Palatine rallies past Conant

Tori Walzak’s two-out double scored Lauren Logan in the top of the eighth inning and that proved to be the difference for Palatine’s softball team, which edged host Conant 4-3 on Monday in Hoffman Estates.

After a leadoff single by Elisa Ambrose in the bottom of the eighth, Pirates senior ace Megan Hedstrom retired the next three batters, including a strikeout to end the game.

Palatine improved to 6-4 and 2-0 in the Mid-Suburban West while Conant is 6-3 and 2-1.

Hedstrom (2-for-3, double) gave herself a 1-0 lead when she belted a two-out homer in the first inning.

Conant scored three times in the bottom of the second before Palatine tied it in the top of the third on a 2-run homer by Logan, the Pirates’ senior receiver.

Grace Rohrwasser, Jamie Haze and Shannon Surell also had hits for Palatine.

Sophomore Hailey Rothstein went 3-for-3 with 2 doubles for the Cougars with an RBI and teammate Sarah Thompson was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI.

Hedstrom (6-3) struck out six and walked two while Cougars pitcher Kali Schumacher (3-2) recorded 6 strikeouts with no walks.

Elk Grove 10, Rolling Meadows 0 (5): Elk Grove sophomore Shannon Taucher (3-for-4, 6 RBI, 3 runs, walk) belted a grand slam with two outs in the first inning and added 2-run shot over the fence in the third inning for the first homers of her varsity career.

Other top hitters for the Grenadiers (11-4, 2-3) were Becca Maher (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Aleece Duffy (2-for-3), Megan Eul (2-for-3) and Melissa Picchi (2-for-3).

Eul (5-2) was also the winning pitcher striking out three with no walks.

Grace Skorin went 2-for-2 with a double for the visiting Mustangs (6-6, 0-4).

Schaumburg 3, Hoffman Estates 0: Sophomore Shannon Felde (5-1) threw a 1-hitter for the visiting Saxons (10-1, 3-0) and also belted a 2-run homer with one out in the top of the third.

Dana Giannelli (3-for-4), Paige Alt (2-for-3) and Jamie Kudjer (2-for-3) were other offensive leaders for the Saxons.

Kudjer’s two-out single in the second made it 1-0.

Sam Acosta had the only hit for the Hawks (2-6, 2-2), who received 3 strikeouts and no walks from pitcher Charlotte Allan (2-3).

Buffalo Grove 11, Hersey 1 (6): Dea Barton (3-for-4, 3 doubles), Erin Barton (3-for-4, double), Caitlin Catino (2-for-4) and Amanda Salzman (3-for-4, double) led the offense for visiting Buffalo Grove (7-5, 2-2).

Julia Camardo (6-4) earned the win with 8 strikeouts,

Alysia Zaucha (2-for-3) and Kelsey Panfil (2-for-5) were top hitters for Hersey (2-6, 0-3)

Prospect 4, Wheeling 1: Prospect pitcher Michelle Korf improved to 3-3 with a 7-hitter as she struck out five and walked two.

Casey Lenski (2-for-4) belted a 2-run homer in the first inning to give the host Knights (3-7, 1-1) the lead.

Jill Sadowski’s sacrifice fly made it 3-0 in the third inning.

Prospect’s final run came in the bottom of the 4th when Michele Molini doubled and then scored on a single to left center by Cassie Poulos (2-for-3).

Wheeling, which left 10 runners on base., scored in the seventh when Anne Janulis (2-for-3) doubled with one out and later scored on Jackie Resnick’s single to left center. Sara Kern was 2 for 4 for the Wildcats while Angela Roman also had 2 hits for the Knights.

“We stranded way too many base runners,” said Prospect coach Jim Adair. “We’re still waiting to put two or three big hits together in the right situation where we can score a lot of runs in a hurry, but it was a well-played game.”

Maine West 7, Fenwick 4: Gina Larucci (3-for-4, 2 RBI) belted a 2-run homer for visiting Maine West (7-1) while Hanna Udischas (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Brie Montmarquette and Holly Wengerski each had doubles.

Winning pitcher Tara Nykiel (3-1) pitched the first five innings and Ariel Valles went the final two.

“It was a great defensive and offensive team effort,” said Warriors coach Amy Gonzales, whose team improved to 7-1.

Christian Liberty Academy 16, Chicago Hope 2 (4): Chargers pitcher Megan Sullivan threw a no-hitter (the game went 4 innings) and belted a home run while going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. Cory Kramer (2-for-3, RBI) and Jenn West (2-for-2, 2 RBI) also helped spark visiting CLA.