Softball: Jordan's clutch hits push Fremd past Warren

Ava Jordan sure got the most of her first multihit game of the young softball season.

The senior left fielder made each one count with RBI singles in her first two at-bats to help lead the Vikings to a 5-4 win over visiting Warren on a chilly and windy Wednesday afternoon/night in Palatine.

Jordan's two big hits came in the first inning (right field with two outs) and the third (left field with one out).

"The great thing about Ava is that she doesn't back away from the moments," Fremd coach Josh Teschner said about his No. 6 hitter. "She comes up, sees the situation, shortens up her swing and does what is necessary. She is a team player. We love her."

Two other big hits from the bottom of the order came from junior No. 9 hitter Ryanne Goodwin (2-for-3, double).

"When our team is hitting up and down the lineup, it really helps and we did really well with that today," said Jordan, an Alfred University (New York) recruit. "Ryanne had some really good hits that helped us win the game."

Also coming up with a pair of hits for Fremd (4-2) was shortstop Anna Poss (2-for-4, double) while teammates Kalyn McCarthy (1-for-2, 2 walks), Elaina Kraus (double) and Eva Dernis also hit safely.

Kraus' stand-up double to the left-center gap came in the first inning was followed by Poss' RBI single for a quick 1-0 lead with no outs.

After the first of 6 strikeouts by Warren ace Sydney Jackson (5-2), Dernis' RBI groundout brought home Poss for a 2-0 lead followed by Jordan's RBI giving Fremd a 3-0 advantage after one inning.

"Ava has been battling to get the mechanics back into her swing and she has put a lot of extra work in the batting cages here and with her instructor," said Fremd coach Josh Teschner. "She is a hard worker who understands the importance of giving back to your team. By simplifying her swing and just giving us the opportunity to score runs there is the Ava we knew from her freshman year and the Ava we knew from the end of last season. To see it come out again today is obviously the key to our win."

McCarthy's single gave Fremd a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth before Warren got within 5-4 with back-to-back RBI doubles by Hailey Conger and Nikki Peter after No. 9 hitter Kaitlyn Weidemann had tripled to lead off the sixth.

Fremd starter and Rhodes College (Memphis) recruit Gina Dudley (3-1) then got three straight flyouts to end the inning. Lauren Graham threw the final two innings to earn the save, retiring six of the final seven batters she faced.

"That's a look (Dudley and Graham combination) we've known all season we were going to have to look at," Teschner said. "We took a look at it against Montini (loss on Monday) and it backfired just a little. But you know putting a player in against a tough lineup in the middle of the game when they're both front-runners and great pitchers on their travel circuit is tough. But we knew against a dynamic lineup like Warren, we had to do it."

The Warren lineup finished with 7 hits, led by Josie Leibfried (2-for-3) with a double. Butler-bound Hailey Conger, Colorado School of Mines recruit Sophie Furniss, Peter, Ally Badgley and Kaitlyn Weidelmann also had hits for the Blue Devils (8-4), who went 4-2 on a spring break trip to Tennessee.

"We've just got to string more hits together," said Warren coach Jenna Charbonneau. "And we had a couple of hits right at their people. Sydney pitched pretty well and she's been pretty consistent with that. They had the bases loaded and no outs (fifth inning) and she got out of it.

"Fremd is always a good team to play. It's always a good game with them so we were glad to get this game in."