York's loving the great indoors, sweeps Maine West

York leadoff batter Angela Scalzitti can't wait to play some softball outside this spring.

"It's such a different atmosphere," said the DePaul recruit who plays center field. "I'm so excited to get outside."

But inside hasn't been so bad for Scalzitti and the Dukes.

After a 4-1 loss to powerful Benet on Tuesday at the Rosemont Dome, the Dukes were back in the weather-friendly facility on Thursday where they swept a pair of games from Maine West, 13-3 (6 innings) and 13-2 (5 innings).

"Everyone was really hitting," said Scalzitti, who went 4-for-4 in the first game and 2-for-4 in the second. "We struggled against Benet and we had a lot of strikeouts. But today we were putting the ball in play and that was the key."

Scalzitti actually put the ball out of play in the fourth inning of Game 1 when she belted a solo homer over the center field fence with one out.

Also making good contact for York (2-1) in the first game were sophomore Gabby Magnifico, who went 4-for-5 and junior Sarah Milkowski (2-for-5).

Sophomore Amanda Karnatz threw a complete game for the win.

"Our bats showed up today," said York coach Drew McGuire, whose team lost to Barrington in the Class 4A third-place game in East Peoria last spring. "In the first game, our defense (4 errors) struggled but we still found a way to win and that's what we have to be able to do.

"In the second game, I thought our defense was outstanding. We made just one mistake where we let a ball drop in. And our bats continued to stay hot in Game 2."

Abby Solem, who hit 5 homers as a freshman, connected for her first this spring when she hit a 2-run blast to left field to give the Dukes a 3-0 cushion in the first inning of Game 2.

Solem (2-for-3), who batted .402 last spring. also doubled to left in the fourth inning.

"It was awesome to get two wins here, especially after our loss to Benet," Solem said "It was nice to play was well."

Other multiple hitters for York's 13-hit attack in the second game were junior Milkowski (3-for-3) and junior Isabella Jaeger (2-for-3).

Winning pitcher Audrey Kosman, a sophomore who tossed a 5-hitter with 3 strikeouts, also had a 2-run single to left in the Dukes' 5-run fourth inning.

Leading the Maine West offense in Game 2 was Kayla Pociejewski.

The sophomore catcher belted her first homer this spring and third of her career over the left field fence to lead off the second inning.

She came back with a triple to right in the third inning, giving her both of the Warriors' RBI.

Sophomore Monica Liwag, senior Sadie Argus and senior pitcher Anna Wilieko also had hits for West (2-2).

"Overall, we are getting better and working together, but we have to work on our defense," said Pociejewski, one of five Warriors who played on coach Derril Kipp's regional championship basketball team this winter. "We are a good offensive team but we have to work on defense."

Maine West's offense clicked for 10 hits in the opener, getting two apiece from senior Erin Feldkamp and junior Alyssa Pegoraro.

Freshman pitcher Grace Feldkamp (2-1), Liwag, senior Abbey Herling, junior Annemarie Weber, senior Erin Ross and Pociejewski each had 1 hit.

"For the day, I thought Monica Liwag, Erin Feldkamp and Kayla Pociejewski all did a good job hitting," said Maine West coach Amy Gonzales, whose team lost to York 2-0 in the Resurrection sectional semifinal last spring. "We replaced seven starters and they have eight players back. They have girls who have played with each other for a year while we are still learning different things and trying to figure out new strategies."