Verdun, Coal City shut down Lisle
In case opponents forgot, Coal City's Kirsten Verdun is more than just one of the best pitchers in the state.
She swings a lethal bat too.
The DePaul recruit drove that point home Tuesday, doubling 3 times, driving in 6 runs and scoring twice in a 10-0 win over Lisle at Community Park.
Oh yeah, Verdun (19-0) also struck out seven in a five-inning 2-hitter.
"She's an all-around great player," Lisle coach Jen Pomatto said. "No matter what we threw to her she went up attacking. Even the last ball she hit to second base, it wasn't even a strike and she went out and smoked it."
Coal City (19-0, 9-0 Interstate Eight Conference) also beat Lisle (7-7, 4-4) 9-1 in Coal City on Monday. Verdun and the Coalers beat Lisle three times last year, notably in a Class 2A supersectional.
"It was a huge thing for us because we knew they had a grudge for us," Verdun said. "We ended their season last year. We know they're one of the toughest teams we'll play in conference, if not all year."
Verdun hit an opposite-field double to left to score Bryanna Phelan in the first inning, then drilled a first-pitch RBI double to left in the third to make it 3-0. A 2-run, 2-strike double in the fourth pushed the lead to 8-0. Her fourth at-bat, Verdun hit a smash that ricocheted off the Lisle second baseman into center, scoring 2 more runs.
"We saw this pitcher two times last year," Verdun said, "so I kind of knew what she had. She's a tough pitcher, has a lot of movement and a good rise ball so my big thing was to jump on her before she got ahead in the count. She was pitching me outside, so take it the opposite way."
Verdun is hitting over .600 on the season.
"If she's not hitting it into the gaps, she's hitting it hard right at people," Coal City coach Brad Schmitt said. "When she has her confidence up she's a tough kid to pitch to, because she can hit any pitch in the zone."
Shelby Kretman singled leading off the fourth for Lisle's first hit. The Lions' best chance to score came in the fifth, as Kelly Urban reached on an error and Breanne Prindeville singled with nobody out. But Verdun retired the next three batters, fielding a grounder herself and striking out the next two.
"With that kind of pitching and hitting they're going to be tough to beat," Pomatto said. "Today there wasn't necessarily a ton of errors, but I just didn't feel we looked crisp. We didn't look clean, really like we knew what we were doing at all times. We can handle losing when we're ready and when we play well. I just didn't think that mentally we were ready and there today."