Softball: Early deficit a good omen to Neuqua Valley
A leadoff home run by your opponent might get some teams rattled, but not the Neuqua Valley softball team.
In fact the Wildcats kind of believe it's actually a good thing. Another good thing is the ability to score in bunches. They did that starting with a 6-run second inning Friday that more than offset the home run hit by Mustangs shortstop Emily Nelson in the bottom of the first.
The short-lived 1-0 deficit was all but forgotten after visiting Neuqua Valley won the DuPage Valley Conference contest 9-3 in cold, rainy conditions in Aurora.
"We have a superstition on our team, if the first girl hits a home run it's bad luck for the other team," Wildcats slugger Abby Meeks said. "So we all kind of knew (we were OK), but we still played a great game."
The cleanup hitting Meeks belted her fifth home run of the spring in the big second inning. That inning also featured doubles off the bats of Paige Price and Kelsey O'Connor. Meeks is looking to surpass last spring's home run total of 7, and the junior is well on her way in 2018.
"I've been training a lot. I've been lifting a lot and getting stronger every day," Meeks said. "Hopefully, it goes even better this season. We have a very good offensive team this year and we have good pitchers. Everything is there so hopefully we can win conference this year."
After allowing the home run to Nelson three pitches into her start, Wildcats pitcher Zoe Herdman settled in nicely and had a comfortable 9-1 lead before Metea Valley (2-7, 1-2) pushed across two runs in the sixth.
"It was rough in the beginning, but my team was there for me," Herdman said. "It's nice because I don't have to strike every single girl out because I have a team behind me that does very well in the field. We're definitely a solid team this year."
Neuqua Valley coach Christina Frontera stressed the importance of a quick start to her team, especially in Friday's tough conditions. The win improved the visitors to 7-3 on the spring and 3-0 in the DVC.
"With the weather we talked to them before the game about jumping on them with the hits," she said. "To get ahead early was good."
For the Mustangs, Morgan Bond started the sixth-inning rally with a walk that was followed by Nelson's double to deep center field. Libby Eichberger's infield single brought home a run and Moira Danko's grounder plated Nelson to make the score 9-3. Nelson, who homered in a win over Naperville North on Tuesday, has swung a hot bat of late for Metea Valley.
"We made defensive mistakes that helped them in their big inning," Mustangs coach Kris Kalivas said. "We're just struggling to put all the pieces together right now."