Softball: Palatine downs Fremd to stay unbeaten in MSL

With a 12-0 record, Palatine has to take care of business in its next four games and it will be on its way to its first Mid-Suburban League softball championship game in program history.

Pirates junior ace Rhiann Dick sure got down to business at Fremd on Monday.

The crafty southpaw put in a full day's work, not only tossing 6-hitter with 7 strikeouts but also crushing the first home run of her career to center field in the top of the seventh inning.

She then came back and struck out the side in the bottom of the inning to give Fremd a 7-2 win over its always-strong crosstown rival Fremd (13-6, 9-3).

"To hit a home run has been her individual goal so I'm she did that," said Pirates coach Nicole Capalbo, who has led the Pirates (20-2) to a third straight 20-plus win season.

The modest junior was more concerned about her team more than her individual accomplishments which included retiring 16 of the last 17 batters she faced.

"I was a great team win," said Dick (17-1), who will pitch for Wisconsin-Whitewater in two years.

"I thought Fremd was putting the ball in play early in the game but Rhiann did a nice job sticking to her game plan," said Capalbo, whose club leads Barrington (20-3, 11-1) by one game in the MSL West. "And she shut them down after the second inning (no runs, 1 hit)."

With the score tied 1-1, Dick's teammates gave her a 3-run lead in the third inning when the Pirates opened with 4 straight hits.

Grace Huff's 2 run-single drove home Kaitlyn Reed and Emily Parrott, who had singled to lead off the inning. Huff then scored on Amanda Stanczuk's single to right for the 5-2 lead.

Fremd sophomore starter Grace Hiller (6-2) escaped further damage by retiring the next three batters.

Senior Hailey Hazlett worked the next 4⅓ innings before freshman Gina Dudley struck out the final two batters in the seventh after Dick and Emily Brinkerhoff clubbed back-to-back homers for the 7-2 advantage.

Reed (2-for-4), Huff (2-for-3), Stanczuk (2-for-4), Mandy Logan (2-for-4, 2B), and Brinkerhoff (2-for-4, 2 RBI) were multiple hitters for Palatine.

"I think we did a good job making adjustments at the plate and putting pressure on them." Capalbo added. "That's our team strength - making adjustments, putting the ball in play and running everything out. We're pretty aggressive on the bases so when we get people on, our expectation is that we are going to score."

Fremd scored first when Kalyn McCarthy led off with a walk, went to second on Sophia Crescio's groundout to third and came home on Reagan Goluch's one-out single to right.

An RBI single Brinkerhoff tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second. The Pirates had 3 consecutive hits in the inning but Fremd left fielder Kelsey Brauer threw out a runner trying to score with a perfect strike to catcher Elena Kraus to prevent further damage.

Fremd went back ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning.

The Vikes strung together 4 consecutive one-out hits from Marisa Chalmers, McKenna Schneider (2-for-3), Ava Jordan and McCarthy, who singled home Chalmers and the bases remained loaded.

Dick, though, got the final two batters with a fielders choice and a strikeout.

"She is a great pitcher" said Fremd coach Josh Teschner of Dick. "She threw a fine game. We got some good, scrappy at-bats from Kalyn McCarthy as always and Reagan Goluch (first baseman who robbed Stanczuk with a great stab of her line drive) did a great job in the field.

"Both teams competed the whole game. I don't feel we ever gave in to the pressure they put on us. So from that standpoint, I'm very happy. We had that good second inning and then it felt like we were pressing."

The Pirates have now won 26 of their last 28 MSL games.

"It's always a good game when we play Fremd," Capalbo said. "They're really young and athletic and I see good things for them in the future."