Conant perseveres, tops Resurrection

For the first four innings Monday, Conant was hitting the ball hard, but Resurrection’s softball team was living up to its nickname.

The Bandits were indeed stealing some potential runs from the Cougars with some fine defensive plays.

However, nursing a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, the defending Mid-Suburban League champs broke loose for 8 runs to abruptly end the nonconference contest by the 10-run rule.

Freshman Elise Ambrose found a gap in shallow right field to drive in seniors Shannon O’Connor (1-for-2, walk) and Allie Bauch for the final 2 runs of a 10-0 triumph in Hoffman Estates.

“We just needed one person to start it and then we got the domino effect,” said Ambrose of the Cougars’ big fifth-inning rally. “We used each other’s momentum.”

Ambrose helped the Cougars get that momentum with a heads-up play early in the big inning.

After pitcher Briana Cavin started the inning with a single to center, No. 3 hitter Ambrose bunted and reach on an error. Catcher Miranda Cavin then walked to load the bases.

While senior Kim Jacobson stood in the batter’s box, the Cougars took advantage of a wild pitch as Briana Cavin and the heads-up Ambrose scored.

“That was Elise going on her own,” said Conant coach CathyAnn Smith of the freshman scooting all the way home from second base. “She may be a freshman, but she knows the game. She is aggressive, intense and wants to score.”

Senior shortstop Allie Bauch helped the Cougars score, too, coming up with a big 2-run single to right center just two batters before Ambrose in the fifth inning.

Bauch was robbed one inning earlier on a nice leaping catch of her sharp liner to right with runners on second and third. The Bandits’ Bre Sobotka made the nifty leaping grab.

“Everything we were hitting was going right at them (Bandits defenders) in the first four innings,” Bauch said. “But once we got one to fall in the fifth, everyone just kept hitting. It becomes contagious.

“We weren’t really nervous (holding 2-0 lead) because we know we have the talent to pull things out. It was definitely nice to get 8 runs in the last inning.”

Those 8 runs gave Briana Cavin (3-0) her second 5-inning win of the season, along with 1 win in relief. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out eight while scattering 4 hits.

The Cougars gave Briana a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first despite no hits off freshman Yenessas Meneses (1-1).

Conant (3-0) took advantage of consecutive two-out walks to Ambrose, Miranda Cavin, Kim Jacobson and Sarah Thompson. Ambrose came home on a wild pitch and Miranda Cavin (1-for-1, 2 walks) came home from third on an error on a pickoff throw.

Cougars sophomore Rachel O’Malley went 1-for-2 with a walk and was robbed of another hit on a shoestring grab by Bandits centerfielder Ashley Sobotka for the final out of the first inning.

“When we made mistakes, they jumped all over them,” said Bandits coach Tom Stein, whose team (1-2) has defeated Whitney Young and lost at Niles West.

“And that’s what good teams do. They have three or four really good players and they are solid everywhere else. Their pitcher and catcher are very good.”