Vitiello, Pierce help South Elgin down Geneva
It might have been South Elgin's fifth game of the season Friday, but the Storm made two key season debuts - two debuts Geneva wish could have waited one more day.
Lauren Vitiello pitched for the first time, and Kim Pierce found her name in the lineup after missing the first four games with the flu.
Both made big impacts, Vitiello retiring the final 14 hitters she faced in South Elgin's 9-3 win, while Pierce reached base all 5 times and scored 4 runs.
"I think the whole team did well but those two did exceptional," South Elgin coach Jason Schaal said.
The duo gave South Elgin (2-3) a 1-0 lead in the first. Pierce singled with two outs, then flew around the bases to score on Vitiello's double to right center.
That turned out to be the only time Pierce swung the bat. Geneva (0-5) walked her the next four times she came up.
With the Vikings leading 2-1 in the third, Geneva starter Kelly McCaffrey walked both Pierce and Vitiello to load the bases.
Courtney Boestder drew another walk to tie the game at 2, then third baseman Layla Ismajlaj stroked a 2-run single to left for a 4-2 lead that South Elgin added to the rest of the way.
"Layla is one of the best hitters we've got," Schaal said. "She does a great job. When we need a clutch hit she comes up with it. Defensively she's solid as can be."
South Elgin broke the game open with a 4-run fifth inning. After Geneva again walked Pierce, Vitiello made them pay by crushing a home run over the center field fence.
"I struggled last weekend, it was cold and I didn't hit well," Vitiello said. "I had to come in and pull the trigger. I guess I did it."
It was Vitiello's first homer of the year after smashing 8 last season. She'll have the chance to have huge RBI numbers this year if more teams pitch around Pierce.
"I am hoping that (Pierce's 4 walks) doesn't happen every game but if it does, it's a team thing first, she understands it, she's one of the leaders here," Schaal said. "We have Lauren behind her, you are going to pick your poison.
"It's frustrating for any kid to be in that position (getting walked). But it's the sign of ultimate respect. We're lucky to have another All-American behind her. She came through and she's going to make people pay."
McCaffrey ended the game with 9 walks, five of which scored. She struck out the side in the seventh.
"They have a lot of good bats so it is a challenging day defensively and pitching wise," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. "We tried to take the approach of not giving into a few of them and challenging a few when we had to and others challenging them all the time and hope for the best. There's just not a lot of holes in the lineup."
With 2 runs in the bottom of the first, Geneva took its first lead of the year. Melissa Barber doubled home Dori Rogers, then Deirdre Phalon (2-for-4) scored on Stacey Cladis' ground out.
"I like the fact we answered and got a lead," Dierks said. "It felt good to get the lead for once, but then we kind of died out there in the middle of the game."
Vitiello pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and 1 walk and striking out two. She fired first-pitch strikes to 10 of the 18 batters she faced.
"I was really nervous coming in," Vitiello said. "In the second inning my teammates calmed me down and I just settled down and did what I needed to do."
South Elgin plays a doubleheader at Fremd today, with the start time pushed back to 1 p.m. Geneva returns to action Monday against West Chicago before starting conference play Tuesday.
"We are better than what we've shown but until we come out here in the dirt and do it there is no reason for anyone else to believe it," Dierks said. "We have to prove it."