Neuqua rallies to defeat Waubonsie
Jena Boudreau knew that the best way to bounce back from giving up a grand slam was to help her own cause at the plate.
The Neuqua Valley pitcher, after giving up a grand slam to Waubonsie Valley’s Katie Benson in the bottom of the fifth, came back in the top half of the sixth with a two-out single that led to a Wildcats rally.
Neuqua Valley tacked on three runs in that inning and one more for good measure in the seventh, leading to an 8-6 win over the rival Warriors on Tuesday.
“After that home run I just wanted to get up to bat and hit,” Boudreau said. “That’s how I was going to retaliate. I was pitching well, but once that grand slam was hit, I just said, ‘I’m done and I’m getting that hit.’ ”
Neuqua Valley coach Melissa Wilson praised her pitcher’s and her team’s ability to perform under pressure.
“I can’t say enough about Jena and her performance under pressure,” Wilson said. “We’ve had a few games that haven’t gone our way and we’ve been able to learn from those games. We’ve learned how to fight as a team.”
The game was tied 2-2 after the first two innings and remained that way throughout the third and fourth.
Neuqua Valley (12-5, 8-4) took its second lead of the game in the top of the fifth when a double by Kate Lelek drove in Brooke Meyer and Megan Childs, putting the Wildcats up 4-2.
That’s when Benson’s grand slam put Waubonsie Valley (9-15, 7-8) back on top.
A walk by Amanda Lack and singles by Jackie Kreiner and Haylie Wensel loaded the bases for Benson, who smacked a 1-0 pitch with two outs over the right field fence to put her team up 6-4.
Boudreau then provided some two-out heroics of her own with the single that started the Wildcats rally. Leigh Nebendahl followed with a single of her own and then Meyer’s second double on a 3-2 count drove in Boudreau, cutting the Warriors lead to 6-5.
Megan Childs’ basehit up the middle off of Waubonsie Valley pitcher Amy Jablonsky’s glove drove in Nebendahl and Meyer to put Neuqua Valley back on top at 7-6.
Boudreau’s single to left in the top of the seventh drove in Kat Widup for an insurance run. Boudreau then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half of the seventh to earn the victory and move to 8-5 on the season. She struck out seven in the win.
Jablonsky took the loss for Waubonsie Valley. She pitched 6 innings and fell to 6-9 on the season.
“Overall, it was a tough game to lose,” Warriors coach Aly Kelley said. “We’re getting better as the season goes on and the team is starting to take these losses a lot harder. Rather than saying, ‘At least we hung around with them’, we’re saying, ‘We should have won the game.’”