Softball: Fittingly, Footes both in fine form for Antioch

Jill Foote says she and her kid sister, Piper, hear all the time how they look similar. It's particularly true when the Footes wear their matching Antioch softball caps and jerseys with the nearly identical numbers.

But, oh, it's just coincidence that 5-foot-2 junior Jill wears No. 28, while 5-4 freshman Piper flips it around to sport No. 82.

"We didn't plan it," Jill said. "(Piper's) favorite number is 82, so I just picked the smallest jersey, and it was (No.) 28."

Tuesday, the Footes put up similar offensive numbers. Antioch, coincidentally, beat visiting Prospect by similar scores, sweeping the nonconference doubleheader by five-inning finals of 18-4 and 16-1.

Antioch, which put up 17 runs a day earlier against Johnsburg, improved to 5-1.

"We did a lot really well," coach Anthony Rocco said after his Sequoits pounded out 32 hits in just eight innings and didn't commit an error in the field. "The past couple of days the ball is really carrying off the bat. We're putting the ball in good spots, we're making a lot of really great plays defensively, and our pitching has been pretty spot-on."

The Footes flourished against Prospect. In Game 1, Piper, batting in the No.-9 spot, belted a grand slam to cap a nine-run first inning. She added an RBI single and 2-run double to finish 3-for-3 with 7 RBI.

"It was just nice to get out there and hit like I know I can, help the team out and get some runs," Piper said.

Jill went 2-for-3 with a solo homer from the leadoff spot and, like Piper, scored 3 runs.

It was the first time the Footes had accomplished the feat of homering in the same game. Fact is, they haven't played on the same team since Piper was in sixth grade and Jill was in eighth at Antioch Upper Grade School.

"When mine came off the bat, it just felt really nice," Jill said of her homer to center field. "I just knew it was gone."

"It was pretty similar for me," said Piper, whose first varsity homer cleared the fence in left. "It felt good coming off the bat."

The Footes didn't cool off in Game 2. Like Piper, Jill had a 4-RBI first inning. She led off with her second homer of the day (third in two days) and hit a three-run double her next time up, as Antioch put up 11 runs in the opening inning. Jill finished 2-for-4, while Piper (0-for-1) knocked in another run and scored two more times.

And to think Prospect had beaten Glenbrook South 18-5 in its season opener last Friday.

"We played like a hundred times better, but Antioch is a really, really good team," Prospect coach Jim Adair said. "They did everything right, and it seemed like we had a hard time doing anything right. ... We looked like a bunch of sophomores. Which is pretty much what we are."

Collen Palczynski and Cate Meersman provided Prospect a couple of highlights in Game 1, as they hit back-to-back homers off Sequoits starter Stephanie Bonaguidi in the third. Palczynski's 3-run shot put the visitors on the board.

The Knights hit balls hard in each game, but the Sequoits played flawlessly in the field. Ashley Stephens and Annie Wagner shined at shortstop and second base, respectively. Left fielder Kaylee Schreiner made a running catch near the line.

"When we hit the ball to them, they made plays," Adair said. "Antioch is extremely well-coached, they're very athletic, and they hit the ball all over the place. I can't remember the last time I've seen just so many base hits bouncing all over the place."

Besides Piper Foote, Katie Sorenson (2-run double) and winning-pitcher Bonaguidi each had 3 hits in the opener. Jill Foote, Stephens (2 RBI) and Wagner each contributed a pair of hits. Stephens was 3-for-3 in Game 2, while Jill Foote, Wagner (double), Carlie Gaylord (double, 4 RBI), Deighton Butenschoen (double) and Jacklyn Geraty each had 2 hits.

In her first varsity start in the circle, freshman-lefty Sorenson pitched 3 innings, allowing only 2 hits, including a double to Alex Kanter.

"The questions we talked about (before the season) we're finding out we got solutions for," Rocco said. "We got two good catchers, I feel good with the couple of first basemen we have, and Katie (Sorenson) has done a great job in the (No.) 2 spot for us."