Plainfield East Takes Advantage of Errors, Dominates Romeoville

More than a half-dozen errors crippled the Romeoville High School softball team as Plainfield East took advantage of the extra opportunities and used an offensive tear to cruise to a five-inning 14-3 win Tuesday.

The Bengals scored at least one run in all five innings of play and their aggressive base-running and solid hitting compounded the problems for the Spartans, making it a senior night to forget for the home team. 

Plainfield East's Annalise Molek was dominant on the mound, overcoming three defensive errors in the first and striking out nine while allowing two earned runs.

She did well at the plate, too, getting four hits, including a home run. She was a triple shy of the cycle. 

An attempted steal gone awry in the bottom half of the first by Spartans first baseman Jami Shawmeker cost the Spartans a tying run.

Shawmeker tried to force a rundown long enough for Michelle Spillman, who was on third, to score. Shawmeker, however, went too far on the play and was immediately tagged out.

The Bengals scored four runs the next inning, which ultimately put the game out of reach. 

“We have the physical talent but we need to put it together mentally," Romeoville coach Matt Hodges said.

Shawmeker went 2-for-3 with an RBI single. Kayla Toth was 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Plainfield East's Alora O’Malley Molk had a two-run homer and scored three runs. 

“They gave us plenty of opportunities and we really hit the ball well," Bengals coach Chris Morris said.

Plainfield East is 17-12 this season, Romeoville 12-15.