Freshman pitcher picks up victory for Glenbard West
One thing that high school softball teams appreciate is if a squad has a bad game, there's another game usually coming pretty quickly to erase the memory.
Glenbard West bounced back from Wednesday's double-digit defeat to Naperville North with a solid 6-1 win over visiting Addison Trail on Thursday.
"I was very pleased with how we bounced back. We are a young team in regards to experience, and I'm trying to figure out our lineup before conference," said Hilltoppers coach Mary McGrane.
Freshman Isabel Hermanson was winning pitcher for Glenbard West (1-1). She went 5⅔ innings, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 2 with the help of an effective inside pitch.
"I think I did pretty good. I was nervous and excited," Hermanson said.
Caylin Potter entered the game in relief and got the final out of the sixth inning and set Addison Trail (0-2) down in order in the seventh to seal the victory.
Glenbard West came out swinging immediately, scoring 3 runs on 4 hits in their half of the first inning. An RBI double by Rachel Terwilliger and a 2-run double by Katie Stone were the big hits of the inning. The Hilltoppers tacked on 3 more runs in the fourth with the help of a 2-run single by Bridget McGregor.
"We hit the ball well. Their contact point was right and the girls were aggressive at the plate," McGrane said.
The Hilltoppers finished with 8 hits.
The Blazers left runners at first and third in the second and got their first hit of the game the following inning thanks to Nic Napoli's double to left. She also singled to center in the fifth.
Addison Trail's lone run came in the sixth. Allyssa Pham walked with two outs and later scored on a fielding error.
"The effort is there. We're pretty young and it will be a learning process," said Blazers coach Mark Olson. "We gave up those 3 runs early and then got the game under control. But we couldn't do it offensively. That's a sign of youth."
The defensive play of the game occurred in the fifth inning. Stone got her second double of the contest and moved to third on a groundball out. Then Addison Trail center fielder Napoli sprinted to make a diving catch on a flyball to center for the second out and the third out came with the next batter.