Stevenson quickly turns it around
Stevenson’s softball team started its season with three straight losses.
The Patriots ended the week .500 thanks to a nonconference doubleheader sweep of visiting Hersey on Saturday. It was their third win in two days.
Stevenson (3-3) rallied late in both games against the Huskies, winning the opener 5-4 thanks to a 2-run sixth, and then plating a pair of runs in the eighth to capture a 7-6 win in walk-off fashion.
Sara Loerch’s hard-hit double off the glove of Hersey’s leaping left fielder with two out scored Lexi Yonkovic with the tying run and pinch runner Maria Anagnostopoulos with the winning run.
“They did a great job coming back with two out in the eighth,” Stevenson coach Larry Friedrichs said of his girls.
Yonkovic went 3-for-4 with an inside-the-park homer, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Morgan Manka and Kat Trotter were each 2-for-4, while Taylor Koenigs also doubled for Stevenson.
Sophomore Lindsey Micucci earned the first complete-game victory of her varsity career, allowing 3 earned runs.
Sam Feder pitched the Patriots to victory in Game 1, striking out eight, walking five and yielding 2 earned runs. Loerch was 3-for-4 with a triple and 2 RBI. Koenigs went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and walk. Abby O’Connor and freshman Trisha Porzycki doubled for Stevenson.
Mundelein sweeps Grayslake Central: Red-hot Lauren Fairweather hit two more home runs, as the visiting Mustangs won both games of the nonconference doubleheader, 13-0 and 12-2, to improve to 7-1.
Fairweather homered in each game, giving her six for the season — all in the Mustangs’ last four games.
“She’s hitting the ball very well,” Mundelein coach Brett Wilhelm said of the junior, who played on the JV team last year. “It’s fun to watch. She’s buying into what we’re doing. She kind of got away from striding. She’s staying back longer. She’s relaxed at the plate, seeing the ball well and doing a great job for us.”
The Mustangs received 2 hits apiece in Game 1 from Fairweather, Chloe Peterson, Haley Morelli (3 RBI), Andrea Funteas, Hannah Bulgart (2 RBI) and Maggie Mahar (2 RBI). Maddie Zazas and Bulgart also homered.
Erin Kennelly added a double, while Molly Ellett pitched a six-inning complete game, allowing 2 hits.
In Game 2, Ellett led a 12-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Fairweather (4 RBI), Zazas (double) and Maria DeVito each had a pair of hits. Winning pitcher Kennelly (5 innings, 7 strikeouts) helped herself with 2 RBI. Nikki Zaprzalka and Funteas also drove in runs.
Grayslake North sweeps: The offense was plentiful for Grayslake North, which rolled up a total of 35 runs and 48 hits in two wins over Richmond-Burton. The Knights won 12-6 and 23-12.
In the 12-6 victory every player who entered the game for Grayslake North got a hit, led by Kelsey Borders and Mariah Gentile, each of whom had 4 hits apiece. Kayla Switalla and Nikki Livengood each had 3 hits and Switalla and Borders each had home runs.
Pitcher Nikki Livengood rolled up 6 strikeouts in 7 innings.
In the 23-12 win, Livengood was living well again at the plate. She had 5 hits and drove in 5 runs. Jordyn Bowen added 4 hits and Sarah Littleton had 3, including a home run. The Knights had a total of 3 home runs as Borders and Mariah Gentile also hit shots over the fence.
Lakes sweeps: Lakes did a lot of scoring in two wins over Larkin, 14-1 and 13-3.
In the first game, the Eagles rolled up 18 hits, thanks to 3 hits apiece from Montana Mang and Kaela Bryant. Meghan Milewski, who finished with 2 hits, had a double and a triple. In the second game, Lakes finished with a total of 14 hits and again got 3 hits from Bryant. She hit a home run, a triple and a double and drove in 4 runs along the way.
Antioch sweeps: Antioch got a couple of close victories over Prospect, 2-1, 6-4. In the first game, pitcher Katie Philips improved to 4-1 with 5 strikeouts. She got offensive support from Jessica Tyrell and Kaytee Keefe, who belted a triple and a double respectively. In the second game, Antioch rolled up 11 hits, thanks to 2 hits apiece from Keefe, Tyrell, Tayler Schiltz, Jessica Pedersen and Hannah Skoog. Both of Tyrell’s hits were doubles. The Sequoits improved to 6-1 on the season.
Lake Zurich splits: Lake Zurich rebounded from a loss in its first game against Buffalo Grove (6-3) to get a 10-6 win in the finale. In the first game, Mallory Parsons and Rachel Dawson each had doubles for the Bears. In the second game, Maria Schroeder had 2 hits, including a double and Katie Brown had 2 hits as well. Pitcher Olivia Schneider got the win for the bears with 4 strikeouts in five innings.
Cary-Grove 1, Grant 0: Cary-Grove took advantage of 2 Grant errors. The only run of the game reached first base on an error.