Fremd wins chilled thriller

As cold as it was Friday, Ashlynne Schwantz said there was only one thing to worry about.

“You just have to stay focused,” said Fremd’s junior pitcher. “It was our coldest game we’ve played all season.”

Focus was the key factor for the Vikings, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to edge visiting Palatine 3-2 as Schwantz fired a 3-hitter with 7 strikeouts.

Fremd (16-4, 4-2) and Palatine (11-8, 4-2) are now tied for third in the powerful Mid-Suburban West behind Conant (6-0) and Barrington (5-1).

No one showed more focus than Vikings senior second baseman Megan Hubbard (3-for-3, RBI), who held on to a pop fly despite colliding with right fielder Kristie Salerno in the bottom of first inning.

Hubbard’s catch in shallow right saved a run from scoring.

“I held my breath on that one,” said Hubbard of her nifty grab. “It was just a miscommunication between us and with the wind out there it made things a little harder. It was one of those things where you don’t know who should catch it. The big thing was making sure I held on to it.”

Palatine was holding on to a 2-0 lead at the time.

Courtney English singled with one out and came home when Lauren Logan reached on an error and made it to third base on another error on the play.

Pirates pitcher Megan Hedstrom (8-6) then singled to center to give herself a 2-0 lead before Schwantz got out of the inning with a strikeout and Hubbard’s acrobatic catch.

“She (Hubbard) had a good day, especially after getting the wind knocked out of her on that play in the bottom of the first,” said Fremd coach Jim Weaver. “We did what we had to do. After the first inning, I thought Ashlynne pitched well.”

Schwantz retired the final 13 batters she faced and improved to 9-1.

“I definitely didn’t feel it was one of my better games,” said the right-hander. “It was a slow start for me. Luckily, my teammates backed me up. Then we got things going after that first inning.”

Fremd got 1 run back in the bottom of the first when Hubbard singled and an error on the play allowed Mandi Matsumoto to scoot home from first base.

Hedstrom (3 strikeouts and 5-hitter) faced only six batters in the second and third innings, thanks to her own catch of a line drive by Michelle Mazur. Hedstrom then threw to first baseman Kayla Borgan to double up the runner.

Fremd tied the game in the fourth on Schwantz’ infield single with the bases loaded. Hedstrom prevented further damage with a grounder back to the mound for the final out.

But Fremd was able to get its third run in the sixth when catcher Janelle Schneider led off with a single to center. Catcher Logan followed with a nice play when she fielded a bunt and threw to shortstop Tori Walzak for the force.

After Tracey Welninski drew a one-out walk, Schwantz reached on an infield error that allowed Caitlin Patenaude to score what proved to be the winning run.

The Pirates defense prevented further damage as Walzak threw home to Logan for the second out. Logan’s snap throw to third base then picked off a runner to end the inning.

“We really wanted this game,” Logan said. “But I’m proud of the way we played. We made a few errors and they capitalized.”

“I thought the kids played a great game,” said Pirates coach Jeff Manz. “We just didn’t execute a few times and they capitalized. If we get rid of a few of mistakes we could have won the game.”

Hubbard was the only player in the game with multiple hits.

“Honestly, we are not that worried about our ranking in the conference,” she said. “We just want to come out and play the best we can each game. The conference is not that crucial to us. It’s just nice to win because Palatine is a good team.”