Softball: Crystal Lake South pounds Larkin
The Crystal Lake South softball team continued to flex its muscles at the plate with another power surge on Friday.
The Gators crushed 5 home runs in an 18-2 four-inning nonconference win at Larkin. South has now scored 57 runs in 4 wins to start the season.
Carly Chovanec, Hannah Corcoran, Christina Toniolo, Kyra Swartz, and Jade Guida all went yard for the Gators.
"We assumed coming into the season we would score runs," Crystal Lake South coach Scott Busam said. "There are just a lot of girls in our lineup that are really tough outs. They are very disciplined at the plate and know how to work the count. The power has been a bit of a surprise, but I think that has come from making good adjustments."
The Gators got things going with 7 runs in the first inning. Chovanec hit a 2-run blast over the center field fence to open the scoring. She later added an RBI double in the inning.
"We are just trying to stay loose at the plate and be aggressive," Chovanec said. "I got a pitch that I liked right down the middle (on the homer) and went for it. I'm feeling pretty good up there. Just trying to stay loose and not try to overthink things."
Alssa Niketopoulos added an RBI double in the first inning. Brooke Kuffel and Lauren Schoen each drove in a run with singles while Madelynn Bush had a sacrifice fly.
The Gators added 2 runs in the second inning on a homer from Corcoran and an unearned run in the third inning to make it 10-0. South then exploded for 8 runs in the fourth inning. Toniolo hit a 3-run blast while Swartz and Guida added 2-run homers.
"We are just trying to continue to build up our confidence as the conference season approaches," Busam said. "One of the strengths of this team is its chemistry. They have gelled faster than any of our teams in the past. They are a real upbeat, positive group that pushes each other and I think that is carrying over to the field."
Kuffel was the Gators' starting pitcher and struck out the first 10 batters she faced before giving up a one out-double to Liz Bowman in the fourth inning. The next batter, Haley Bohne, gave the Royals (0-3) their only highlight with a 2-run homer to left.
"We know we are an extremely young team so we are looking to pick up wins that don't show up in the final score on the scoreboard," Larkin coach Anne Vogt said. "Our team goal right now is to score in every game. So the 2-run homer from Haley was big for us. It gave us one of those wins."