UEC Valley race down to the wire
What once looked to be Bartlett’s in a breeze will now take some work.
Waubonsie Valley came from behind in extra innings Thursday to beat South Elgin 4-3 in 10 innings. The win assured the Warriors, 3 games back when the week began, at least a share of the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division championship.
Bartlett, which has lost 3 straight this week after coming into the week 15-0 in the league, will need to win at Lake Park today to earn a share of the division title. Hawks’ coach Jim Wolfsmith said Thursday he learned the UEC does not use head-to-head to break ties; the league declares co-champions in case of a tie.
South Elgin tied Thursday’s game 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning and took a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth. But Waubonsie scored in the bottom of the inning, freshman Shannon Hohman held the Storm in the top of the 10th and Waubonsie scored in the bottom of the inning to earn the win.
Victoria Watt (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Mallory Mecklenburg (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) led South Elgin’s offense. Sam Bolin (10-12) took the loss for the Storm (13-19, 10-9).
Cary-Grove 5, CL Central 0: Lindsay Efflandt (23-5) struck out 8 and allowed just 2 hits as Cary-Grove (26-6) blanked Crystal Lake Central in a Fox Valley Conference crossover. Efflandt was also 3-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI, while Sara Markelonis (3-for-4, 3 doubles, RBI), Jamie Deering (2B), Taylor Dunne (2B), Tori White (2B) and Lisa Semro (3B, 2 RBI) led the Cary-Grove offense.
Huntley 4, Johnsburg 1: Haley Spannraft (7-14) threw a 2-hitter for Huntley in this FVC crossover. Brittany Koss had a double and Randi Peterson 2 RBI for the Red Raiders (8-21).
Jacobs 7, Woodstock North 0: Katie Kirker allowed just 1 hit in 4 innings and had 7 strikeouts as Jacobs (21-14) finished the regular season with an FVC crossover win. Jacquelyn Hengler (2-for-4, 3B), Tori Berg (2-for-3, 2 RBI) and Kirker (2B) led the Golden Eagles’ offense.
Prairie Ridge 2, Hampshire 0: Becca Vodraska had 2 hits for the Whip-Purs (11-23) in this FVC crossover loss. Jen Hurst was the winning pitcher. Hampshire coach Ken Bram also announced he has resigned effective at the end of the season. Bram has been the Whip-Purs’ head coach for six years.
Record check: Elgin senior Hannah Perryman is closer to the Maroons’ career strikeout record than was thought. A double check of records from Perryman’s freshman year, 2009, found that she had 157 strikeouts that season, not the 136 originally reported. That means Perryman now has 813 career Ks, just 23 shy of tying Elizabeth Waller’s career 836 strikeouts between 1993 and 1996. Perryman and the Maroons play Lemont Saturday in the Stone City Jamboree in Minooka and then take on Schaumburg next Wednesday in the semifinals of the Class 4A Elk Grove regional.