Sophomore Kaylyn Eash’s hometown was kind to the Bears this weekend, as the women’s softball squad went 4-0 at the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament in Bloomington, Illinois. With these wins, the Bears upped their total to 22 on the season and remain in contention for a regional playoff berth.
In the first game, the Bears needed extra innings to knock off the University of Chicago. The Red and Green scratched out a few runs early, as junior Amanda Roberts scored on an errant Chicago throw to give the Bears the early advantage. The Bears would add to their lead when sophomore Amy Vukovich, who went 3-4 on the day, doubled home junior Laurel Sagartz to make the score 2-0.
The lead would remain 2-0 until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Bears, one out away from locking up the win, allowed Chicago to rally. Kate Rhodes, Vanessa Pineros and Cassie Wierenga notched three straight hits for the Maroons, evening the contest at two.
In the top of the eighth, Roberts, starting on second base as per tournament rules, used her speed to create another Bears run and give the squad a 3-2 lead. The University added two insurance runs to take a 5-2 lead, highlighted by senior Monica Hanono’s double down the right field line. Sagartz sealed the deal in the bottom of the inning for her 10th win of the season.
The second half of the double dip showcased Eash at her finest. Eash pitched a completegame shutout, allowing just two hits as the Bears beat Hope College 8-0. Eash complemented her fantastic pitching performance by launching a two-run home run over the right center field wall in the fourth. Junior Jamie Kressel added two hits and three RBIs and Roberts had two hits and stole her 11th base of the year as the Bears invoked their mercy against the hapless Hope squad.
Sunday’s opener featured a classic pitchers duel as Sagartz bested Illinois Wesleyan’s Lauren Hyland in a 1-0 Bears victory. The usually-dominant Sagartz took her game to an even higher level in this contest, fanning a school record 17 hitters en route to another shutout for the junior pitcher.
The Bears got their only run of the ball game in the sixth inning when sophomore Laura D’Andrea continued her season-long tear with a triple and Hanono added her third of three hits to drive her in. For the season, D’Andrea and Hanono are batting .493 and .451, respectively. Of her offensive escapades, Hanono said, “I played the simple game of see the ball and hit the ball. It sounds easy, but since I felt I had been struggling at the plate the last weekend, I told myself just to put the ball in play and see what happens.”
The final game of the tournament was a thriller as the Bears faced the University of Chicago once again. Freshman and starting pitcher Susan Gray got off to a rough start, giving up four runs in just an inning-and-a-third of action and the Bears fell behind 4-2 in the second inning.
Sagartz came in as relief and stopped the bleeding in the second. She would shut out Chicago for the final five innings of the game, giving the Bears offense a chance to respond. And respond they did. Hanono continued her brilliant weekend by tying the game with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. With the game tied at four, Sagartz showed that she could do it at the plate as well, singling home D’Andrea to break the tie. She then shut the door in the sixth and seventh innings finishing her brilliant day.
On Sunday, Sagartz struck out a total of 19 batters and earned both wins, while Hanono went 5-5 with a home run and four RBIs.
The Bears play host to Central College on Friday for a 4 p.m. doubleheader, and then have the weekend off before hosting Greenville College on Tuesday. The squad now stands at 22-3 overall.