they were all like this,” Schilf said. “I’d much rather have this kind of game than a game like the 10-7 game we had last week with Neuqua.”
Benet’s sixth win in a row was Staats’ fourth shutout over her last five starts. Staats (7-2) struck out six, gave up 3 hits, walked none and allowed just 2 runners to reach second base.
“(Benet catcher) Kendall (Duffy) calls a great game,” Staats said. “As long as I can hit my spots it usually works in my favor.”
Hard-luck loser Granger (6-1) struck out 3 batters. She took a no-hitter into the fifth, when Panko singled with two outs.
But the Tigers offense, red-hot over the first 11 games, was silenced for the second straight day. On Monday Downers Grove North freshman Dale Ryndak beat them 5-2.
WW South’s best threat was in the fifth, when Megan Zablock reached on an infield with one out and advanced an out later on a wild pitch. But Staats struck out the next batter to put out the threat.
Bekah Munday singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh but was stranded at second base.
“I feel like the last few days the hitting has kind of not been very aggressive,” WW South coach Denise McCance said. “That’s not characteristic of us. They’re waiting until they’re down in the count, and we can’t do that against the good pitchers we face.”