Softball: Huntley tops Jacobs, opens 2-game FVC lead
Huntley senior Marley Reicher looked to keep things simple with runners on first and third and two outs in the top of the fourth inning against Jacobs.
Despite her approach, the Red Raiders No. 2 hitter came up with the game's loudest hit.
On the first pitch from Jacobs' Delaney Garden, Reicher slapped the ball to the opposite field on a line, splitting the gap between left and center field and driving in Clara Hudgens and Katie Mitchell. Reicher, whose triple extended Huntley's lead to four, stood on third base and let out a big scream.
The Raiders added one more run in the fourth on a dropped fly ball and went on to defeat Jacobs, 5-1, in their Fox Valley Conference game.
"I was hoping to power slap it, just hit the ball hard and run," said Reicher, who finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and 2 RBI. "I wasn't going for anything big. I just wanted to get the run in, even if it was a dinky hit to the second baseman. That's all I was hoping for."
With the win, Huntley (20-6, 13-0) kept its perfect conference record intact with five games left. The Golden Eagles (15-6, 10-2) now trail Huntley by two games in the FVC. Both of their losses have come against Huntley.
Tuesday's game had a postseason feel to it, with the teams knowing the importance of the outcome.
"There's a little tension sometimes [between Huntley and Jacobs], I'd say, so it's a big win," Reicher said. "My sophomore year, we had a rough game against them, so I was happy we were able to come back and beat them twice. [Garden] is a very good pitcher, and I'm happy we were able to hit well off of her."
Ending the season as FVC champions, something the Raiders didn't do when they won the Class 4A state championship in 2019, is high among the team's goals.
"The first goal is to always win conference," Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said. "Not winning [in 2019] was a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow, so that was one of our challenges to this team. Taking down the second-best team in the conference today was a big step. We're going to get everybody's best."
Mississippi State commit Briana Bower (18-5) pitched all seven innings for the Raiders, with Jacobs getting its only run on a leadoff triple from Abbey Nesnidal that chased Mitchell to the fence and an RBI groundout from Kaitlyn Wysong in the seventh.
Bower scattered four hits and struck out nine over seven innings with no walks.
"[Jacobs] is a good team, and it was fun to go head to head with them," Bower said. "[The year] has flown by fast. I think, since we're pretty much playing every day, we're really jelling and we're getting our 1% better every day."
Mitchell, batting leadoff for the Raiders, finished 2-for-4 with 2 runs. Reese Hunkins and Bower each drove in a run. Jori Heard added two singles.
Since a 3-5 start to the season, Huntley is 17-1.
For Jacobs, Garden, Taylor Lynch and Hope Hernandez each picked up an infield hit against Bower. Garden allowed five runs (two earned) on nine hits in four innings, striking out six and walking none. Nesnidal struck out five and walked two over three scoreless innings.
Jacobs coach Katie O'Brien said her team needed to show a little more energy during their at-bats.
"At the end of the game, we talked about our energy and making sure that energy is as strong in the seventh inning as it is the whole game," O'Brien said. "As long as our whole team is in every at-bat, I think that makes a different for the individual batter."
Mitchell, who was set to play on varsity last year before the season was wiped away because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the early-season games helped build team chemistry.
"We play those hard teams at the beginning of the season, so we know what to look forward to," said Mitchell, whose older sister, Kendra, started on the 2019 state champions. "It helped set the tone for the season. It helped us a lot."