Wunderlich blanks Naperville North

Alyssa Wunderlich said this Naperville Central team reminds her of the 2009 Redhawks that went to state.

That’s the kind of roll she is on.

Wunderlich threw her third straight shutout Wednesday, striking out seven in 3-hitting Naperville North 3-0.

Wunderlich (11-3), who no-hit Glenbard East on Monday, has allowed just 4 runs over her last 68 innings. Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum has seen this movie before with a Wunderlich in a starring role. Two years ago older sister Natalie threw five straight playoff shutouts behind error-free defense.

“Alyssa’s been great, and defensively we’re not making any mistakes. As a matter of fact, we made some pretty good plays today,” Nussbaum said. “Today it was (Jill) Andreoni and (Nicole) Kappelman get on base, do what they’re supposed to do, (Kelsey) Gonzalez and (Meghan) Griffin get ‘em in, what they’re supposed to do, and Alyssa shuts them down. It’s really nice when it works out the way it’s supposed to work out.”

Just as important in winning the rivalry game, No. 7 Naperville Central (18-6, 9-2 DuPage Valley Conference) moved a half-game ahead of postponed West Chicago atop the DVC.

“Every game is a championship game from here on out,” Wunderlich said.

Naperville North (10-10, 4-7) made Wunderlich work for her win. Full counts were numerous on both sides, and Wunderlich threw 117 pitches. Perhaps the Huskies’ best chance to score came in the second, when Tara Degl’Innocenti doubled leading off.

But Wunderlich retired the next three batters, and the Huskies also stranded runners at second in the third and fifth.

“Alyssa threw great — she’s one of the most dominant pitchers in the area,” Naperville North coach Jerry Kedziora said. “If they play defense like that they’re going to go a long way. She’s at another level.”

Naperville Central jumped ahead 2-0 in the third. Andreoni walked on a full count to lead off and went to second on a passed ball. Kappelman slapped an infield single, and runners advanced to second and third with a throwing error on a popped bunt.

Up stepped Gonzalez, who fisted a single to center to score Andreoni with the game’s first run.

“Didn’t hit it off the meat of the bat, wasn’t what I was trying to do,” Gonzalez said, “but their infield was playing in so I was just trying to get to drop out there somewhere.”

Meghan Griffin’s RBI grounder made it 2-0, and the Redhawks tacked on a third run in the fifth with the help of two Huskies errors.

“Can’t make mistakes like that and win in the DVC,” Kedziora said.

Kappelman, who missed a week’s worth of conference games with a concussion, reached base twice and scored both times.

“She makes a huge difference at the top,” Nussbaum said. “It puts so much more pressure on the defense when you gotta deal with a kid with a great eye and good speed, and who puts the ball in play. It adds a dimension.”