Softball: Naperville Central knocks out West Chicago
It was the final home game of the season Monday for the Naperville Central softball team, and the Redhawks put on quite a finale.
Naperville Central scored 14 runs, batting around in the second inning and sending eight hitters to the plate in the third and fourth to win 15-4 in five innings over West Chicago in a Class 4A Batavia regional quarterfinal.
The Redhawks (11-22), seeded 15th in the Plainfield East sectional, move on to a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday regional semifinal at Batavia against second-seeded West Aurora. The Blackhawks won the teams' only meeting in late April.
Naperville Central finished with 12 hits, and it was an example of what the team has been trying to achieve consistently all season.
"We're super excited (about advancing). We were making adjustments hitting and that's something we struggled with early on," said Redhawks shortstop Lindsay Gonzalez.
Gonzalez and catcher Abbey Place each smashed a 2-run double in the 4-run third. Gonzalez finished with three RBI on the afternoon.
"This season, sometimes the top of the lineup would be hitting and the bottom part wouldn't. Or the bottom part would be hitting and the top wouldn't. We're now starting to put it together," Place said.
The Wildcats (8-24), an 18th seed, struck first in the opening inning. Leadoff hitter Maddie Smith singled to center and Aimee Cejna's basehit brought her home with two outs.
The Redhawks responded in their half of the inning with the same scenario that West Chicago used. Leadoff hitter Gonzalez singled to center and also with two outs, Meredith Siambekos singled to center to score Gonzalez. Siambekos' hit was considered crucial, according to coach Andy Nussbaum, because it evened out the momentum and Naperville Central didn't go into the second inning trailing.
Naperville Central tagged the Wildcats for five runs in the second with Siambekos' sacrifice fly and Savanna Schmitz's RBI basehit being the big run-producing plays.
The Wildcats scored twice in the third to cut the Redhawks' advantage to 6-3 with the help of Isabella Zentner's two-out, 2-run double.
Gonzalez's and Place's 2-run doubles took place, and then the Redhawks tagged West Chicago for 5 runs in the fourth to start drying the ink on the outcome.
Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly and Claire Busch hit a 2-run single to help bring runners home.
The Wildcats got what would be their final run of the season in the fifth when Barbara Richert led off with a walk and Megan Kordik's single to right scored her.
The winning pitcher was Staci Stark, who went the distance and struck out four.
"(The offense) was great to see," Nussbaum said. "I can't tell you the last time we had that many hits. "Everyone contributed. Even the bunts were productive and we were making run-scoring sacrifice flies.
"(Tuesday) will be a big test. But it was nice to get a win under our belts as this is the last home game for the seniors. It wasn't perfect. But it was very, very nice."
The majority of the West Chicago roster returns in 2017, and coach Kim Wallner wants the players to focus on one thing.
"They need to be more resilient. We were young, but now they have had a full season. And in games that you get down early, you can't give up.
"It's hard when it's 12, 13 runs down. But when it's 4 or 5, you need to stay with it. The bats are lively. The balls are lively. Anything can happen," she said.