Glenbard South nears MSC crown

Jess Wilkes spoke with confidence, and with good reason.

“New conference, I want to come in and make a statement,” said Glenbard South’s senior pitcher. “I want everybody to know what’s up, that you gotta watch out for Glenbard South.”

Wilkes and the No. 9 Raiders affirmed that belief Tuesday, beating Elmwood Park 6-0 in Glen Ellyn to move one step closer to a Metro Suburban Conference championship in their first year in the league.

Glenbard South (16-4, 9-0), already conference champ in volleyball and girls basketball, is two games clear of Elmwood Park and Riverside-Brookfield with three to play.

Only one Metro Suburban team has come within 5 runs of the Raiders. Tuesday’s shutout was Wilkes’ fifth in league play.

“We’ve made our statement,” said the Eastern Michigan recruit.

Danielle Chitkowski doubled and scored on a Jackie Wrona sacrifice fly in the second inning for the game’s first run. In the fourth Chitkowski was clipped by a pitch, but the umpire ruled she didn’t make an attempt to avoid the ball and didn’t award first base.

Next pitch Chitkowski homered over the fence in right-center, making it 2-0.

“A lot of umpires seem to call that on me,” Chitkowski said. “I love to hit anyway, so it didn’t matter to me.”

Glenbard South broke open a close game with 4 runs in the sixth. Olivia Ramirez, 3-for-3 on the game, doubled in a pair of runs. The Raiders had four runners thrown out on the bases over the first four innings, but a relentless offense kept the heat on.

Brianna Meath had 2 hits before leaving the game in the seventh with a shoulder injury, and Hannah Davey also had 2 hits.

“My kids, they’re just going to play the game,” Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said, “swing the bats and hit it where it’s pitched. There’s not a lot you can do to stop them. Just a great-hitting team.”

Elmwood Park (17-11, 7-2) had a chance to break ahead go for naught in the second. Meghan McNulty singled with two out, and the next batter doubled to center. On the relay home McNulty was ruled out for going out of the baselines to avoid the tag.

“We ran ourselves out of some key situations,” said Elmwood Park coach Lisa Hanrahan, who argued the call to no avail. “When you’re playing a great team like Glenbard South you can’t make mental errors.”

Wilkes (11-3) struck out three, scattering 6 hits and 2 walks. Elmwood Park was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

“A lot of times she does a better job when runners are on base,” Fonda said. “She seems to focus a bit more on hitting her spots and being precise.”

Glenbard South visits Elmwood Park on Thursday. A third matchup is a distinct possibility in supersectionals next month.

“They’re probably our biggest speed bump in conference,” Chitkowski said. “Definitely somebody to not overlook.”