Softball: Lake Park slugs its way past Bartlett

Perhaps there's no good time pitching to Lake Park's stacked lineup this season, but certainly not on a warm, sunny day with the wind blowing out.

That's what Bartlett faced Saturday in a nonconference doubleheader at the Lancers' East campus, and Lake Park's hitters took full advantage. The Lancers bashed five home runs in the first game and six more in the second for a 20-9, 12-8 sweep.

"You get 80 degrees, wind, our girls are so strong that the only thing they need to do is put the barrel on it and it's going to go," Lancers coach Tom Mazzie said. "I thought their first pitcher (Addie Kuth) did a nice job working down in the zone. But you see more pitches and you are going to get to them."

Kuth pitched the first three innings for the Hawks (4-7) before giving way to Grace Wilkens. Lake Park (10-4) scored four times in the first, two in the second and five in the third to build an 11-3 lead.

Junior Lexi Szostak led the way, hitting three homers in the opener and another in the nightcap - though she hit them all so well the wind probably didn't matter.

"I feel like I was on the barrel the whole time," Szostak said. "They were shots. We were really working as a team and picking each other up and had rallies going to score a lot of runs."

Szostak's third homer came in the bottom of the fifth to put the Hawks up 18-9, and moments later senior Izzy Aviles ended the game with a walk-off 2-run blast, going down low on her swing to knock a drop ball out.

"You get that feeling when it goes over the fence, just an exciting feeling and adrenaline," Aviles said. "Ending the game like that felt amazing. You get that feeling when it hits the sweet part of the bat, just let it soar."

Szostak started in the circle for Lake Park but gave way to Regan Goffron in the second. Goffron earned the win after scattering 8 hits in her 4 innings.

Szostak finished 4-4 with 7 RBI; Cailynn Gdowski also homered. The Lancers' top three hitters - Breanna Caper, Michela Barbanente and Madelyn Fricano - only had 2 hits but walked six times and scored 9 runs.

Alexa Burzawa, Abby Tomillo and Elisiana Terracciano all had 2 hits for the Hawks and combined for 6 RBI. Tomillo homered.

"This is typical," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "Our pitching has been a struggle. Our hitting has been pretty solid. Our defense has been up and down. Right now we have one phase we are playing at a good level and the other two phases we have to work on. Part of that is not having the normal ramp-up to the start of a year. We have a week of practices and then games. And part of that is youth."

Lake Park again jumped ahead early in the second game, 2-0 after the first inning and 5-1 after the second.

Szostak homered again, and she had plenty of company with teammates Brynn Sheedy, Madi Kuban and Barbanente also homering, and Fricano hitting two out as part of a 3-for-4, 5-RBI game. Winning pitcher Donna D'Addabbo struck out nine for the Lancers while walking just one.

Burzawa (3 hits), Kuth and Amanda Frieden all homered for Bartlett.