Metea Valley downs St. Charles East
Metea Valley junior Antoinette Senese is new to left field, though you would never know it from her play in the Mustangs’ 5-2 victory Wednesday at St. Charles East.
Senese threw out a runner at the plate in the second inning, then nailed another runner at second base going for a double the following inning.
She did all that in her third game as a left fielder.
“It was really exciting, it was my first opportunity to do that,” said Senese, part of a first-year varsity program now over .500 on the season.
“We’re just working hard trying to win all our games. We’re a new varsity team, we’re all really young, we’re just trying our best to win.”
The Mustangs (4-3, 2-3) scored single runs in each of the first three innings. Jenn Faassen doubled in Alyssa Coletto in the first inning, Lauren Carlson blasted her first home run in the second inning and Carlson singled in another run in the third inning.
St. Charles East (5-7, 3-2) tried to answer in the second inning when Krista Besser led off with a single. After a sacrifice bunt and fly out, Besser attempted to score on Ali Hall’s single to left, but Senese’s throw and tag by the catcher Faassen ended the Saints’ rally.
“I knew it was going to be close,” Senese said. “She (Besser) was quick, but I was confident in my throw.”
The Saints got to Metea Valley starter Jenna Hall (2-1) with a Dani Asquini RBI single in the third inning. A Metea throwing error in the fourth inning scored another run to trim the Mustangs’ lead to 3-2.
Metea Valley coach Kris Kalivas turned to Stephanie Bova in the fourth, and the sophomore left-hander only allowed just 1 hit over the final 3 1/3 innings for her second save.
“They did a nice job getting us totally off-balance with that slower one and then they came in and threw a pitcher that was a little bit quicker and we just struggled with that and shouldn’t have because we have been timing the ball really well,” Saints coach Kelly Horan said.
St. Charles East mounted a rally in the sixth inning with runners at second and third and two outs but Bova got Lexi Perez on a sharp grounder to first.
“She had great command today and mixed her pitches well,” Kalivas said. “Her composure on the mound is huge. She’s just a competitive kid, she wants to save the game and wants the ball in that situation.”
Metea Valley scored a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. After Saints second baseman Ali Hall threw out a runner at the plate, Lori Obendorf singled home a pair to complete her 3-for-4 day at the plate.
All the Mustang starters had at least 1 hit. Coletto went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and Carlson also was 2-for-3.
“I’m pretty confident in our offensive capabilities 1-9,” Kalivas said. “Lauren came out of a slump today and hit the ball real well for us and that was huge to have that in the 7 spot.”
St. Charles East also used two pitchers. Leah Vellega worked the first 4 1/3 before Shannon Pedersen finished. Horan has been using four pitchers early this season but said she is going to narrow her staff to a top three by next week and go with her top two on a more regular basis.
Perez was the only Saint starter with 2 hits. Catcher Casey Basic, who gunned down a would-be base stealer, went 1-for-3 with a double to continue her hot start.
Overall, Horan wasn’t pleased with the team’s intensity level.
“We came out flat,” Horan said. “We have to know no matter who we are playing is not going to give us the victory because we St. Charles East. That is my entire message to the kids today is you have to go out and take it. If you don’t come with 100 percent attitude you will get beat.”