Grayslake North turns away Central

The third battle between the Grayslake softball teams came on Tuesday in Antioch.

A total of 25 players reached base in this Class 3A regional opener. But only three of them scored.

It was tense most of the way. Grayslake North (24-8) rode the 5-hit pitching of Kristi Gandy and held off a stubborn Central squad 2-1.

Grayslake North heads back to Antioch on Saturday morning to meet the winner of rivals Antioch and Lakes at 10 a.m.

It looked like a slugfest to start with. North’s leadoff hitter Jordyn Bowen singled to open the home half of the first. It was the first of four singles for the junior. And she stood on third base following an error. Three consecutive walks chased her home but that’s all the Knights could come up with.

“We were beating ourselves today,’’ Bowen said. “We work hard but we needed to bring those runners home.”

In North’s second inning, the Knights combined for 4 hits but again only 1 run scored.

“There were too many left on base,’’ said Central coach Abbey Tadelman. “But this was the best we have played against them.”

All the scoring came in the early innings. North third baseman Brittany Brown started the Central rally in the top of the second. Her infield hit, an error and a few bunts moved her home.

North had hits in every inning but couldn’t score despite three more hits from Bowen and a booming double off the bat of Nikki Livengood in the third inning.

Central (14-20) managed a few rallies off of North winner Gandy.

“This was our closest game with Central,’’ Gandy said. “Normally we get those runs home. That was a huge sigh of relief.”

Gandy retired the Rams in order just twice, in the first inning and the seventh. In the third inning, the Rams had hits from Jamie Brew and Claire Brennan but failed to score.

The biggest Grayslake Central threat came in the fifth inning. Catcher Sarah Kuligowski singled to open the frame. Brew had a 12-pitch battle with Gandy before putting the ball in play and reaching on an error. Gandy then faced Brennan and gave her an intentional walk to load the bases.

“They did that the last time we played them,” Tadelman said.

Gandy retired the next two hitters to preserve the lead.

Credit also goes to Central starter Tayler Janda, who stranded those 14 Knights base runners while allowing just two to score. North had 9 hits and those 3 walks in the opening inning. Janda did not offer a free pass the rest of the way.

“Tayler was outstanding,” Tadelman said. “And we played phenomenal defense. We really shut them down.”

Bowen led all hitters with those 4 hits. Central’s Brandy Heraty ripped a fifth inning double to the left field gap.

“We played a lot better,’’ said Central shortstop Claire Brennan. “We really stepped up and were in that game.”