Baseball: Prairie Ridge beats Huntley to sweep season series, pad lead in FVC

Prairie Ridge coach Scott Busam took blame Monday for what he called a “really aggressive” send in the top of the third inning against Huntley.

With the Wolves leading 2-1, Busam waved sophomore Kylie Carroll home from first base after her sister, senior Kendra Carroll, sent a one-out double toward the gap in left-center field.

Huntley played it perfectly, as center fielder Ava McFadden fired the ball to shortstop Aubrina Adamik, who turned and threw home to catcher Madison Rozanski to retire Kylie Carroll by plenty.

The Wolves, though, had their coach’s back.

Senior Autumn Ledgerwood followed with an RBI hit, and two batters later Bella Moore sent a ball over the stretched-out glove of left fielder Ajai Bonner for an RBI double.

Prairie Ridge junior pitcher Reese Mosolino made the lead stand, as the Wolves won 4-2 to pad their Fox Valley Conference lead to two games with five remaining.

Huntley, the four-time defending FVC champion, fell to 16-10 and 9-3 in the conference, losing both of its games to Prairie Ridge.

“That’s just kind of how these guys roll,” said Busam, whose Wolves improved to 17-1-1 and 12-1 in the FVC. “I told them, ‘Hey, I made a mistake there. I need you to pick me up.’ And they did. They always do.”

Prairie Ridge, ranked No. 6 in the latest Illinois Coaches Association Class 3A poll, last won a conference title in 2016. Last year’s team won the program’s first regional title since 2018.

This year’s team is looking to make more history.

Ledgerwood, one of three seniors on the Wolves, along with Kendra Carroll and shortstop Adysen Kiddy, an NCAA Division-I Illinois commit, wore neon green goggles and played with a blue squirt gun after the key win.

With lots of wins comes lots of fun.

“We knew how important and how much these wins mean to our program,” said Ledgerwood, who went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles, scoring on Moore’s double in the third. “The second time through conference is always more stressful.

“We just had to go out there and execute.”

Busam said the fun part about this season is he never knows who will step up.

“Anyone can be a hero,” Busam said. “Huntley is the cream of the crop in the FVC. Any time you get a chance to do something like that, it’s special. They’re excited about it, but we’ve got Cary-Grove next. There’s not really any time to take a deep breath and take it easy.”

Mosolino, who gave up two runs on nine hits and struck out four, had to work hard to limit Huntley’s scoring chances, stranding 11 base runners. The Raiders loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Mosolino, an Indiana commit, retired the next two batters on a strikeout and groundout.

Huntley’s Isabella Boskey and Ginczycki (3 for 4, RBI) started the seventh with back-to-back hits, but Mosolino retired the next three to seal the win.

Busam praised the cool nature of Mosolino, along with his catcher, Kendra Carroll, who he called one of the toughest girls on the team. Carroll said she tries her best to stay composed.

“I think for me, I may be freaking out internally, but I definitely try to keep my calm,” Carroll said. “This season has been rough since I’m catching every day. Definitely taking a beating, but I love being involved in every play. I feel like I can lead the team, especially when we may be stressed or heads are spinning. Just get the next pitch, focus on each pitch.”

Huntley took the early lead on a two-out RBI hit by Ginczycki that sneaked through the right side of the infield in the bottom of the first. The Wolves responded with two runs in the second, scoring both runs when Huntley made two errors on the same play.

“[Mosolino] was doing what she had to do, and Kiddy was making phenomenal plays over there at short. She’s a rally killer over there,” Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said.

“We can’t hang our heads. PR’s a tough team. We knew the Fox Valley would be a battle this year. So far they’re doing what it takes to win the conference.”

Gretchen Huber took the loss for Huntley, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits. She struck out four and walked two.

Kylie Carroll was 3 for 4 for Prairie Ridge, and Mary-Kate Center went 2 for 4. Grace Benson was 2 for 4 for Huntley. Sadie Svendsen had an RBI in the sixth.