Softball: Di Silvio celebrates birthday with big day for Jacobs
Senior pitcher CiCi Di Silvio had one request on her birthday before Jacobs' Fox Valley Conference opener against Crystal Lake South.
"I asked everyone when we go out here, 'Guys, can we just get this win for me?' " said Di Silvio, a Wisconsin-Parkside commit. "It was the best. I had a fun time. Everybody was super loud and cheering, and I couldn't do it without them."
Di Silvio went the distance and had hits in her first three at-bats, and the Golden Eagles backed their birthday pitcher with 15 hits in a 11-7 victory over the Gators. The game began with a 30-minute lightning delay, and was called after six innings because of darkness.
Jacobs (2-4, 1-0 FVC) started the season with three straight losses, but has since won two out of three. The Eagles are hoping to be more competitive in the FVC after going 7-11 last spring. Monday's victory against a rival was a good start.
Di Silvio, who gave up four earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts, was proud of her defense for coming up with big plays behind her.
"It's a big deal to get the first [conference win]," Di Silvio said. "[South] has some really good hitters, but my defense was behind me the whole time. I'm not the type of pitcher who's going to strike out every person, so I need that good defense behind me. It was a great team win."
The Eagles turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the game after the Gators (1-2, 0-1) put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
In the second, Di Silvio snagged a line-drive catch off the bat of Hazel Hook to end the inning. In the fourth, second baseman Clare Piazza made a nice play to her left for the final out in the fourth to strand two runners for the Gators.
Piazza, normally an outfielder on her travel team, is still getting used to a new position.
"It's kind of a new thing for me," Piazza said. "It's just being closer to the ball. Things have really picked up for us. We're learning more about each other every day."
Jacobs first-year coach Jessica Turner said Piazza would try any position if it meant helping out her team.
"If you asked her to put on catcher's gear, she'd say, 'Absolutely, whatever you need,' " Turner said. "She's one of those kids who's willing to run through a wall, and I'm so happy to have her. I have 15 of those kids."
Di Silvio finished 3 for 4 with a double and one RBI, driving in the first run of the game in the first inning after a single and stolen base from Jianna Tanada (2 for 4, RBI). Jacobs led 3-0 after the first.
After South scored a run in the bottom of the second, the Eagles answered with five in the third to take an 8-1 lead. Piazza (3 for 4, 4 RBIs) connected on a two-run triple, and Avarie Lohrmann (3 for 4, 3 RBIs) and Tanada also added RBIs. Sam Wines was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Arya Patel drove in a run.
For South, Amelia Cervantes went 2 for 4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, and Dana Skorich (2 for 4) provided a two-run single in the sixth. Kennedy Grippo scored two runs, and Stephanie Lesniewski and Abby Lindquist also had RBIs.
Gators first-year coach Sara Markelonis said her team is still figuring some things out after bad weather canceled many of their earlier games this season. Outfield defense is a big point of emphasis early on.
"[Jacobs] did a great job of stringing hits together, and it took us awhile to gain that same momentum with our hitting," said Markelonis, a 2012 Cary-Grove graduate and former coach with the Trojans. "It's a new coach, it's a new season, and we're still learning.
"I love it here because it's me getting to know different kids. It pushes me to try and get to know them outside of just softball."