(Sugar Grove, IL) – What a difference a day makes. On Sunday area temperatures were in the mid-40's with a chilly 10-mile per hour northeast wind. On Monday things could not have been any different as Waubonsee Community College and Morton College squared off in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) softball doubleheader. The Chiefs took advantage of temperatures in the upper 70's and southwesterly winds whipping in excess of 30 miles-per-hour straight out to center field. Waubonsee swept the Panthers 10-2 in six innings and again by a score of 10-2 in five innings to improve to 15-17 overall and 5-5 in the ISCC.
In the opener the Panthers (6-20, 2-6) threatened early by loading the bases in the top of the first on a single and a pair of walks. However, Chiefs' starter Allison Ryan escaped the jam by striking out Thais Miranda for the third out. Waubonsee responded by scoring three runs in the bottom half of the frame, doing all the damage with two outs. The Chiefs' Gracyn Gabriel lofted a ball up into the jet stream that carried over the right centerfield fence for a solo home run. Grace Klingbeil then reached base on a Morton error before Lexi McCauley drew a walk. Moments later Rachel Prinz drove both of them home with a line shot single to left field for a quick 3-0 Chiefs' lead.
Waubonsee loaded the bases in the second inning but failed to score as Morton's Jacklyn Roney induced Klingbeil to ground out to third base. The Chiefs added two more runs in the bottom of the third as McCauley led off with a double to left centerfield and Prinz was hit-by-a-pitch. Micah Simmons followed with a ground single between first and second to knock in McCauley, and Prinz scored a minute later on a sacrifice fly to right field by Jori Peters to make it 5-0.
Morton's bats then came alive in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted by a tape measure two-run home run over the scoreboard in left centerfield by Roney. Abby Sanders came on in relief of Ryan and stranded two Panthers' runners on base to preserve a 5-2 Chiefs' lead. The Chiefs utilized that momentum to quickly get those runs back in their half of the fifth. McCauley led off the inning with her second double to left center and scored one pitch later when Prinz drilled a line shot single to center field. After a single between third and short by Simmons, pinch runner Angelina Viera scored on a fielder's choice ground out by Hailey Ruhl to put Waubonsee back in front by five runs.
After Morton reliever Sabrina Mendoza registered the first two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Chiefs erupted for three quick runs to end the game by the eight-runs after five-innings slaughter rule. Gabriel blooped a single to right field and scored a couple pitches later when Klingbeil ripped a line shot to left center field that narrowly cleared the fence for a two-run homer. Two pitches later McCauley capped off her stellar game at the plate by launching a no doubt, walk-off home run to right center field, her fifth round-tripper of the spring.
McCauley was 3 for 3 with a homer, two doubles, a walk, a run driven in and four runs scored. Prinz went 2 for 2 with three runs batted in, was hit by a pitch and scored a run. Gabriel finished 2 for 3 with a home run, a run driven in, a walk and two runs scored. Ryan earned her seventh win in the circle limiting the Panthers to two runs on five hits over four innings pitched, while Sanders picked up her second save of the year by tossing two scoreless frames.
In game two, per ISCC rules, the Chiefs were visitors on their own field. After Waubonsee stranded a pair of runners in the top of the first, the Panthers struck first as Roney drilled an opposite field solo home run to right centerfield in the bottom half of the inning. Waubonsee pushed across three runs in the second inning with aide of two Morton errors, a walk and three singles. Alyssa Eby drove in two runs with a long single to center field with the bases loaded, and two batters later Gabriel knocked in another with a single between third and shortstop. The Chiefs nearly tallied two more runs, but Morton second baseman Yareliz Vega made a sensational running catch on a pop fly down the right field line for the final out.
Morton got a run back in the bottom of the second with a double and a two-out single to left field to pull within a run. However, Waubonsee scored five times in the top of the third to surge ahead 8-2 lead. Singles by Ronnie Latka and Simmons, followed by a single to right by Peters plated the first run. Ruhl then drew a walk and stole second base before Simmons scored on a wild pitch. Eby followed with a pop fly that dropped into shallow left centerfield that drove in Peters. The fleet-footed Eby hustled into second with a double on the play as Ruhl scampered into third base. It was Eby's 14th two-bagger of the season and her 34th career double to surpass the Waubonsee record of 33 held jointly by Alora O'Malley-Molk (2014-15), Nicole Krupp (2017-18) and Autumn Sullivan (2018-19). Both Ruhl and Eby scored two batters later when Gabriel laced a ball down the right field line for a two-run triple.
In the top of the fifth Waubonsee loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk from Morton reliever Kiana Roman. Klingbeil then drew a walk to force in a run to put the Chiefs ahead 9-2 and another run scored on a groundout to second base by McCauley. In the bottom of the frame the Panthers went down in order to end the game by the eight-runs after five-innings slaughter rule once more.
Eby finished the game 3 for 4 with three runs driven in, three runs scored and a double to raise her season average to .404 overall. Gabriel went 2 for 2 with three runs batted in, two walks, a triple and a run scored, while Simmons was also 2 for 2 with a walk and two runs scored. Sanders got the win in the circle, her second of the season, scattering six hits while striking out two and walking no one.
The Chiefs are in action again tomorrow, April 27 when they travel to perennial NJCAA Division II power Kankakee Community College, which is currently 26-10 overall. Waubonsee returns home on Friday, April 30 when they host Black Hawk College from Moline in a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. Fans are allowed to attend games, but must adhere to social distancing and mask protocols.