Dundee-Crown notches regional win
The Dundee-Crown softball team had one of its best offensive performances Monday.
And it was a good time for it.
The Chargers scored 11 runs on 11 hits to beat Rockford Jefferson, 11-3, in Carpentersville in the play-in game of the Class 4A Rockford Jefferson regional.
“We hit the ball really well throughout the whole line,” D-C coach Tracy Beatty said. “We’re sporadic with our hits. Today we pulled them together and scored some runs.”
No. 4 seed D-C (3-22) will play top-seeded Jacobs (18-11) at 4:30 p.m. today in Rockford in the regional semifinals. The Chargers lost to the Golden Eagles three times this season, but have been “competitive,” but they have struggled to hit, Beatty said.
Junior Melany Love is optimistic today will be different after Monday’s offensive output.
“We pitched really good against them. We never hit against them,” said Love, who went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI Monday. “Hopefully since we hit (Monday) we will hit (today).”
The Chargers scored four times in the bottom of the second to erase a 1-0 deficit. Brittany Schultz, Lindsey Peterson, Amanda Eissler and Mandy Moore each had an RBI in the inning.
D-C put the game away in the third, scoring seven times, six of which were unearned runs. Schultz drove in the first run of the inning with a single. Eissler, who went 3-for-4, added a run-scoring single. Moore drove in a pair with single. Love doubled to center to bring in two runs. Jessica Lewandowski, who had 2 hits in the inning, doubled home Love as D-C took an 11-1 lead.
Love, Lewandowski and Sarah Miles each had 2 hits for the Chargers.
Love earned the victory after relieving Eissler after just 4 batters. Love retired the first 7 batters she faced and struggled with her control in the fourth, walking a pair and throwing three wild pitches, allowing Jefferson to cut the deficit to under 10 runs, 11-2. After leaving the circle before the fifth as Moore took over, Love went back into the circle in the sixth with the bases loaded and one out. She got the final two outs of the inning without giving up a run. Jefferson did scratch out a run in the seventh, but Love struck out 3 of the final 4 batters to end the game.
Love, who said her curveball was really working, ended up throwing a total of 5 ⅓ innings. She allowed 3 hits, walked 2, hit a batter and struck out 10.
“We went to Mel and she kind of got the game under control (in the first inning),” Beatty said. “Mel threw very consistently.”