Softball: Minooka Rallies Past Naperville North

The Minooka softball team rallied with a three-run fifth inning to defeat visiting Naperville North on Tuesday in the opener for both schools.

While temperatures in the mid-40s and a stiff wind blowing straight in at 25 mph made for less than ideal conditions, both teams has its share of positives and negatives, which you'd expect for the first game of the season.

Naperville North (0-1) jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead as it manufactured runs in the top of the second and third innings. Emily Dieckmann singled to lead off the second inning and moved all the way to third base on a pair of passed balls. Dieckmann jogged across the plate on an RBI single by Tara Degl'Innocenti.

The Huskies scored their run in the top of the third without hitting the ball out of the infield. Michelle Cavoto reached on an error, stole second base and then moved to third on Sammy Marshall's sacrifice bunt. Cavoto scored on another Minooka error.

"We didn't hit the ball real well there but it was a positive to put a couple of runs on the board like that," said Naperville North coach Jerry Kedziora. "It was cold out there and our first game. We made some mistakes and saw some good things happen too."

Minooka (1-0) cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning when Sara Novak's fly ball to right field was knocked down by the wind and fell near the right-field line for an RBI double. Alycia Zembruski, who leadoff the inning with a two-bagger, scored on the hit.

The visitors added an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning to move ahead 3-1. Caitlyn Warren singled sharply to left field, but backup catcher Jordyn Frieders couldn't handle the throw at the plate and Marshall scored. Frieders had replaced starting catcher Kayla Ruettiger in the second inning after Ruettiger sustained an injury to her throwing hand.

Ruettiger could still swing the bat, though, and she was the one who got the Indians going in the bottom of the fifth inning. She singled, but was still left standing in scoring position with two outs. Jaclyn Lilek doubled her home to pull the Indians to within 3-2 and then Zembruski, a University of Northern Iowa recruit, clobbered her second double of the game, this one tying things at 3-3.

Lindsey Fenner followed with the third straight double for the Indians to bring Zembruski home and give Minooka its first lead of the game, at 4-3.

"I've seen them hit and this is what they're capable of doing," Minooka coach Mark Brown said. "I think they're going to be able to hit all season."

Losing pitcher Hannah Skrabacz had limited the Indians to a single run and three hits through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth inning.

"It was her first game," Kedziora said. "She got some balls up there and they took advantage of them."

Zembruski led the winners with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI.

"It felt good to get out and see live pitching again," she said. "After getting that first hit, I felt pretty confident."

Lilek took over for Payton Laczynski who surrendered one earned run in three innings. Lilek benefited from her team's late rally, which she was also a key part of with her RBI double in the fifth, to pick up the victory.

Lilek was touched for only three hits, while only walking one and striking out three in four innings of relief.

"When it's so cold like this you have to approach pitching differently," Lilek said. "I just tried to get comfortable and then hit my spots."

The Indians put the tying the go-ahead runs on base via errors with one out in the top of the seventh but Lilek induced Dieckmann into a game-ending double play. Third baseman Taylor Edwards stepped on the bag for the force and then fired to first base to seal the contest.

Although the victory was the first of the season for the Indians, it was also the first in Brown's career, as he has taken over for coach Amy Saelens who is on maternity leave.

 "I told the girls that you will always remember youe first win and I couldn't be more proud than to be associated with this group," he said.

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