Softball: Kinney, Lisle surprise Westmont
As Lisle's No. 9 hitter, it's no surprise that freshman Kayla Kinney was called upon a couple times Tuesday night to put down sacrifice bunts.
What was a bit of a surprise - a pleasant one for the Lions - was what happened each time she was unsuccessful with her bunt attempts against visiting Westmont. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Sentinels on top 1-0, Kinney was called upon to bunt after the first two batters reached safely.
After a pair of unsuccessful bunt attempts, she was asked to swing away with two strikes and delivered a 2-run double over the left fielder's head for what proved to be the game-winning hit in a 5-1 Interstate Eight Conference victory.
In the sixth, with Lisle (7-16, 4-11) still clinging to that 2-1 lead at Benedictine University, the home team scored three insurance runs to put the game away. Again, Kinney fouled off a bunt attempt before eventually working the count full, then walking and scoring a run.
"It felt pretty good to hit the ball like that, especially after missing a couple bunts," Kinney said of her line-drive double that scored teammates Sam Harmon and Emma Rossin. "Yeah, it was one of my best hits (this year). The game was so tight the first few innings … but it was a fun one."
Sentinels coach Susan Zapanski, whose team has struggled to pick up wins this spring, felt her team played one of its better games. But sure enough it was done in by Kinney's surprise blast.
"I was like, Oh my gosh, OK two strikes, good. Oh no, not good," she said of the key at-bat in the fourth. "We've had some walks and some errors … but this is the game we're capable of playing."
Lisle knocked off Westmont 19-2 on Monday but had to work much harder against the one-win team the next day. Pitcher Amanda Ericson was up to the task, striking out nine batters while limiting the Sentinels to one run and seven hits.
She got a big lift from catcher Jamie Kaiser in the sixth inning when, with the score still 2-1, Kaiser threw out a baserunner trying to steal second and then made a diving catch on a short pop fly that she converted into an inning-ending double play.
"Yesterday was different, but they were both good (games)," said Ericson, who was the beneficiary of plenty of run support on Monday.
"It was not my best pitching today but I felt like I threw the ball pretty well and everyone was really playing well today behind me."
Lisle coach Trent Schalk was happy with his decision to ask Kinney to swing away in her clutch at-bat.
"I know what was going through her head: Is he going to give it to me?" said Schalk, who has asked players to bunt with two strikes on occasion this year. "But she did a great job. She got a pitch up and just drove it. She gave it a good ride over the left fielder's head so that was a key moment and a great job by Kayla.
"Sometimes things just work out. Just control what you can control. If you don't get two bunts down you've got to move onto the next pitch. She did that both times."
Westmont scored its run in the second after Cassie Bogacz doubled with two outs and came home on a single by Kaylee Charleston.