Softball: Woldman, Palatine collect shutout victory over St. Viator
After recording a tie in its only previous game, Palatine's softball team landed its first win against visiting St. Viator on Friday.
Sophomore pitcher Mia Woldman, who went the first five innings of the tie against visiting Lake Zurich on Monday, came away with a six-inning 10-0 victory this time in another nonconference game played under a drizzle and chilly temperatures.
But Woldman hardly flinched at the adverse conditions, tossing 3-hitter with eight strikeouts.
“She never has any problems with the weather,” said senior Pirates catcher Nora DePersia, a three-year varsity player. “She just stays with it the whole game. She is amazing, so good. She trains really hard and is just a great player.”
DePersia was part of a great double play in the fourth inning. St. Viator (3-6) had runners on second and third with one out when Pirates sophomore third baseman Meghan Czyzowicz fielded a slow dribble down the line. She looked the runner back to third base, igniting a rundown that resulted in a 5-6-2-5-3 double play.
“It was beautiful,” DePersia said. “So our best defense of the season. We're so excited to get our first win. I think our communication was really good and our energy was really up there.”
The bat energy was there, too, starting right from the get-go when leadoff batter Eliza Piecuch ripped a ball to the outfield and ended up on third base due to an error. The freshman scored on Sammie Kendrick's one-out groundout to short.
The Pirates then crossed the plate four times in the second inning. DePersia started their biggest inning with her double to left. Madelyn Lebo reached on an error bringing home the first run. The Pirates added a 2-run single by Piecuch to right and Vicky Miramontes' RBI double to left for the fourth run. The Pirates also took advantage of a walk and an error in the inning.
“The bats were working real well,” said first-year Palatine coach Janalee Lyke, who earned her first win. “We put a lot of effort into the offensive side in the offseason and during the first couple of weeks of practice and I think that paid off here.”
Cleanup hitter and sophomore Jenna Hubert singled to lead off the third and eventually came home on error to make it 6-0. Junior Sammie Kendrick added a big one-out 2-run double to left center for an 8-0 cushion in the fourth inning.
The Pirates (1-0-1) wrapped up the win in the sixth with a one-out infield single by Julietta Ottati, another double by Kendrick and Hubert's 2-run walk-off double that ended the game.
Woldman scattered 3 hits, two by Lions freshman pitcher Carley Heiden and one by her freshman batterymate, Lia Horn.
“It was a little hard,” Woldman said of pitching in the drizzle. “When the ball was wet, I just loosened my grip a little bit. We were just out there having fun and playing loose and comfortable.”
“(Woldman) was a good pitcher,” said Lions coach John Scotillo. “Give her credit. She pitched real well.
“We couldn't get the bat on the ball. We even had a difficult time putting bunts down. We're a better hitting team than that. We've really hit the ball well as a rule, but today wasn't our day,”
Scotillo is looking forward to the potential of his freshman battery.
“They work really well together and they're good friends,” he said. “They're going to be our future.”
Lyke is looking forward to her team's future.
“That (double play) was probably our best defensive play so far and I hope it only goes up from there,” the former Schaumburg standout said.
“I'm very proud of the girls. I think they've implemented everything we've worked on really well and I think they've come together as a team. I'm excited for where that takes us moving forward.”