WW South makes it four in a row
Wheaton Warrenville South flirted with the .500 mark for most of the last month.
By the looks of things Thursday, the Tigers are over that hump.
WW South rode timely hitting and Sammy Granger’s five-hit shutout to its fourth straight win, beating Naperville North 3-0 in Wheaton.
The Tigers (15-13, 6-3 DuPage Valley Conference) had gone over .500 for the first time since the season’s first week with Wednesday’s win over West Aurora. This is the group Tigers coach Jeff Pawlak has been waiting on.
“It’s been an uphill climb,” Pawlak said, “and they know we’re better than a .500 team. Things are starting to click and it’s a good time for it.”
Granger (10-7) gave up three home runs to Naperville North in the teams’ first meeting, a 6-5 Huskies win April 8. She was on her game this time around, though. Granger worked around small jams in the first and third innings, then retired 11 batters in a row until a one-out single in the seventh. Granger struck out eight, allowing just 5 hits and a walk.
“She came out really focused today,” Pawlak said. “We went over the report from last game and she learned from it. We really concentrated on working wide and she got her changeup over in the first inning; for her, that makes all the difference in the world.”
A strong, warm wind was blowing in throughout the game, and Granger used it to her advantage. That, and a nice dropball that was a strikeout pitch.
“Our defense was so good today,” said Granger, whose teammates played error-free ball behind her. “It’s so good to see how far we’ve come since the start of the season. We’ve worked so hard to get back to where we are now. We’ve really cut down on our errors. The wind blowing in, it’s definitely an advantage. The ball’s not going to move as much but it will go faster.”
Huskies starter Kathleen Hahne held WW South hitless for six of the game’s seven innings, but the Tigers made the most of their one scoring opportunity. Rayanna Becker reached on an infield single to start the fourth, and after a Kristy Santora sacrifice and a groundout Kimmy Hayes walked on a full count. Laura Foltz worked the count to 2-2, then hit a towering flyball into the wind that landed in front of the fence in center. Both runners scored, and Hannah Keating followed with a line-drive single to score Foltz and make it 3-0.
“Foltz, she needed that and she crushed it,” Pawlak said. “Good two-strike hitting.”
Naperville North (14-8, 6-3 DVC), which just days prior knocked off No. 1 Glenbard North, had a couple early opportunities to strike early go by the wayside. Alexis Solak singled to lead off the game, moved up on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch. But she was thrown out at home on Caitlyn Warren’s grounder to short. In the third Stephanie Tobin singled with one out and Tara Degl’Innocenti singled to put runners at the corners with two outs, but Granger retired the next batter.
It’s the first time Naperville North has been shut out this season. The loss could prove costly to Naperville North’s DVC titles hopes.
“We had a couple baserunning mistakes early, but Granger pitched a great game. It’s as simple as that,” Huskies coach Jerry Kedziora said. “We have to come out ready to play. With an opportunity to make a run for a conference title we have to come out much more excited. It’s a shame.”