Glenbard North’s Fecho no-hits West Chicago
Lilly Fecho has had some memorable matchups with West Chicago the last few years.
For her, Monday should top them all.
Glenbard North’s senior ace no-hit the Wildcats, striking out 10, and added a solo homer in the No. 1 Panthers’ 4-0 win in the DuPage Valley Conference opener in Carol Stream.
Fecho’s no-hitter is the fifth of her career, and second this season, and her fourth shutout of the year. Coming against defending DVC champ West Chicago, which beat Glenbard North and Fecho in regionals last year, was no doubt doubly sweet.
“They’re a good team — you always have to play well and be on your game when you face them,” said the tall lefty Fecho, committed to Purdue. “We know all the players on that team. You can’t think about it while you’re playing, but there’s no doubt it’s a rivalry.”
Glenbard North coach Josh Sanew said it reminded him of gems graduated West Chicago ace Mary Connolly threw against his team last year. It was nice to be on the winning side of one.
“You can’t really say enough about what Lilly did,” Sanew said. “She mixed up her pitches, she hit her spots, her changeup was working and by the time she dropped in her changeup she was unhittable today. She had them guessing a little bit.”
West Chicago (10-6, 0-1) had scored 9 runs per game over its last six, but not against a pitcher like Fecho. The Wildcats’ only baserunner was a two-out walk in the third inning from No. 9 hitter Tatiana Rich. Most frustrating to Wildcats coach Kim Wallner, four of West Chicago’s strikeouts came on called third strikes.
“She was getting ahead of us. This isn’t a pitcher that you let a strike go by,” Wallner said. “Once she gets ahead, that’s when she throws her stuff, whether it’s the rise or the change. We just let too many strikes go by. I didn’t think my team really came out with an edge.”
Fecho had 9 strikeouts through four innings, mixing well a disappearing changeup with an assortment of other pitches. West Chicago’s best shot at a hit was with two out in the seventh. Morgan Dastych hit a line shot that Panthers first baseman Heather Sperlazzo knocked down, picked up and won the foot race to the first-base bag.
“My biggest thing with this team is we’ve cleaned it up defensively,” Sanew said. “That’s about the third game in a row we’ve committed error-free ball. It’s a young infield that’s coming around and we’re blessed to have a pitcher like Lilly.”
On a day where a cold wind was blowing in, Glenbard North (13-0, 1-0) gave Fecho (9-0) all the run support she’d need in the first.
Brianna Harn lined a single leading off, and Alex Caliva doubled into the gap in left-center to bring in the first run. After a Fecho infield single under West Chicago pitcher Katie Wiest’s legs, Caliva scored on a Sydney Benz sacrifice fly.
“It sort of takes the pressure off you early on a day like today,” Sanew said, “when you can score early.”
Fecho belted her fourth homer of the year, an opposite-field drive to left, leading off the sixth and Sperlazzo later walked and scored on a wild pitch.
Wiest (7-2) did settle down to retire nine in a row from the second through the fifth, striking out five while allowing 5 hits. Harn was 2-for-3 for Glenbard North.