Minihan’s 2 HRs lift Waubonsie over Larkin
One thing Aly Kelley knows her first Waubonsie Valley softball team can do is score runs.
But Kelley also knows that with a young pitching staff, the Warriors will have to bring their bats every day to be successful.
They did just that on Tuesday in Elgin as sophomore Amanda Minihan belted 2 home runs and Waubonsie Valley held on for a 9-7 win over Larkin in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover game.
“We had some rough ones the last couple of games but today they pulled through,” Kelley said. “They faced adversity and handled it pretty well. But our offense has to come to every game. If it goes to sleep, you don’t know what might happen.”
Waubonsie Valley (3-3) built an 8-1 lead before Larkin came back and made the Warriors work for the win.
The Warriors jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first when lead off hitter Jessica Sarch tripled and scored on Hayley Wensel’s safety squeeze.
Larkin (5-6) came right back to tie as Corinne Wimmer (2-for-3) beat out an infield hit, went to second on a wild pitch, was sacrificed to third by Lexi Smithberg and then scored on Alex Buhrow’s groundout.
Waubonsie grabbed a 3-1 lead in the third, using a Larkin error on Sarch’s grounder with nobody out to set the stage for the first of Minihan’s 2 homers, this one on Kiernan Schock’s first pitch.
“I go up there thinking positively for every pitch,” said Minihan. “I’m always looking for that first-pitch meatball. They should learn not to throw me a beautiful pitch down the middle.”
Hanging onto the 3-1 lead, the Warriors scored 5 unearned runs in the top of the fourth to break the game open. With one out, Courtney Hicks drew a walk and then, a critical throwing error on Carly Sass’ grounder set Waubonsie up for the big inning. Julia DiMonte blooped an RBI single into left field to make it 4-1. After a pop up for the second out, Wensel sent a 2-run double down the right-field line, and Minihan followed with her second straight 2-run shot over the center field fence, this time on a 3-2 pitch.
“I don’t get overanxious at the plate,” said Minihan, who moved to Illinois from Southern California midway through seventh grade.
“I’m pretty confident most of the time and there was no pressure.”
Larkin refused to go away quietly, though. The Royals put up 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth and 3 more in the bottom of the fifth to make it an 8-7 game. Waubonsie committed two infield errors in the fourth to help the Royals’ cause. Sam King, Schock and Nikki Banks each had RBI in the inning for Larkin.
In the bottom of the fifth, Esterinio delivered a 2-run double that knocked Waubonsie junior starter Alyssa Garcia from the game. Sophomore reliever Amy Jablonsky gave up a single to King and then an RBI single to Schock to make it 8-7, but she then got a groundout and a strikeout to leave the tying run stranded at third.
The Warriors added an insurance run in the top of the seventh as Amanda Lack’s two-out single drove in Minihan, who had led the inning off with a single up the middle. Larkin got a runner on in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t advance her past first base.
“It’s disappointing,” said Larkin coach Larry Hight. “That’s a game that, at home, you have to win. But they hit the ball with two outs and we didn’t hit the ball with two outs. My girls didn’t give up, though, and you have to give them credit for that.”