Softball: Undefeated Yorkville handles inexperienced West Aurora
Madi Reeves didn't show any emotion walking off the mound after the last out Thursday, and barely cracked a smile when her coach wished her a happy birthday.
It's just another day at the office for Yorkville's super sophomore.
Reeves celebrated her 16th birthday in sweet fashion, and continued Yorkville's sensational start to the season. She struck out 11 batters, and Mackenzie Melzer and the unbeaten Foxes gave her plenty of run support in a 10-2 Southwest Prairie Conference win at West Aurora.
Reeves (6-0) allowed three hits while walking five, and took a shutout into the sixth inning for Yorkville (8-0, 2-0).
"She is a gamer," Yorkville coach Jory Regnier said. "She goes out and does what she needs to do, and she knows exactly what that is. And we have a good group around her."
Melzer, Yorkville's senior leadoff hitter, was the spark plug, reaching base four times and scoring four runs.
She walked to lead off the game, promptly stole second and third base on successive pitches, and scored on a ground ball. Taylor Warren's two-out, two-run double made it 3-0.
"It felt good to get ahead early," Melzer said. "I definitely take as many bases as I can. I try to do that every game."
Melzer showcased her power game the next two at bats, doubling in a run after Reeves' one-out double in a three-run second and homering to center to start a three-run fourth for a 9-0 lead.
"Right off the bat I could feel it," Melzer said of the homer, "and then you go as fast as you can."
Sara Ebner, who had two hits, later singled in a run.
It was more than enough offense for Reeves, the way she's thrown during this young season. The hard-throwing right-hander has topped double-digit strikeouts in all six of her outings, totaling 84 so far. She struck out the side in the second and again in the sixth after allowing West Aurora's only two runs.
"Speed and spin, those are the big parts of my game," Reeves said. "We had a good win. We've had games where we were a little shaky on defense but today we were better."
Regnier knew she had a talented young pitcher entering her program last season. She planned to bring Reeves along in Yorkville's annual spring trip to Alabama before the pandemic canceled the 2020 season.
She's quickly showed her stuff this spring, starting with a 15-strikeout game in a nine-inning win at nonconference rival Kaneland.
"We never had an opportunity to see what these kids could do in game situations. Until I see it with my own eyes, I need to see what they can do," Regnier said. "She is off to a really nice start on the mound. As a sophomore she is super composed, she doesn't let much bother her which is great. That can be a struggle for a young pitcher - but not her."
Reeves proved a tough customer for a West Aurora team with six freshmen on its roster, five of them starting, freshman catcher Mackenzie Fraus playing her first full varsity game.
The Blackhawks (2-6, 0-2) broke up the shutout with Kennedy Zies' two-run single that scored Mia Malczyk and Sara Archer.
"She is a very good pitcher; that's probably the best team we've faced," West Aurora coach Randy Hayslett said. "The pitcher was great, had good velocity, did a good job going in and out and we knew she would be tough. Our girls, they're playing 14U ball. I know she's only a sophomore but that's 18U pitching. And that's a heck of a hard-hitting lineup, one through nine."