Softball: Cary-Grove blanks Dundee-Crown in regional opener
Cary-Grove freshman Madilynn Crick has showed off some big power in practice, routinely sending the ball over the outfield fence, but that had yet to translate to an actual game.
That all changed Wednesday, as Crick hit C-G's first home run of the season to lead the Trojans to a 10-0 victory over Dundee-Crown in five innings in the teams' Class 4A regional semifinal. C-G (5-18) advances to Friday's regional final against Jacobs (22-6).
After Gwenn Moran and Becca Weaver opened the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back singles, Crick, a lefty, launched a three-run home run over the left-field fence against Chargers starter Annabelle Pederson.
Weaver, who started in the circle for the Trojans, said Crick has been hitting the ball hard and far in practice. She had a pretty good feeling that Crick might get a hold of one Wednesday.
"We were just ready for her," Weaver said. "She has carried the team a lot, so that was really good and helped. That gave us a jump."
Crick said she was looking for a fastball during her first at-bat. When she got it, she jumped on it.
"Once it hit the bat, I knew it was going, just because of how it felt," said Crick, who was 2 for 3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. "It just felt so good. That definitely brought our momentum up and just kept us going throughout the game."
Trojans coach Tammy Olson was happy to see Crick's hard work pay off in a big spot.
"That was the first one of the season, so that was really quite special," Olson said. "To [get] it in the regional, she's been hitting hard, so it's just really a pleasant thing to see her finally get that accomplishment."
C-G added six runs in the second on five hits. Moran, Crick and Katelyn O'Malley each had RBI hits, while Allison Garski and Gianna Arnieri added RBI groundouts. The Trojans' other run in the second scored on an error.
Garski drove in the 10th and last run for the Trojans in the fourth on a fielders choice after a leadoff double by Emily Green.
Weaver allowed only three hits in the five-inning shutout, striking out seven and walking none. No Chargers batter reached second base.
Playing in her first postseason game, Weaver kept a familiar approach.
"My locations were really good, and I had a really good defense behind me," Weaver said. "It's a little more intense, so I think everyone brought up their energy. For me, I just did the same thing because it's been working."
Moran went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI for C-G, Weaver was 2 for 3 with two runs, and Green was 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Garski drove in two, and O'Malley was 2 for 3 with an RBI and run scored.
Addison Pino, Kailyn Wiebe and Monica Sierzputowski each had a hit for D-C.
The Chargers finished with a 2-22 record in a challenging season that included a two-week COVID-19 quarantine break and a tough loss when their No. 1 pitcher, McKayla Anderson, broke her hand sliding into home plate during the first week of games.
The Chargers will return 14 of 16 players next year, with only Mariana Lewis and Hailey Dienst graduating.
"We have a really young team this year, and everyday our goal was just improvement," Beatty said. "We really had to focus on what we did right, even if it was one thing a game. Sometimes, success doesn't come in wins, it comes in us getting better every day."