Softball: Larkin shuts out Elgin, earns new traveling trophy
Elgin and Larkin will need to make room in their trophy cases for another traveling prize - The Golden Glove.
The award will go to winner of the yearly series between the two softball teams
The Royals will be guardians for the trophy's inaugural year after beating the Maroons, 10-0 Wednesday on their home diamond to sweep the 2-game series.
Larkin took control of the Upstate Eight Conference game with a 7 run second inning.
Elgin starting pitcher Madison King got her Larkin opposite, Chelsea Herrick, to line out to shortstop Monica Martinez to start the frame. Julissa Aguinaga followed with a single to left but was thrown out by Elgin's freshman catcher Alice Sondergaard trying to steal second during Angelica Gonzalez' at bat.
Gonzalez reached second base when Elgin misplayed her flyball in the outfield to start the rally. After Alanis Ortega walked, Camila Alonzo rapped a singled to center to score Gonzalez for the first run.
The next five batters all got on base by either a walk, a single or an error and pushed runners across the plate. Herrick plated the last two runs on her second at-bat of the inning on a fielding miscue.
Larkin (12-5, 8-4) added three more runs in the fifth to end the game on the 10-run rule.
"We didn't particularly really string together any hits. We hit a ball hard a couple of times that's pretty much it. We got on base a little extra with walks today," said Larkin coach Anne Vogt. "We capitalized on any mistakes that they made and got our 10 runs."
"I told the girls after game that get rid of that one error in the second inning and that's eight extra batters Madison didn't have to pitch to and that would have been a difference between being 7-0 and 0-0," Elgin coach Monica Stockman said. "Madison has been throwing very well this season."
Herrick retired the first eight batters she faced, giving up the first of three singles in the third inning.
Elgin (2-16, 1-11) threatened in the fifth, the only inning it had a runner in scoring position. Martinez opened the inning with a single to right and advance to second two batters later on a fielding miscue. She was forced out at third on Lizbet Gomez' grounder to the shortstop for the second out. Kathleen Bautista ended the inning with a groundout to second base.
"My job is to put the ball in the strike zone and if it gets hit, I trust my defense to get it for me," Herrick said. "I was throwing a lot of fastballs and curveballs. A curveball is my best pitch and that's what I used to get most of my batters out."
As for the Golden Glove, Vogt said Stockman deserves much of the credit.
"This is the first year that we've started doing this. There's a couple of things that get exchanged with Elgin. The boys have the jug for football," Vogt said. "(Stockman) put it together. I give her all the credit. We collaborated a little bit on it, but she did all the hard work. We will take it this year and see what happens next year."