Softball: Zdroik does it all in St. Edward win at Lisle
It was not a perfect day for St. Edward pitcher Lindsay Zdroik on Saturday. In fact she lost a no-hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Yet the Green Wave senior was nearly perfect both in the circle and at the plate while powering St. Edward to a 6-0 defeat of Lisle in the Class 2A sectional championship game at Benedictine University.
After the Lions' Anna Palicka tripled in the gap with one out in the seventh, Zdroik had to "settle" for a 1-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts. At the plate all she did was go 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs while driving home all six of the runs scored in the game.
"It's really exciting. I wanted it so bad," she said after helping the Green Wave claim its first sectional crown since 2008. "We all came in a little nervous, but I think the nervousness was just positive energy and it turned out well."
Zdroik pitched a 5-inning perfect game earlier this year with 15 strikeouts, and the Valparaiso University recruit also tossed a no-hitter in the regional finals.
But Saturday's game was her best all-around effort. She hit a 2-run homer to center field for a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, then dropped a 2-run bloop single to right in the third for a 4-0 lead. In the fifth she ripped an 0-2 pitch well over the fence in left for her 12th home run of the spring.
St. Edward catcher Allie Stratman, who has caught her best friend for many years now, was not too shabby herself against Lisle, going 2-for-2 with 2 walks and scoring four times.
"It feels fantastic. For the past four years we've been working towards this. It feels really good our senior year to finally be able to do it," said Stratman, who was on base for both of Zdroik's long balls. "I've been catching her about eight years. She was hitting her spots really well today. She was super fast but she's always fast. She was really on today."
Lisle coach Trent Schalk could only tip his hat to the Green Wave star, who ended his team's campaign at 13-16.
"She was on her game today," he said. "You can see why she's going to further her career in college. She hit her spots very well and she had a lot of movement on her ball. We just weren't able to time it up like we wanted to do. She got the better of us today unfortunately."
St. Edward's Paul Netzel, a 72-year-old in his first season as coach, knows he has something special in his team's batterymates.
"Allie goes out there and catches her and she calls the game. She's the field general," he said of Stratman. "She does it all and they're best friends. It's a nice combination."
With the win the Green Wave improved to 24-8 on the year and advance to Monday's supersectional in Rosemont against Peotone, a 3-0 victor against Beecher at the Dwight sectional.
For Lions senior Mel Ericson, Saturday's loss ended a stellar three-sport tenure at Lisle.
"We're happy with the way we came together this season and with getting this far," said Ericson, who also played basketball and volleyball at the school. "It's nice to end this way with a great team like this. I've had a lot of fun and a lot of games."