Softball: Metea Valley stays hot with extra-inning win over Waubonsie
It's been a happy week so far for the Metea Valley softball team.
After winning big at DeKalb on Tuesday, 15-0, the Mustangs won another DuPage Valley Conference battle on Thursday over visiting Waubonsie Valley, 6-5 in eight innings.
The breaking of the deadlock began in the bottom of the eighth with Nia Lewis reaching base on a fielding error.
Next came leadoff hitter Riley O'Neill whose well-placed single fell right in the middle of three fielders and moved Lewis to third after she had stole second. An error on the same play sent Lewis home with the winning run.
"I have told the girls the whole season that we have been right there in every game," said Metea coach Michaela Schlattman. "But we needed to close the door in close games."
It was O'Neill's fourth hit of the afternoon which included a double and she scored twice.
"I needed to get a hit with Nia on base," she said.
Lewis also scored twice.
"It has to be go, go whenever I am on base," she said.
Lewis said the Mustangs' recent success comes down to solid team play.
"It's camaraderie. The team works well together."
Metea (5-10 overall, 3-4 DVC) tied the game in the sixth with a two-run rally. Lewis reached on an infield hit with one out. O'Neill then singled to center. Lewis was plated on Grace Feeley's infield hit and O'Neill soon came home on a groundout by Reese Valha.
Waubonsie (6-12, 4-3) finished with 10 hits and showed plenty of offense on Thursday, but just not enough.
"We didn't adjust. We needed to make a few adjustments. And we beat ourselves in the last inning. We'll learn from this and move on," said Warriors coach Val Wood.
Waubonsie jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in their half of the third thanks to one run in the second and two the following frame. In the second, Hannah Laub led off with a double and scored on Avery Kahl's single to right.
With one out in the third, Anna Riggs and Megan Kennedy hit back-to-back singles. Riggs was safe on a throw to a plate after a fly out and Kennedy scored on Alison Keppler's single to right.
Riggs finished with three hits on the afternoon.
The Warriors made it 5-1 in the fifth. Riggs again singled with one out and would scored on an error. The other run came courtesy of Mackenzie Ondrejcak's single which scored Laub, who had reached on an error.
Metea made it 5-3 in its half of the fifth thanks to Madelyn O'Neill's single to right field.