Elk Grove stops Fremd in battle of leaders

With 2 more home runs Friday, the Elk Grove softball team came to within 2 of tying the school record of 25 for a single season.

But it was a sixth-inning single up the middle by No. 9 hitter Becca Walz which proved to be the difference when the Grens (20-2, 9-0) stopped visiting Fremd 4-2 in a battle between the Mid-Suburban League East and West Division leaders and the top two teams in the Daily Herald Top 20.

Walz (2-for-3, 3 RBI) also belted her fourth homer of the season, while cleanup hitter Olivia Roback collected her team-high fifth of the spring.

"That's how smart I am," said Elk Grove Hall of Fame coach Ken Grams with a smile. "Becca is my second-leading home run hitter and she's batting ninth."

The Grens' bats began booming after Fremd senior ace Lena Brottman (16-2) struck out the side in the first inning.

Roback led off the second with a homer over the center-fielder's glove for a 1-0 lead.

Walz followed suit in the next inning when she also blasted a homer over the center-field fence.

Fremd (18-2, 8-1) showed it can play long ball, too.

The Vikings, who have 19 homers in 20 games, got a 2-run blast from sophomore second baseman Megan Hubbard in the top of the fifth to tie the game 2-2.

But Grens sophomore reliever Dani Goranson recovered smartly and retired six of the next seven batters to pick up her 13th win in 14 decisions.

"It was a huge win because we were both undefeated in conference," said Walz, who had 8 home runs on the Grens' freshman team last spring. "It's always a big game with Fremd. After our win over Barrrington earlier in the season and now this, we know we are one of the best teams."

"I thought we were going to be more of a contact team," Roback said. "I thought we'd be a little more small ball. But almost everyone on our team has a homer."

Grens senior Stephanie Maday, who faced only 14 batters and gave up 2 hits, pitched the first 42/3 innings before Grams called on Goranson to finish the contest.

"It was a tough day to pitch," said Fremd coach Jim Weaver. "With the wind blowing out at 35 miles per hour, that makes it tough. It (the low score) shows you how well the pitchers threw in the game."

The Grens' sixth-inning rally began with a double to right-center by Megan Keegan (3-for-3).

After a strikeout, sophomore Krista Soesbe (2-for-3) singled to left to put runners on the corners.

After Brottman got her 14th and final strikeout with her crafty changeup, Walz delivered her big single up the middle.

The next batter, Jessica Balzano, kept her 22-game hitting streak alive when she singled to left.

"I felt if we stayed with it, we could get something going with our bats," Grams said. "Her (Brottman's) changeup is awesome. Our hitters finally saw her enough to start getting something going.

"After we struck out the first three times, that was a big home run by Olivia to break their momentum. That was an important at-bat for us."

Allie Garding had 2 of Fremd's 4 hits.

Alexa Cinquegrani had the other besides Hubbard's fourth home run in three games this week.

"This game makes both of our teams better," Weaver said. "It shows us where we've got to get better. We'll get back to work. We've got a month. We know we have to keep getting better. I thought we hit the ball well the first three innings. Give credit to Elk Grove. They played good defense on our slappers."

Elk Grove holds a 3-game lead over Prospect in the East, while Fremd owns a 2-game advantage over Barrington in the West.