Glenbard South routs St. Francis

Playing five games in six days this week, Glenbard South has had little opportunity for batting practice.

The Raiders got plenty in Saturday.

Glenbard South batted around in the third and fourth innings of a 12-0, five-inning win over St. Francis in Glen Ellyn.

"We can hit," Raiders coach Julie Fonda said, "but a lot of times we have trouble stringing the hits together, putting the ball in play when we have runners in scoring position. But we did a good job with that today."

Nikki Simpson went 3-for-3 with a double and run scored in the first, a bunt single during a four-run third and a one-out triple to ignite a six-run fourth. Jenny Wittenberg went 2-for-3 with 4 runs batted in for Glenbard South (14-3).

"That's something we've been really focusing on this week," Simpson said, "was hitting and getting our hits together."

Lauren Podgorski's infield single and Simpson's bunt hit started the third with Glenbard South already ahead 2-0. Jess Fijolek laid down a bunt, and Podgorski and Simpson scored on an errant throw to third base. Terese O'Shea later scored on another St. Francis error.

In the fourth Emily Braem blooped a 2-run single to right and Wittenberg cleared the bases with a 3-run triple. The Raiders also repeatedly advanced on stolen bases and wild pitches.

"Their speed on the bases put pressure on us, and forced us into mistakes," said St. Francis coach Ralph Remus, who starts five freshmen on varsity. "It's a good experience for us, playing a team like Glenbard South."

The Spartans' (8-8) best chance to score came in the second when Laura Behnke, Monica Mraz and Kelsey Fabianski singled to load the bases with none out.

But Glenbard South pitcher Robin Borowski came back to strike out the next two batters, and a grounder to third ended the inning.

"In situations like that, you really have to bear down and focus that much more," Borowski said. "That was big, to get out of that inning."

Borowski allowed just 1 hit the rest of the way, striking out seven in the game.

The Raiders get a day off before hosting Sandburg on Monday, in a matchup of two of the top 10 teams in the Chicago area.

"We have a good rivalry," Simpson said. "We look forward to playing them every year."