Softball: Lisle hangs on to positives in defeat

This time of year it's important to try and take away any and all positives from a setback.

While the Lisle softball team could not prevent Herscher from winning its 20th game on the Lions' field, the team did have its moments Friday and hopes to build on them down the stretch of the 2017 season.

The visiting Tigers prevailed 9-2 to stay tied with Streator atop the Interstate Eight Conference standings, but Lisle struck first with 2 runs in the first and finished the game with 8 hits and a number of solid at-bats against the hard-throwing Herscher pitchers.

"With the postseason coming up here in a week, we're just working on trying to be consistent," Lisle coach Trent Schalk said. "We showed a lot of good things here and there, inning to inning, but now we've got to work on stringing those things together to play a good consistent seven innings of softball. So that's our goal, to get ready for playoffs."

Lions pitcher Amanda Ericson blanked the 20-3 Tigers in the first by ending the inning with a strikeout with two runners aboard. Her RBI double in the bottom of the first opened the game's scoring and helped the hosts jump ahead 2-0. Center fielder Catherine Coppin, who went 3-for-3 with a walk, singled home Anna Palicka with the Lions' second run.

"I felt we did good today but we can always do better," said Ericson, who struck out 6 Tigers. "We just need to take the good with the bad and improve next time. Oh yeah, we definitely can take away some positives."

Herscher (12-1 in conference play) flashed some speed and small ball while scoring 3 runs in the top of the second to go ahead for good at 3-2. The Tigers used three bunts and a bloop single to tie the game and Paige Glass' run-scoring double down the third-base line gave the visitors the lead.

The IEC front-runners scored three more times in the third and twice in the fourth to take command. Tigers pitcher Morgan Scivally, who took over on the mound in the second, tossed six scoreless innings while improving to 11-2.

"If we were sleeping from the bus ride, that woke us up," Herscher coach Mike Cann joked about falling behind 2-0 right off the bat. "We did it with all facets of our game. We did it with hitting and we did it with small ball, and we ran some bases too. When we put those three aspects of the game together and your pitchers are clicking, then things are going to go good."

Lisle had chances to score more than just the two runs. The Lions left the bases loaded in the first and had their share of baserunners against Scivally but just couldn't get enough timely hits.

"I think we made some good plays today. As a team, we've just got to play together and we'll be fine," said Coppin, a senior. "I'm feeling pretty good. My last couple of at-bats before today I wasn't doing so well. I kind of let all of that just get out of my head today. I think if we work hard and play together we'll be great for playoffs."

The Lions (10-12, 4-9) will take on rival Westmont Monday at Benedictine University for senior night.