(Sugar Grove, IL) – After not playing for a stretch of 16 days because of rain, snow and cold the end of March and beginning of April, the Chiefs finally got back on the field and went 4-2 over the last five days. Included in that were a pair of Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) victories over the College of Lake County moving Waubonsee's overall record to within a game of the .500 mark at 8-9. So entering Tuesday's ISCC match-up the Chiefs were somewhat confident as they squared off against the 3-13 Morton College Panthers. However, fielding errors cost the Chiefs in the opener as Morton pulled out an 8-7 victory. Waubonsee salvaged a split of the doubleheader by taking game two 3-1 behind the pitching of Taylor Warren and one swing by Jesika Lowe.
Originally scheduled to be played in Cicero the twin bill was switched to Waubonsee due to muddy field conditions at Morton. Therefore, the Panthers were the home team on the Chiefs' diamond for game one. Waubonsee got on the board quickly in the first inning as Jori Peters laced the first pitch of the game to left field for a base hit. Another single and a walk loaded the bases with no outs before a ground out to second base by Kayla Tranter scored Peters. Lowe then smacked a single to right field to give the Chiefs an early 2-0 lead.
Morton immediately responded in their half of the first by scoring four times on three hits and two Waubonsee errors. Included in that may have been the shortest ball ever hit to drive in a run in the history of the game. The Panther's Paulina Viveros capped a pitch that landed spinning in the dirt at the front edge of the plate, barely in fair territory. Chiefs' catcher Ronnie Latka picked it up and threw Viveros out at first as Morton's Jacklyn Roney raced home from third and beat the return throw from Tranter.
Waubonsee threatened in the top of the second, but left the bases loaded. Morton tacked on a fifth run in the bottom half of the frame as Kennedi Meinecke drilled a shot down the left field line that banged off the foul pole just above the fence for a solo home run. Tranter then led off the third with a double down the left field line and scored three batters later when Sarah Sandusky drove a ball deep to right field that short-hopped the fence for a run-scoring double. However, the Chiefs stranded two more runners and trailed 5-3 heading to the bottom of the third. The Panthers added another run moments later when Itza Gonzales lofted a high fly to left that carried over the fence with the aide of a brisk southerly wind.
The Chiefs left two more runners on in the fourth and another in the fifth as the score remained 6-3 going into the top of the sixth. With two more on and two outs Lowe helped her own cause as the Chiefs' pitcher smacked a double to dead center field to drive in Peters to get Waubonsee within two runs. A couple pitches later Latka ripped a single up the middle to knock in Janeen O'Reilly. The Chiefs then jumped in front a few pitches later when Sandusky's ground ball to third was thrown away allowing Lowe and Latka to score.
Morton came right back taking advantage of a walk and error to tie the game and took the lead on a run-scoring single to right by Roney. Waubonsee then went down in order in the top of the seventh with Peters and Breanna O'Malley-Molk both lining out to right field for the final two outs. For the game the Chiefs left 10 runners on base and out hit the Panthers 14-9. Peters finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored, while O'Malley-Molk, Lowe and Latka all went 2 for 4 in the contest. Lowe took the loss in the circle as she allowed just four earned runs while striking out two and walking three.
Per ISCC rules the Panthers were the visiting team in game two and quickly jumped ahead as Meinecke singled to right and scored two batters later when Roney ripped a single to center. Waubonsee responded in the bottom of the first as O'Reilly singled and Tranter laced a double over the center fielder's head to put runners at second and third. Two minutes later Lowe drilled a full-count pitch from Meinecke over the center field fence for a three-run homer, her fourth long ball of the Spring.
The Chiefs threatened in the bottom of the second as Taylor Wyeth smacked a one-out double to straight away center. However, she was left stranded there keeping the score 3-1 in favor of Waubonsee. As the game progressed the temperature steadily dropped and the wind increased, blowing straight out to left field. But neither team could take advantage as both pitchers kept the opposing hitters in check through the fifth inning. Meinecke retired 13 out of 15 batters after surrendering Lowe's homer, and Warren retired 11 straight batters before Gonzales led off the fifth with a bloop single over third base. A moment later Gonzales was doubled off first when Kiana Roman popped up a bunt attempt to Latka.
Warren set down the Panthers in order in the top half of the inning before Waubonsee looked to add some insurance runs. The Chiefs loaded the bases with one out, but Meinecke got a double play to escape the jam. After an error on the Chiefs to begin the top of the seventh, Viveros lined a shot to Wyeth at third base, which she snagged and threw to first to double off the runner. Warren got the final out on a grounder to Wyeth to finish with a three-hit, complete game victory.
Peters, who entered the day with a robust .455 batting average, went 2 for 3 to give her five hits on the day and up her average to 481. O'Reilly and Lowe also finished the game 2 for 3. Warren, who improved to 2-1 in the circle while dropping her earned-run-average to 5.26 on the season, faced the minimum over the final six innings. The Chiefs (9-10, 3-1) are set to host Moraine Valley Community College (6-7, 4-0) this coming Thursday, April 14 in another ISCC doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m.