Lake Park 3, Glenbard South 1

Lake Park's Lancers look playoff ready.

Carly Willert doubled 3 times, Jamie Pomahac homered and Missy Mazur struck out six in a 3-1 win over Glenbard South on Monday in Glen Ellyn.

"We started off a little slow this season," said Willert, one of eight sophomores who have played for Lake Park this spring, "but we're peaking now. This is the time we need to be. We've improved a lot."

The Lancers (28-4) have run off 14 wins in a row heading into regionals today.

On Saturday they beat Downstate opponents Moline, United Township and Geneseo by a combined 17-7 at the Geneseo Invitational. Monday's win came against a 3A title contender.

"We're coming around," Lancers coach Cray Allen said. "We're young, and I've told the girls we're putting four or five good innings together, and we need seven. I think we probably put 18 or 19 good innings together on Saturday. They're maturing."

Lake Park threatened without scoring in the first two innings off Glenbard South ace Jill Trzaska (16-2), before stringing together 4 straight hits with one out in the third.

Lynsey Ciezki served a two-strike single to center, and Willert doubled into the gap in left-center to drive home the first run. Mazur followed with a two-strike double to the same spot, making it 2-0.

All three of Willert's doubles were to the opposite-field, an approach her teammates replicated.

"I try hitting the gaps," Willert said, "and I haven't been doing that. I was dropping my shoulders. I worked with my parents yesterday on fixing that."

Pomahac's solo homer to left in the sixth made it 3-0. The 3 earned runs were one more than Trzaska had allowed all year until Monday.

"She was hitting her spots," Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said, "but they were going with her pitches and hitting them where they were thrown. A lot of teams aren't disciplined enough to do that."

Glenbard South (24-6) put two runners on in the bottom of the first off Mazur, but a lead runner was thrown out trying to steal third to end the threat. Mazur (19-4) didn't allow a runner past second until Robin Borowski's RBI groundout scored Emily Braem with two out in the seventh.

"I'm very proud of Missy coming out and throwing a good game," Allen said. "Glenbard South is a team that can score a lot of runs, but she stayed ahead in the count which was key."

Nikki Simpson and Kristin Grossman each had 2 hits for Glenbard South.

"Lake Park is a really solid team, one through nine. That's why I wanted to play them," Fonda said.