South Elgin 13, Larkin 3
In softball, hitting can become as contagious as chicken pox.
When it strikes, everyone gets affected.
After South Elgin center fielder Kim Price jacked a 3-run home run to right field Wednesday, the hitting bug ran through the Storm something awful South Elgin scored 13 runs off of 11 hits in just 4 innings as it defeated Larkin 13-3 in 6 innings in an Upstate Eight Conference game at South Elgin.
"It takes us a while to get going sometimes," South Elgin coach Jason Schaal said. "I believe that we have the bats and can be successful. It becomes contagious. Kim got us got us going and once we got on a roll we kept going."
South Elgin (4-2, 1-2) had not recorded a hit in the first two innings and trailed 3-0 before Price's home run. The Storm extended its lead to 6-3 after the fourth inning, before the 6-run fifth.
Price highlighted the fourth inning with a 2-run double that scored Katelyn Stonecipher and Caitlin Stredde. Both Stonecipher and Stredde nailed RBI singles in the inning. Pitcher Rebecca French (3-2) also had an RBI hit to score Lauren Vitiello.
"Every time someone gets a hit, it pumps everyone else up," Price said. "It boosted everyone's confidence."
Larkin (2-5, 2-1) was struck with a different type of virus.
"Just like hitting can be contagious, errors can be," Royals' coach Larry Hight said. "We opened the floodgates."
Larkin had played a perfect defensive game until allowing Stonecipher to reach base on an infield error in the fourth inning. The error also scored Brittany Boelter, which broke the 3-all tie. The Royals finished with 4 errors in the game
Larkin took a quick lead when leadoff batter Ellis Hatchett singled and scored in the first inning. Catcher Victoria Nino drove in the run for the Royals. Nino finished the game 3 for 3 with 2 RBI, but Larkin struggled with leaving runners on base.
The Royals left 6 runners stranded in the game, including a runner at third in both the first and sixth innings. Although leaving runners stranded hurt the Royals, Brittany Heine's pickoff may have been worse.
Heine walked to open up the fourth inning. With the game tied 3-3, any base runner could have changed the momentum. Heine then got caught with too big of a leadoff at first base, costing Larkin a valuable runner. French (8 Ks) retired the next 2 batters to end the inning.
Sarah McCleary (1-3) took the loss for the Royals.
"Softball is a game of momentum," Hight said. "We had it for three innings and then gave it to them."