Softball: Maine West can't overcome early deficit to South

The Maine West and Maine South softball teams tried three times to play each other this spring.

But each time, the game was rained out.

They finally got their chance to meet on Thursday, and the Hawks acted like they couldn't wait.

Maine South came out swinging its bats, scoring 14 runs on 16 hits in the first 4 innings en route to a 14-6 triumph over Maine West in the semifinal of the Class 4A Maine South regional in Park Ridge.

The No. 8-seeded Hawks (15-10) advance to Saturday's 11 a.m. championship against top-seeded Oak Park (ranked No. 1 in the Class 4A ICA state poll), while No. 10 Maine West ended its season at 13-14.

"We had a great group of girls," said first-year Maine West coach Jim Dvorak. "I am sorry to see these five seniors (Grace Feldkamp, Anne Lipinski, Megan Swanson, Alison Tworek and Nora McDonald) graduate. I was very lucky to have them."

Feldkamp (1-for-2, double) was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. She took second on Allison Pearson's sacrifice bunt and came home when freshman catcher Amanda Byrne (2-for-4) reached on an error.

But Hawks senior Maddie Rog, a Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa) recruit, got the next batter on a fly out to center and went on to throw a 7-hitter with 11 strikeouts to raise her record to 12-5.

Dvorak started freshman Jessica Steingard and went to Feldkamp with one out in the second inning.

"Grace came in and unfortunately they had a lot of balls that just fell in (bloop singles)," Dvorak said. "She did not give up a hit the last two innings. Early in the game, there were some balls that we didn't get as good of jumps on as we should."

Despite the lopsided score, the Warriors kept battling.

Trailing 14-3 in the top of the fifth inning, they avoided the 10-run rule when Lipinski belted a 2-run double to right and then hustled all the way home from second base on aa wild pitch.

"Our girls kept battling," Dvorak said. "Maine South has a solid team. Jessica (Steingard) is just going to keep getting better. They were hitting her early and we weren't helping her in the field.

"We didn't show our best stuff this game. Unfortunately, that happens sometimes. It would have been nice to be moving on because we have been playing well lately."

Lipinski went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and 1 run.

"She had nice game at the plate," Dvorak said

Swanson also had a base hit for West, which trailed 6-1 before cutting the deficit in half in the top of the third inning.

Feldkamp doubled and scored on a wild pitch and Lipinski singled home Gabrielle Demma, who had walked.

But South answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the third on RBI by Victoria Ottaviano and Toni Tortorella before left fielder McDonald saved another run with a nice leaping catch in front of the left field fence on Britney Richardson's towering blast.

"Nora made a nice play on that ball going back to the fence," Dvorak said. "When you get down as quick as we did, then you are trying to find answers the rest of the game - you are trying to right the ship, and it's tough."

Tortorella (3-for-5) and Mackenzie Tucker (3-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBI) led the Hawks' offense.

"We knew this was not going to be an easy game," said Maine South coach Emmy Pasier. "We didn't see them during the regular season but we knew they some good hitters and multiple pitchers who saw that this game. We came out and scored in the first four innings and that's what we needed to do because we are a hitting team."