Softball: Prospect tunes up for MSL play by downing Libertyville
Temperatures were chilly, the drizzle kept up at a good pace and the winds were in play on Thursday in Mt. Prospect.
But Prospect's softball team was just trying to heat up its bats and other parts of its game for the start of defending its Mid-Suburban East title on Monday.
The Knights (3-1-1) succeeded quite well as junior pitcher Riley Depa struck out 12 and her offense produced 2 home runs, 2 doubles and 11 hits in a 7-3 nonconference win over visiting Libertyville.
Depa even had one of the home runs which proved to be the game-winning RBI when she clubbed a towering 2-run blast over the center-field fence in the bottom of the first.
Depa's roundtripper made up a 1-0 deficit thanks to Samantha Whisenand's leadoff homer for Libertyville which went high over the left-field fence.
"Riley did it with her pitching and her bat," said Knights junior second baseman Carley Jagiello who went 3-for-3 with a walk, stolen base and 2 RBI from the leadoff spot.
"It was nice to see that we were able to get people on base and move them over. We were able to string together some hits and did things as a team. We are excited for the conference to begin on Monday."
The Knights excited their fans by scoring another pair of runs in the second inning when junior Molly Gilhooly (2-for-3) and classmate Sara Hasan started out with hits. Junior Erin Pinter had a big RBI single to left in the inning. Senior Kathryn Keehan also singled home a run.
Prospect widened the lead to 6-1 in the fourth on Jagiello's RBI double and Keehn's sacrifice fly to center.
Jagiello added another hit in the sixth for her first 3-hit game of the season.
"That is why she is in the leadoff spot," said Prospect coach Krystina Mackowiak. "She has had kind of a slow start to the season but we've been waiting for her to break out. And here it was."
A home run by junior Ashley Simon (2-for-3, double) to right-center made it 7-1 in the fifth inning.
Depa threw a 6-hitter to sophomore receiver Rachael Sasanuma.
"That's pretty impressive for a day like today," said Prospect coach Krystina Mackowiak. "Riley did a good job, especially after giving up a home run to start the game. And she hit the home run herself. She does it all.
"It was great to see some live pitching today and get this game in before we start conference next week."
The Wildcats (4-6) scored their final 2 runs in the sixth inning, thanks to base hits from freshmen Makayla Boone and Zoe Kinsella (2-for-3) followed by Anna Mitchell's line drive 2-run, 2-out double to center field that made it 7-3.
"I'm really proud of Anna," said Libertyville coach Sean Ferrell. "Since I took over we have put a big emphasis on lifting in the weight room and she has lifted all year. The time she put in the weight room showed in that ball she hit there.
"We're coming along," Ferrell added. "We're trying to build a culture and I like the culture we're building. Obviously, we've got things to work on but we're going to keep doing it and I like how we play together."
The second-year coach used two pitchers with junior starter Jeanette Jenkinsin and freshman reliever Adriana Callahan.
"I'm proud of Jeanette," Ferrell said. "That's only the second time she has started all season. We wanted to get her work. We needed another pitcher and we asked her to put time into it. She worked all of the off-season and has done well for us. She will help us. We need her. And Adrianna has pitched quite a bit for us.
"This group is very close and the girls are unselfish. They care about each other and they compete, We are young. We have four freshmen who play significant roles for us."