(Dixon, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's softball team swept their non-conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Sauk Valley Community College to improve to 24-12 overall on the season. The Chiefs took the opener 6-2 behind the pitching of Taylor Warren and then won game two in resounding fashion 11-3 in five innings as Emily Hurst led the way offensively.
In game one, after surrendering a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning, Warren shut down the Skyhawks the rest of the way. The sophomore right-hander retired 12 straight batters before allowing a two-out single in the fifth inning. That was the only Sauk Valley hitter to reach base as Warren set down 19 of the final 20 batters she faced. The Yorkville High School product struck out nine, walked none and gave up three hits en route to picking up her 15th win.
Offensively the Chiefs were held in check through the initial five innings of the contest, managing just one run in the top of the fifth after loading the bases with no outs. Waubonsee then erupted for five runs in the sixth to take the lead. Dyani Rivera led off the frame with a double down the left field line, followed by a ground ball single to left by Taylor Hamaker to put runners at first and third. Chelsea Born then lined a shot off the glove of Sauk Valley's pitcher that allowed Rivera to score and tie the game at two. Two pitches later pinch-hitter Nadia Melendez put the Chiefs in front with a two-run single to right. Waubonsee added a pair of insurance runs later in the inning as Warren and Kayla Tranter each drilled two-out, run-scoring singles.
In game two it was the Chiefs' offense that paced them to victory, breaking the game open with a 7-run fifth inning highlighted by a two-run single to center by Valerie Osthoff. As she has done throughout most of the season Hurst sparked Waubonsee's offense as she finished 3 for 4 with a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Hamaker, Melendez and Katie Baker each finished with two hits apiece, while Sarah Sandusky knocked in a pair of runs.
Hurst, who is now batting .581 on the season through 36 games played, has already set a pair of program records and is quickly approaching several other Waubonsee single-season records. The Chiefs' freshman lead-off hitter eclipsed one record when she booked hits in 14 consecutive at bats early in the season, and she has already compiled 142 total bases to shatter Waubonsee's single-season mark. The Rosary High School alumnus currently has 14 home runs, one shy of Nicole Krupp's mark of 15 set in 2018. Hurst has also ripped 20 doubles which is one shy of Alora O'Malley-Molk's 2015 record. The right-handed hitter has logged 26 multi-hit games, four away from Alyssa Eby's 30 such games set in 2019. And thus far Hurst has booked 72 hits, only a dozen hits shy of the Waubonsee program record with 16 regular season games remaining.
The Chiefs are set to play at Morton College in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) showdown on Sunday, April 23 beginning at noon. Waubonsee (6-0) sits on top of the ISCC standings, while the Panthers (5-1) are right on their heels in second place. The Chiefs are scheduled to return home next Thursday, April 27 when they host Oakton Community College in another ISCC doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m.