Softball: Gordon gets it going late for Hersey in 5-4 win at Elk Grove
When Hersey junior Chloe Gordon stepped into the batter's box, she knew she had to reach base to keep her team alive in Tuesday's Mid-Suburban East softball game at Elk Grove.
The Huskies trailed 4-2 in the top of seventh with runners on first and second and two outs.
"I was in the mindset that I just wanted to get the ball out in the field," she said "I was going to hit whatever pitch looked good. If it's a first-pitch strike, you've got to swing. That might be the only good pitch you get."
Gordon got a strike and Hersey got its biggest hit of the game.
She drilled the first pitch to the right center gap for a double that scored Hannah Graff (reached on error) and Sarah Bailitz (singled to right) to tie the game at 4-4.
Moments later Gordon scored on Renae Curtis' infield single and that run proved to be the difference in Hersey's 5-4 victory.
Junior pitcher Brianna Luciano (3-2) finished her 7-hitter in the bottom of the seventh where she recorded one of her career-high 14 strikeouts.
The Huskies raised their record to 9-2 in 4-1 in the MSL East. Elk Grove, which had won six of its last seven games, stands at 6-7 and 2-3.
"Chloe is clutch," Luciano said. "She stepped up huge. I can't believe she hit that ball so far. She is awesome."
The Grenadiers took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, thanks to an RBI infield single by Morgan Leach and a bases-loaded walk to catcher Katia Pendowski, who hit her seventh homer of the season in the third inning.
Pendowski also had a terrific catch up against the backstop of a pop foul by Luciano for the first out of the seventh inning.
But Bailitz followed with her single to right before Grens sophomore Lauren Clausen got the second out on a grounder to third baseman Jaimie Klicka.
That's when Gordon stepped up for her game-tying double, her third in the Huskies' last four games.
"I just wanted to get those run in however I could," she said. "The first pitch was a strike so I figured I had to swing, and it worked."
"We ask all our hitters to be aggressive and Chloe has been hitting well lately," said Hersey coach Molly Freeman. "That's why she was in our designated player spot. She has worked and worked to be given the opportunity and she got ti done today. She produced big for us."
Bailitz, who went 2-for-4 and was robbed of a third hit on a nifty running catch by Grens center fielder A.J. Trausch, doubled home 2 runs in the top of the first inning to give Hersey a 2-0 lead.
Clausen (3-2) came on in relief and ended up giving 4 hits in 6⅔ innings.
"Lauren did a great job," said Elk Grove coach Ken Grams. "The bottom line to me is that we left too many runners on base. That's what comes back to get you. And there were a couple of plays we could have made, but that's the name of the game in high school softball."
Leach, Klicka (2 doubles) and Clausen each went 2-for-4 for Elk Grove while Olivia Masnica, Pendowski and Trausch each had 1 hit.
Luciano, who struck out the side in the second, fourth and sixth innings, had a first-inning double for one of Hersey's 9 hits. Curtis (2-for-3) and Bailitz were multiple hitters while Makayla Tsagalis, Graff, Jodi Hermann and Gordon each had one.
"I can really count on my teammates to hit when I need them," Luciano said of the Huskies' big seventh-inning rally.
"Brianna has been throwing well," Freeman said of the Winona State recruit. "And today she did it against big hitters. They had a lot of home runs the day before (five in an 11-4 win at Prospect) and they were swinging hard. Elk Grove is always going to give you your money's worth. They're a good team and they've got good hitters. To hang in there and stay confident when up against their big bats shows a lot of growth from Brianna."