Grayslake North rallies back against Central
Falling behind early did not prove to be a major obstacle for the Grayslake North girls softball team Monday afternoon against crosstown rival Grayslake Central.
The visiting Rams built a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third inning, but the Knights rallied back to capture an 8-3 Fox Valley Conference victory in the Fox Division contest.
Grayslake Central (4-20, 2-10) scored 2 quick runs in the top of the first as lead-off hitter Sarah Kuligowski walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Sophomore pitcher Claire Brennan's RBI double drove in Kati Brew, who had reached base on an error.
An RBI single by Bri Peterson off of Grayslake North starter Carlie Rosario drove in teammate Jordyn Bowen for a 3-0 lead, but Grayslake Central was held scoreless the rest of the way as Grayslake North reliever Kristina Gandy threw 4 scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Gandy's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third drove in Raquel Ness with the Knights' first run of the game before the hosts added 3 runs on 4 hits in the bottom of the fourth.
Mindy Runge (2-for-4) doubled to start the fourth-inning rally before teammate Ashley King singled to put runners on first and third.
Jessica Davis reached base on an error with both Runge and Davis scoring on the play before a sacrifice fly by Brianna Leon drove in Davis with what proved to be the game-winning run.
Grayslake North (14-12, 7-4) took advantage of 5 errors overall by the Rams while the Knights outhit the visitors 11-5.
"We made a couple of errors on the infield and we just couldn't overcome those errors," said Grayslake Central coach Abbey Tadelman. "It's a young team and we have a lot of potential. And when you have a young team it takes awhile to learn from your mistakes."
A fielder's choice RBI by Rosario and an RBI single by Davis boosted the lead to 6-3 after 5 innings before Gandy just missed a home run in the bottom of the sixth. Gandy's drive to left field hit the yellow line on the top of the fence to start a two-out rally with a double.
Kelsey Borders followed Gandy with a single before Runge's 2-run single to center gave the Knights 2 more insurance runs.
"I think we pulled through it very well, our bats came alive, and we worked through it as a team," said Gandy. "We put the bat on the ball and we put bunts down when we needed to."
Grayslake North won the first meeting against the Rams 9-0 earlier this spring.
"We've been doing a good job of bouncing back from our errors," said Grayslake North coach Molly Jones. "Obviously our bats picked us up today and even with two outs we got runners in."