Bartlett handles Glenbard East in 5
It's a busy week for the Bartlett softball team, a week in which the Hawks hope to refine their game to the point of contending for a regional championship next week.
They got it off to a good start on Monday, hammering out 11 hits in an 11-1 five-inning Upstate Eight Valley win over Glenbard East.
"It was a well-played game," said Hawks' coach Jim Wolfsmith, whose team plays Metea Valley, Glenbard East again and South Elgin this week before finishing the regular season Saturday night under the lights at Bandits Stadium in Rosemont against Antioch.
"We were really sharp in the field, really sharp at the plate and really sharp on the mound. This is a big week for us and it always has been."
Alyssa Nowak, Amber Pagan, Suzie Miceli and Danielle Kirby each had doubles for Bartlett (17-9-1, 10-7) and Kirby was stellar in the circle, allowing just 2 hits in 4 innings of work with 7 strikeouts and no walks. Pagan worked a 1-2-3 fifth.
The host Hawks hit Glenbard East freshman pitcher Elissa Versetto with 3 runs in the first inning and never looked back. Nowak and Pagan each drove in runs and another scored on a first-and-third steal between Elyse Hickey and Katie Fornoff.
Bartlett added 5 runs in the third with senior Sarah Schmitz (2-for-3) coming up with a 2-run single. Hickey, Miceli and Kirby each had RBI in the inning as well.
Wolfsmith substituted freely in the bottom of the fourth and four pinch hitters cooked up the runs the Hawks needed to win by the mercy rule. Ashley Barr led off with a single to center, Sydney Quagliano and Hannah Hentrich each walked and Jade Standefer delivered a 2-run single up the middle to make it a 10-1 game. Pagan then drove a single to right-center to score Hentrich with the 11th run.
Glenbard East (10-19, 7-12) had a bright spot in the top of the fourth when junior Marissa West jacked a line drive home run over the fence in left-center field. West had both of the Rams' hits in the game.
"She's consistent," said Rams' coach Nikki Simpson of West. "It doesn't matter what the score is you know you're going to get a great at-bat from her.
"But credit to Bartlett. They swung often, they swung early and it doesn't matter the count, they're aggressive. They had great at-bats today."
For the Hawks, the easy win was a bit of a breather during a season in which they have played 9 one-run games.
"We've had a lot of close games that haven't gone our way," said Wolfsmith, whose team is 3-6 in those one-run games. "Today we wanted to come out and hit line drives and we did that.
"I like the way the week started."