Everything coming up lucky sevens for Lakes

Lakes' softball girls rolled up 7 runs (good) and 7 errors (bad), but lucky them.

Why?

Because the Eagles are scheduled to play seven more games between today and Saturday.

That should help accelerate the maturation process for a Lakes team whose starting infield in its 7-4 win over host Vernon Hills on Tuesday featured freshmen at catcher (Meghan Milewski), third base (Jessica Bruggen), shortstop (Michelle Speck) and second base (Kaela Bryant), a sophomore (Sara Braden) at first and a junior (Shannon Cooley) in the circle.

The youth helps explain the Eagles' multitude of miscues against Vernon Hills in the North Suburban Prairie Division game.

"Learning curve," said Lakes coach Bill Hamill, whose team hosts Vernon Hills today, visits Grayslake North on Thursday, hosts Lake Forest on Friday and plays four games Saturday in the District 117 Quad co-hosted by Lakes and Antioch.

"This is a tough week to try to work those things out because of our schedule."

While Lakes (6-3, 1-0) works on its defense, Hamill is less concerned about his team's offense.

The Eagles managed just 6 hits against Vernon Hills pitchers Sara Doerhoefer and Jennifer Claussen, but 3 doubles knocked in their first 6 runs. Leadoff hitter Jasmine Rivera, a junior, went 2-for-4 and scored twice.

"We can definitely hit," Hamill said. "I don't care who (the oppositions) throws up there, we can hit."

Braden started the scoring with a two-out, 2-run double in the first, which saw Vernon Hills (4-9, 0-3) commit a costly error.

Leading 2-1 in the third, Lakes got a big two-out, bases loaded-clearing double off the bat of Milewski.

"I felt really good hitting it," Milewski said. "I've been hitting well, but it felt good because it was like the big hit of the game. It was my first big one."

Fellow freshman Bryant then doubled home Milewski, although she was thrown out trying to stretch her hit into a triple.

"They always hit well," Cooley said of the Eagles' kids. "We just have to work on our fielding to keep the runs down."

Cooley gave herself an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI single. She pitched all 7 innings, scattering 6 singles, walking three and striking out five.

The veteran right-hander did not allow an earned run.

"We're just working the kinks out (defensively)," Milewski said. "But we're getting through it."

The freshman Claussen pitched well in relief for Vernon Hills, allowing only 1 run over 4 innings. The hard-throwing righty struck out four.

"She was spotting the ball pretty well," Cougars coach Paul Weber said.

Sophomore Carly Alm went 3-for-4 for Vernon Hills, which has an uncharacteristic won-lost record, in part because of a tough schedule that includes 5 losses against formidable teams from downstate and a pair of defeats to defending NSC champ Antioch last week.

"We have a long way to go," Weber said. "Like I said at the beginning of the year, I have a really young team. They're just inexperienced and make a lot of mistakes, mental and physical. It's going to take a while for these guys to be better."