Waubonsie Valley bats silent at wrong time

Waubonsie Valley’s softball team was shut out just one time all season.

No. 2 came at an inopportune time.

Plainfield Central lefty Morgan Vogt limited the No. 5 seed Warriors to 4 hits, and a four-run fourth inning broke open the No. 4 Wildcats’ 7-0 win in Saturday’s Class 4A Metea Valley regional championship.

Waubonsie (26-9), which set a school record for wins, went quietly in bidding for its first regional title since 1997.

“I’ve never seen our bats this dead before,” Waubonsie coach Alyson Kelley said. “We weren’t expecting this pitcher, but usually we adjust.”

The Warriors beat Plainfield Central 5-2 in April, but that was facing rightie Kaleigh Nagle. Vogt, one of few lefties Waubonsie saw this year, used a curveball bearing in on right-handed hitters that made contact feeble. Vogt only struck out two, but induced 13 groundball outs. Shannon Hohman’s one-out double in the second was Waubonsie’s best scoring opportunity.

Vogt (10-1) was Plainfield Central’s starting center fielder the last two years but returned to the mound for this her senior year. Wildcats coach Anne Campbell said her team’s defense is best with Vogt pitching and Nagle at shorstop.

“I throw it inside and trust my defense to back me up,” said Vogt, whose team played error-free behind her.

Hohman admitted Vogt was a curveball her team wasn’t exactly prepared for.

“Most of the pitchers we’ve seen have pitched us outside or middle-out,” Hohman said. “We just couldn’t make the adjustment.”

Hohman (21-6) matched zeroes with Vogt for three innings, before running into trouble in the fourth.

Nagle doubled leading off, and Dominique Roa’s pop-up bunt dropped in over Hohman charging from the mound. Hohman got a reprieve when catcher Amanda Lack threw a runner out trying to steal second. With two strikes, though, Hohman plunked Michaela Schlattman on the leg.

The hit batter proved costly. Three of Plainfield Central’s next four batters singled, and Waubonsie committed 2 errors on the hits. Vogt’s single scored Timi Tooley to make it 4-0.

“I know that that hit batter was the turning point in the game,” Hohman said. “It just changed everything in that inning. Once we got behind, the whole mood in the dugout changed.”

Plainfield Central tacked on a run in the fifth and 2 more in the seventh. In three games on Metea’s field this year the Wildcats scored 29 runs.

“There’s something about this field,” Campbell said. “Whenever we’ve played here, we’ve killed the ball.”

Plainfield Central (25-8) advances to play Neuqua Valley, a 1-0 upset winner over top seed Benet, on Wednesday at East Aurora.

Waubonsie’s loss shouldn’t stain its breakthrough season. The record win total included a share of the Warriors’ first conference title since 2001. And Waubonsie will return the bulk of its roster, including Hohman, shortstop Amanda Minahan and catcher Amanda Lack.

“This game does not define our season,” Hohman said. “We’re proud of all our accomplishments. It doesn’t change anything, just because we lost today.”