Softball: Grayslake North comes up short against Prairie Ridge
The excitement of Karsyn Ledgerwood’s first varsity game wasn’t sullied by the frigid temperatures and snappy winds Wednesday.
The Prairie Ridge freshman outfielder watched her sister Autumn play the last four years for the Wolves, including on last season’s Class 3A state third-place finisher.
Now, it’s her time.
“Four years of watching her. I was really hoping for it, but I wasn’t expecting it,” Ledgerwood said of making varsity. “I know she made it as a freshman, too, so I was hoping I’d live up to the legacy.
“It’s been way too long since I’ve had a game. It was really nice to get back out here, even if it’s freezing cold.”
Ledgerwood helped spark the Wolves’ offense against Grayslake North, driving in the game’s first run on a double in the bottom of the fourth inning. She scored twice, once on a wild pitch in the fourth, and again on a three-run homer by Reese Vrba two innings later.
Reese Mosolino scattered four hits and allowed a run with seven strikeouts and three walks in five innings, and the Wolves came away with a 5-3 win in their season-opener in Crystal Lake.
Both of Ledgerwood’s hits were hard hits to the right-center field gap. Her double scored Mary-Kate Center from first base with one out in the fourth. She scored in the same inning on a heads-up play, sliding into home plate following a wild pitch.
“She’s kind of a shy, unassuming freshman,” Prairie Ridge coach Scott Busam said, “but when she gets the bat in her hand, she’s pretty fierce. We saw it right away indoors, and then we tried to do a little bit of live BP. We knew immediately, ‘Hey, we might have something special with this kid,’ and so we’re really excited about what she’s going to bring.”
Mosolino, who was 19-1 with a 0.84 ERA and 190 strikeouts as a junior, stayed warm in the dugout between innings with a big jacket and gloves.
She took a couple hard-hit line drives off her legs.
The first one smacked her shin in the first inning and the second one hit near her knee in the fifth, both off the bat of Brena Dalton. When Mosolino got hit the second time, she waved off Busam.
“She didn’t even want me to come out there and talk to her,” Busam said. “She’s as tough as they come.”
The first six games of the season were canceled or postponed for Prairie Ridge (1-0).
“It felt like we’ve been practicing forever, so it felt good to get the first game under our belt,” said Mosolino, an Indiana commit. “It’s a different squad. It’s going to be fun and different this year. … I think my drop was working the best today, but it wasn’t my best outing. I think it can obviously get better, but it was a good first win.”
Sophomore pitcher Grace Hoker started and went all six innings for the Knights (5-1), allowing five runs on six hits. She struck out five and walked three.
“I thought Grace looked great out there,” Knights coach Amanda Rodriguez said. “She did a great job controlling the ball. She calls her own pitches and I thought she did great.”
Center and Ledgerwood had back-to-back singles in the sixth, followed by a no-doubt homer over the left-field fence by Vrba, putting the Wolves ahead 5-1.
Grayslake North scored two runs in the top of the seventh and got the tying run to the plate. Both runs in the seventh were unearned against Prairie Ridge’s Emma Dallas, who pitched the last two innings while allowing no hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
The Knights were returning from a spring break trip to Orlando, Fla., where they went 4-0.
“We have eight returning starters and five really good freshmen,” Rodriguez said. “We have a lot of competition every day at practice. Everyday we’re pushing each other to make each other better. We’ve had a strong start and I’m glad we didn’t give up and kept fighting until the end.”
Kylie Carroll went 2-for-4 with a double and stolen base for Prairie Ridge. Dalton and Jane Pritchard had two hits each for Grayslake North. Pritchard had an RBI single in the fourth to score Alyson Alvarenga.