Bartlett finally claims share of UEC Valley
The Bartlett softball team really didn’t need a lot of motivation.
But Kayla Haberstich’s line drive home run over the left field fence in the top of the second inning sure didn’t hurt.
In the throes of a 3-game losing streak and in jeopardy of not at least sharing the Upstate Eight Valley championship that many had already handed to them a week ago, the Hawks responded Friday with a convincing 9-3 win at Lake Park. Bartlett shares the division title with Waubonsie Valley, the first conference title for No. 2 Bartlett since the Hawks went 20-0 in the Upstate Eight in 2006, prior to the league being in divisions.
“I’ve just been asking for good softball and with the exception of a couple miscues in the field, we played good softball today,” said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith. “We hit the ball well and that was nice to see. We’ve been on a little slide. We know how good Lake Park is and we beat a good team today.”
Bartlett (26-6, 16-3) threatened to score in the first inning but Lake Park junior Marilyn Perry struck out two batters with runners on second and third.
But with one out in the bottom of the second, Haberstich jacked her second home run of the season to set the tone for the afternoon on Lake Park’s Senior Day.
“I’ve been struggling to get on base so I was just thinking base hit so the people behind me could drive me in,” said Haberstich, a sophomore who leads Bartlett in RBI. “The big hit just happened.”
Another big hit came for Bartlett in the third when junior Kaylyn Zierke led off with a solo homer to make it 3-0. The Hawks extended the lead to 5-0 on a 2-run single from Alex Morales in the fourth, then to 7-0 on a 2-run double by Dana Paul in the fifth, and then to 9-0 on a 2-run double from Haberstich in the sixth.
“The thing we’ve been struggling with the last week and a half has been clutch hitting,” Wolfsmith said. “When you combine errors with a lack of clutch hitting you put a lot of pressure on your pitchers and that’s what happened to us until today.”
Bartlett senior Tori Burke (15-5) cruised through the Lake Park lineup through 5 innings, allowing just 2 hits with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk. Holly Pagan struck out 3 and walked 1 in the final 2 innings for the Hawks, who face Lockport and Belleville East in the Stone City Jamboree in Minooka today.
“Burke’s had our number,” said Lake Park coach Tom Mazzie. “She moves it well and she changes speeds. There were a couple plays I thought we could have made but they jumped on us. It’s just one of those games we have to put behind us in a hurry.”
The Lancers (20-14, 13-6) scored all their runs in the bottom of the seventh. Senior Tara Palandri had a 2-run triple and Stephanie Starr drove in a run.
Amanda Montbriand and Zierke each had 2 hits for Bartlett. Perry struck out 8 and walked 7 in taking the loss for the Lancers.