Nommensen pitches Warren into Fling title game
Before Hannah Nommensen's pitching performance sent a message that the defending Class 4A state softball champs will still be a force this season, despite the graduation of their ace, Warren's sophomore received a message.
Jana Wagner, now pitching for Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, fired off a text message to her.
Wagner was the winning pitcher in last year's state championship game. Her teammates included Nommensen's sister Morgan, who was also a senior on the 2014 Blue Devils.
"She texted me before (Monday's) game," Nommensen said of Wagner. "She said, 'Good luck.' "
Luckily for Warren, the Blue Devils appear to have a good replacement for Wagner. Nommensen earned the win for the second day in a row Tuesday, as Warren defeated Lake Zurich 8-2 in a semifinal game of Barrington's annual Spring Fling at the Fields of Dreams.
"She's got a lot of good movement," first-year Warren coach Jenna Anderson said of her varsity rookie. "She has a lot of poise out there. Which is tough to come by as a sophomore. She really held it together."
Warren (2-0), which opened its season Monday night with a 12-2 win over Hersey, plays Barrington (2-0) for the championship at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Against Lake Zurich (1-1), the Blue Devils received 2-run homers from senior first baseman Rachele Belletini and sophomore center fielder Emily Hudgins.
The 5-foot-11 Nommensen struck out 12, didn't walk on a batter and scattered 4 hits.
"My (screwballs) were working well," she said. "The wind really helped."
Nommensen allowed only an unearned run in the first inning, before sophomore Sarah Schnecker led off the Lake Zurich seventh with a home run. Nommensen wasn't rattled, as she sat down the next three batters.
Before the game, however, Nommensen admitted she was a little nervous. She overcame that, too.
"I just look at my teammates and they calm me down," she said.
Facing Lake Zurich junior Katie Malek, Belletini got Warren on the board in the second inning with a blast over the center-field fence. Sabrina Trevino (2-for-4) was aboard after leading off with a single.
Belletini, a returning starter, finished 3-for-4 and reached base all four times.
"It's about time," Belletini said. "I've been playing fall ball for my travel team, and I've been struggling recently. I came out today and I just felt different. I felt better. I felt stronger and more confident."
In the Warren fifth, the lefty-hitting Hudgins made it 4-1 with an opposite-field blast, after Amber Leneau drew a two-out walk. Hudgins (2-for-4) added a bunt single in the Blue Devils' four-run seventh, which also included an RBI double by Trevino (2-for-4) and a run-scoring single by Crystal Pennell (2-for-4).
Lake Zurich leadoff hitter Vanessa DiVincenzo was 2-for-3 with a run scored and stolen base.