Softball: Carli sisters lead Glenbard South past Wheaton Academy
On a day when both softball pitchers were sharp, the wind was blowing in and not a single extra-base hit was recorded, Glenbard South did what it does best: win with real small ball.
The Raiders knocked off Wheaton Academy 4-0 Tuesday in Glen Ellyn with 2 runs in the third and 2 more in the fifth. The first runs came about after senior Payton Carli reached on a slap single and stole a base. Then her sister Mady Carli, a sophomore, put down a perfect bunt that led to a throwing error.
The Carli sisters duplicated their success in the fifth inning, once again getting a slap single, a stolen base and a bunt single by the younger Carli. Ashley Cohen's single made it 3-0, and then Mady Carli raced home with the team's fourth run after Warriors first baseman Courtney Kinane made a nice catch on a foul popup near the dugout. Mady Carli saw no one covering home on the play so she tagged and scored her second run of the game to match her sister's total.
"We can really count on our leadoffs to get on and get us going and then our bats to get us in," said Mady Carli, a center fielder who also made a diving catch to rob Rachel Savage of a hit in the fifth inning. "If Payton gets on I feel like I have to too, and it gets us going."
With Glenbard South manufacturing the four runs off Wheaton Academy pitcher Andi Pivaronas, Cohen had more than enough support. The Raiders senior tossed a 1-hit shutout while improving to 8-3 on the year.
"I felt very confident today and I was happy that we were able to back each other up when we needed it and not have it be a 1-run game," said Cohen, who struck out 8 batters. "Today with the wind blowing in it was important to keep the ball down and we got a lot of groundballs today."
Cohen was equally impressed with her team's ability to scratch out runs on a tough day for hitting. Mady Carli singled her first three trips to the plate, and each time the ball never traveled more than 5 feet.
"Baserunning is our thing. We're great at baserunning," Cohen said. "Mady taking advantage of the vacant home plate, that was just awesome."
With the win the Raiders stayed perfect at 6-0 in the Metro Suburban West and improved to 14-3 overall. Wheaton Academy, which lost 12-4 at home against the Raiders earlier this spring, dropped to 6-10, 3-6.
Warriors coach Sammy Marshall, however, was happy with the way Pivaronas pitched and with the team's defense that featured another sparkling catch by center fielder Meghan Gagliano.
"That's a very well-coached team, a very well-equipped team," Marshall said of the Raiders. "They hit the ball and our defense made plays behind Andi, which we didn't have the first time. I'm not going to be upset with this loss. It's a good learning experience still. Like I said, that's a very, very good team and the fact that we were with them the entire time is very encouraging. There are a lot of good things that came out of that loss."