Glenbard North wins wild one in Naperville
Just when momentum was heading south for Glenbard North Wednesday in Naperville, along came new life.
And now the Panthers’ conference title hopes are alive as well.
No. 6 Glenbard North escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Lilly Fecho’s single in the eighth scored the game-winner in a wild 4-3 win over No. 7 Naperville Central.
Coupled with West Chicago’s 9-0 loss at Naperville North, the DuPage Valley Conference race boils down to today’s Wildcats game at Wheaton Warrenville South. A West Chicago win, the Wildcats repeat as outright DVC champions. A loss, and it’s a three-way tie with Glenbard North and Naperville Central.
Wednesday’s win was the fifth straight for Glenbard North (18-4, 10-4), which 12 days ago was 5-4 in the league, three games back of the lead.
Glenbard North has scored 38 runs in those five wins, a streak that started with a 6-0 win over West Chicago.
“It’s down to the last game of the season, just like last year. That’s good for the conference,” Panthers coach Josh Sanew said. “It sparked us hitting (Mary) Connolly that second game with West Chicago, and we told the girls, ‘If you can sweep it out, you can come out with the title.’ I’m very proud with how the girls did not lay down.”
Naperville Central (20-9, 10-4) trailed 3-2 heading into the seventh but rallied with Laura Dierking and Nicole Kappelman singles to start the inning. They moved up on a passed ball and with one out, with Glenbard North choosing to intentionally walk Kelsey Gonzalez, Dierking scored on a wild pitch.
Meghan Griffin was hit by a pitch, but Fecho came back to strike out Maddi Doane and on the dropped third strike Kappelman was tagged out breaking for home.
“That inning, things sorta spiraled downhill for us,” Sanew said, “but after you get out of a jam like that the momentum switches.”
Sydney Benz and Alyssa Jasinski singled to start the Panthers eighth, and with one out Fecho came up. The Panthers junior doubled in the second and had put Glenbard North up 3-2 in the fourth with a 2-run homer — the first long ball surrendered by Redhawks ace Alyssa Wunderlich all year.
Naperville Central rolled the dice to pitch to Fecho, and she made them pay by taking a two-strike changeup the opposite way for an RBI single.
“I wouldn’t say that (an intentional walk) was not an option there for them,” Fecho said, “but I wanted to hit. I always want to hit.”
“If you play by the book, other than Barry Bonds when has anybody every walked somebody intentionally with runners at first and second?” Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said. “Obviously, hindsight is 20/20.”
The Redhawks had one last chance in their half of the eighth, and Keegan Hayes singled to lead off. A sacrifice moved up the courtesy runner, but Wunderlich lined one back to Fecho and she doubled off the runner at second base to end it.
Naperville Central had its second crack at a share of its first DVC title since 1989 go by the wayside in extra innings.
“So unbelievably disappointing,” Nussbaum said. “We did a lot of things well, but we made some mistakes that hurt us.”