St. Edward takes 2nd at Chicagoland Challenge
The season-long struggles of a young and inexperienced team were not evident in St. Edward’s first two games of the Chicagoland Challenge softball tournament at the Elgin Sports Complex Saturday.
They did reappear, however, in the Green Wave’s final game of the day. But by that time, St. Edward had played itself into the championship game of its own tournament and despite a 13-0 loss to Genoa-Kingston in the title game, Wave coach Jaci Corn came away pleased with the day as a whole.
St. Edward entered the tournament 1-8 but knocked off Harvard 9-3 in the first round and then used an outstanding effort from sophomore Julie Larson in the circle to beat Westmont 2-0 in the semifinals.
The Green Wave (3-9) then committed 8 errors — their season-long nemesis — in the championship game.
“We played the best softball we’ve played this season in the first two games,” said Corn. “I have to give props to both our pitchers. They were hitting their spots and they were just outstanding. We played defense, we minimized our strikeouts and we hit the ball.”
The Wave got a stellar effort in the circle from senior Morgin Coughlin in the opening round against Harvard. She struck out 10, walked 3 and allowed only 1 earned run on 5 hits.
St. Edward jumped ahead 2-1 after two innings, made it 4-1 after four and then broke loose for 5 runs in the bottom of the fifth after Harvard (3-9) had scored twice in the top of the frame.
Junior Kali Kossakowski went 4-for-4 with a triple and 4 RBI for the Green Wave, while sophomore Kelly Theriault was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Kristi Kroll, Mariana Silva and Maddie Kerr also drove in runs.
The win over Westmont was as solid as they come. The Sentinels had just upset top-seeded Farmington 15-14 in the opening round and Larson shut them down on 4 hits. She struck out 3 and only walked 1 and the Green Wave made 2 errors.
Kroll was the offensive standout in the semifinal, going 2-for-4 with a double in the sixth inning that drove home Courteneay Waughon-Decker and Jasmine Deleon with the game’s only runs. Ashley Gradisher also went 2-for-4 in the win.
The championship game was 0-0 into the bottom of the fourth when St. Edward’s defense caved for the first time all day. The Cogs (10-4), who host a Class 2A regional that St. Edward is also in, scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back. G-K scored 12 unearned runs in the final four innings and Danielle Engel scattered 6 hits as Genoa won the Challenge title for the first time.
Coughlin took the loss for the Green Wave, striking out 5 and walking 2.
“We just couldn’t play defense,” said Corn. “We let the errors pile up the last two innings.
“But we had a good day and we gained a lot of valuable experience today to take back into conference play.”
Hampshire went 1-2 on the day, losing to Genoa 16-0, beating Aurora Christian 12-2 and then losing to Farmington 5-4 in the consolation championship game.
In the consolation title game, the Whip-Purs (7-11) were down 4-2 in the seventh inning, tied it on a Haley Widmayer double, and then made an error in the bottom of the seventh that contributed to the winning run scoring for the Farmers (10-4.
Jen Hurst took both losses for the Whips and Widmayer earned the win over Aurora Christian. Bekah Hurst was 3-for-4 with a home run in that win, while Jordan Hook went 3-for-4, Tiffany Bentley 4-for-4 with a triple and Jen Hurst 2-for-4 with a double.
“Farmington’s a good team every year and they’ve got some big hitters,” said Hampshire coach Ken Bram. “We didn’t get a bunt down when we needed it and a throwing error in the seventh cost us. You have to make the routine plays. But we can use today as a confidence builder.”