Softball: Denten, Hersey swing into action
After Hersey bolted to a 7-0 lead after two innings, about the only suspense the rest of the way was which way the flyball hit by the Huskies' Kaitlyn Denten would bounce off the center field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning.
It sprung up about 2 feet and fell back into play, as Denten raced to second base for a double, just barely missing her second homer in the Hersey's 16-1 five inning softball triumph over visiting St. Viator on Wednesday.
Denten didn't miss on many many of her 36 pitches in the first three innings.
She gave up 1 hit while facing two over the minimum to earn her first win of the season against 1 loss.
Freshman Sarah Bailitz worked the final two innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 run.
Denten's double meant the junior cleanup hitter (4-for-4, 6 RBI) missed the cycle by a triple.
Her classmate and No. 3 hitter Katie Wingerter (4-for-4, 4 RBI) barely missed the cycle, too, clubbing a 2-run homer in the first inning and 2-run triple in the second.
In all, the Huskies collected a season-high 14 hits in their home opener.
But afterward, Wingerter and Denten were emphasizing another part of the Huskies' game.
“We worked a lot of defense during spring break (last week),” Denten said. “Once we got that down, it boosted us even more.”
It didn't take long for the defense to sparkle.
The Huskies turned a 6-4-3 double play (Wingerter to Hannah Graff to Kim LaBahn) to end the Lions' top of the first.
“We worked on the defensive fundamentals, the every day things” said Wingerter, who has a homer in all four of the Huskies' games. “We did a really good job working on those things and it definitely carried over to this game.”
The Huskies committed only 1 harmless error in the first inning while Denten and Bailitz took care of the rest on the mound.
“Sometimes when you are practicing inside instead of outside, you sit back on the ball a little too much,” said Hersey coach Molly Freeman, whose team evened its record at 2-2. “We worked on charging the ball. And we were pretty clean in the field.”
The Huskies' bats had a field day, as eight different Huskies had at least 1 hit or an RBI.
Graff, Jackie Bednar an Remy Gerew each had a hit while Sofia Cano was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 runs. Leadoff batter Mikayla Tsagalis, a freshman left fielder, had an RBI, walk and sacrifice bunt.
“We came out swinging and we were confident,” Denten said. “And hitting becomes contagious. Katie (Wingerter) really started us off.”
Wingerter homered and tripled in her first two at- bats for all 4 of her RBI.
“She's phenomenal,” Freeman said of the Northern Illinois recruit. “She works harder than anyone I've seen. She gives 110 percent every day. She loves the game. It's refreshing, and she's fun to watch.”
Freeman was able to watch players come off the bench in the late innings and contribute.
In her first varsity at-bat, freshman Brianna Luciano belted a 2-run triple to right field.
St. Viator (3-2) also had a player hit safely in her first varsity high school at-bat. Sophomore Tori Scheidecker singled to center scoring freshman Cece Kaiser, who led of the inning with a walk.
It was Scheidecker's first game back from a broken wrist that sidelined her for the last two and a half weeks
“I love when they come up swinging,” said Lions coach John Scotillo of Scheidecker's first at-bat. “We are happy for her.”
The Lions' only other hit came in the first inning when pitcher Grace Kaiser singled up the middle.
“Hersey has good hitters,” Scotillo added. “And when we made mistakes, they took advantage. But I think we can play better and I know we will as the season moves on.”
Freeman hopes her team's bats and defense move ahead in the same fashion.
“No matter who you play, you've got to swing the bats,” she said. “So it's exciting to see the girls swing the bats and come out ready to play in our first home game.”