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Softball: Schram powers Grant over Jacobs

Grant's Liz Schram certainly picked the most opportune time to display her power.

Schram's 2-run triple in the sixth tied the game at 3 while her solo homer in the ninth turned out to be the game-winner.

Schram's power surge provided seventh-seeded Grant with a stunning 4-3 come-from-behind 9-inning win over second-ranked Jacobs in semifinal action of the 4A Cary-Grove regional Tuesday afternoon.

Grant (16-16-1) will play the winner of Thursday's McHenry-Cary-Grove game for the regional crown Saturday at 11 a.m.

Schram struck out the first two times against Jacobs sophomore Delaney Garden.

"I felt I was still getting good swings the first 2 times," said Schram. "I was still seeing the ball well. On the triple and homer I knew I hit the ball hard. We got down early but we always keep battling."

Grant coach Chris Van Alstine knows Schram is capable of hitting the long ball.

"Liz is one of the most powerful kids we have had the last 3 years," said Van Alstine. "When she gets her pitch she can hit the ball a long way. She certainly came through in the clutch."

Giving up three runs to Jacobs (16-13) in the first 3 innings, Grant pitcher Juliana Reynolds blanked the Golden Eagles in the final 6 innings on 2 singles.

"After giving up the runs early I knew I had to shut them (Jacobs) down the rest of the way," said Reynolds. "I knew my teammates would score and come back. This is a great win for our team."

Schram, Megan Mitchell and Sarah Gallivan collected 2 hits each for the Bulldogs.

"Their pitcher (Garden) is very tough and we had trouble early in the game," said Van Alstine. "This group is known for coming back and always will keep their heads up and keep battling. This was a good win against a very good Jacobs team."

Jacobs scored one in the first on a run-scoring triple by Sarah Lynch and two in the third on a 2-run single by Seton Hall bound catcher Emily Pena.

"We got off to a good start and scored early but just couldn't add on," said Jacobs coach Katie O' Brien. "We had our chances to score more and get a bigger lead. We certainly had the advantage of being the home team in extra innings. We need one run to win. This was a disappointing loss but we had a great season."

Garden, who collected 3 hits, scored 2 runs and stole 3 bases, was the hard luck loser. The sophomore left-hander struck out 14 without a walk in 9 innings.

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