Soph Hurler Fans 12, But Kits Fall At New Trier

After striking out 12 and also hitting an inside-the-park home run, it should have been the best bus ride back to Evanston ever in the short softball career of Samara Herman-Lopez.

Instead, the trip came after just another loss.

Lack of defensive support cost the sophomore pitcher again in a 15-6 loss at New Trier Thursday. The Wildkits fell to 1-9-1 on the season despite leading for the first half of the contest in the Central Suburban League South division matchup that was moved from Evanston to Northfield due to wet playing conditions at ETHS.

The two rivals will meet again on May 5^th and first-year head coach Greg Liske couldn’t be blamed if he expects a different outcome the second time around.

Officially, Evanston only committed two errors when Herman-Lopez was in the circle, and one of those miscues was a meaningless error in the sixth when the outcome was already decided. But it was the plays that the Wildkits DIDN’T make --- including a couple of collisions on popups --- plus six stolen bases and a pair of bunt singles that allowed the Trevians to overcome early deficits of 2-0 and 5-2 and earn the victory.

Herman-Lopez recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, dominating the bottom of the New Trier batting order for the most part, and looked like the kind of ace Liske can count on to help turn the program around by the time she graduates.

At some point she’ll get a little more help from her friends.

“You have to remember that we have a lot of brand-new players on the varsity this year,” Liske said. “We always say that losses don’t mean anything if you don’t continue to learn from them. We’ll make more of those plays if we show the growth that we expect.

“Samara really hit her spots today. Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to. I’m really proud of the way she pitched, and as long as she maintains her confidence out there, she can be unstoppable.

A walk, a double by Siena Bowen (2-for-4, two runs-batted-in) and an RBI single by Katie Lindsay-Ryan staked Herman-Lopez to a two-run lead before she even threw a pitch. But a dropped third strike, a hit batter, a passed ball and a wild pitch set the stage for New Trier’s Lyla Andelin to tie the score with a two-out, two-strike single in the bottom of the frame.

The Wildkits regained the lead again in the third. Jessica Frolichstein walked and a single by Sophie Berger-White chased New Trier starter Brooke Parker. Bowen’s second hit produced another run, and the Kits tallied two more on the same play later in the inning.

With Berger-White on third base and Bowen on second, Trev catcher Jenna Maclaclhan couldn’t handle a pitch from reliever Addy Varca and Berger-White dashed home. Maclachlan’s return throw to the pitcher was off-target, and Bowen also scored.

Varca, a senior righty, allowed just two ETHS hits the rest of the way. One of them was a blast into the right field corner by Herman-Lopez with one out in the fourth that resulted in a rare inside=the-park home run.

Herman-Lopez yielded three hits to open the New Trier third, but might have escaped a big inning outcome except for a two-run throwing error by second baseman Evelyn Kaiser. A three-way collision on a popup that fell safely between catcher Lindsay-Ryan, third baseman Bowen and pitcher Herman-Lopez kept the inning alive and another passed ball helped the hosts tack on another run.

New Trier added four more in the fourth, and five in the fifth against reliever Esha Ghose, who walked three and permitted three hits before Herman-Lopez returned to finish the game in the circle.

Liske said that, to date, his inexperienced squad hasn’t any problem keeping the big picture in mind despite scoring only one win so far this spring.

“No, our record isn’t great,” he said. “But as the season goes on I know the girls are still confident that they’ll have success. You can’t go anywhere if you don’t love the game first, and they do. They just have to recognize what they have to do to get better.

“They can see the writing on the wall. They know that we have the potential to be a good, solid ballclub.”