Close Calls Spoil Softball Weekend

Throughout the season, Batavia’s softball team has enjoyed a power surge.

In 16 games, the Bulldogs (12-4, 6-4) have smacked a total of 24 home runs. While the long ball played a huge part in their 14-0, five-inning rout of Larkin last Monday (April 25), their bats cooled a bit during back-to-back, 4-2 losses to Lake Park and St. Charles North this past weekend.

Trying to hand St. Charles North (15-1, 9-0) its first conference defeat Saturday, the Bulldogs began the game in style. Leadoff hitter Katie Ryan belted her 10^th home run of the season over the fence in right-center field.

It was Ryan’s fifth lead-off home run and marked the second consecutive day that her first-inning long ball put Batavia on top early.

Moments later, Meghan Fabian reached on an outfield miscue and scored on a wild pitch from North Stars ace Amanda Ciran to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. However, they also let Ciran off the hook, leaving two runners stranded.

Batavia pitcher Katie Neubauer (5-2) was cruising along until the fourth when Ciran’s RBI double cut the Bulldogs’ lead in half, 2-1.

Batavia wasted an opportunity to add an insurance run in the sixth as Christine Lynam doubled and reached third with one out before Ciran worked out of the jam, getting Brooke Nelson and Emily Dorjath to hit groundballs to first baseman Caitlin Khoury.

St. Charles North, which has won 14 straight games, tied the game on Emily Watts’ RBI single in the bottom half of the sixth before Annie Korth’s two-run, seeing-eye single through the left side proved to be the back-breaker.

“I knew we needed to score there in the top half of the sixth,” said Batavia coach Ashley Szymski.

Against Lake Park, the Bulldogs suffered a similar fate despite finishing with nine base hits, including solo home runs from Ryan and Nelson.

After grabbing a 2-0 lead in the second, the Bulldogs left runners in scoring position through the next four innings while the Lancers rallied for four runs off of pitcher Katie Coleman.

“We needed to string hits together,” said Szymski. “That’s what hurt us. It has happened a couple of times now.

“Give Lake Park credit. They made good contact,” added Szymski. “It wasn’t a defensive issue. They strung their hits together.”

Batavia began the game in impressive fashion, as Fabian threw out Shannon Fritsche at the plate to end the Lancers’ half of the first inning. Ryan then stepped up and smacked an opposite-field, lead-off home run to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

“This is a game where anything can happen,” said Szymski. “Every inning is new. You can make a great play and then turn around and give up four runs.”

Despite the back-to-back defeats, Szymski remains confident.

“These were good games,” she said. “It showed that we can play with anybody.”

Batavia begins a five-game, five-day stretch with Tuesday’s home contest against Streamwood.