Lake Zurich clicks against Stevenson
Bowling buddies, Xtreme trampoline tag-team partners, dodgeball enthusiasts and Lake Zurich softball teammates Maria Schroeder and Alli McGinnis took time out to be serious Tuesday.
Their game room: Stevenson’s varsity softball field.
Their other game room: a trampoline-filled facility in a nearby suburb.
“We beat up all the little kids in dodgeball,” McGinnis joked.
“When we’re together, we just click,” Schroeder, Lake Zurich’s freshman third baseman, said of junior first baseman McGinnis. “We have a lot of things in common. We just like to have fun.”
They did again — Xtreme trampoline-hopping fun — and this time it was at Stevenson’s expense.
Schroeder ripped 2 triples, the second of which nearly resulted in an inside-the-park grand slam, and McGinnis also smoked 2 hits, including a 2-run triple, as Lake Zurich won 9-1 to maintain sole possession of first place in the North Suburban Lake Division.
Lake Zurich (16-6) improved to 8-1 in the NSC Lake, while Stevenson (14-7-1) fell to 5-3 in the division.
Bears pitcher Megan Mattera allowed only 1 hit — a two-out RBI single to Alyssa Vechiola in the third — in tossing a complete game. She struck out seven and walked a pair, and the run she allowed was unearned.
Mattera stepped to the plate in the fourth after Schroeder bunted Kelly Neises into scoring position. With his team leading 1-0, Stevenson coach Larry Friedrichs then opted to issue his first intentional pass of the season.
As Mattera trotted to first, up stepped the lefty-swinging McGinnis, who boomed a Sam Feder pitch to deep left field, past a lunging Ali Castriano.
Neises and courtesy runner McKenna Larson scored, and McGinnis raced to third.
“Before she went up, I said, ‘Make them pay for it,’ ” Lake Zurich coach Michaela Towne said. “She did. When she’s relaxed and loose, it would be a hard decision for me to walk someone to get to her because she’s a great hitter.”
The fun-loving McGinnis relished the chance to get serious after Stevenson chose to pitch to her.
“I get excited when that happens,” McGinnis said. “I like pressure situations. It’s fun to be in them.”
Lake Zurich then erupted in the fifth, scoring 6 runs to stretch its lead to 8-1. Ashley Pettinger (2-for-3) led off by tripling deep to left field and scored on Tab Bohac’s perfectly executed squeeze bunt. Consecutive hits by Carlee Parsons, Paige Goldberg (2-for-4) and Neises (infield RBI single, 2-for-3) loaded the bases for Schroeder.
The Bears’ No. 3 hitter then lined a ball over the head of right fielder Allie Jobes. Schroeder rounded third, but Towne held her up.
“With her speed — she’s pretty fast — it crossed my mind (to send her home),” Towne said. “But I hate to have a kid get such a great hit and then get thrown out at home.”
That was cool with Schroeder.
“I guess she knows what’s best,” said Schroeder, smiling. “So I got to listen to her.”
Mattera’s RBI single capped the 6-run frame.
“They hit some shots,” Friedrichs said. “And then we had some confusion in the infield.”
Schroeder later walked and finished 2-for-2.
“You would never be able to tell she’s a freshman if that weren’t written down,” Towne said. “She is actually the goofiest kid. For some people it works, and for some people it doesn’t. For her, it works. She can be goofy and laughing and dancing, and she’ll get right in there and smash the ball. She does not play like a freshman. She’s just a gamer.”
A gamer who likes to play all kinds of games.