Streator pulls away with 8-run 6th to take crosstown showdown with WFC

RURAL STREATOR – Through five innings Thursday, the annual crosstown meeting between the Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell and Streator High softball teams couldn’t have been much closer.

Then a five-hit, eight-run top of the sixth blew things wide open, paving the way for the Bulldogs to secure a 13-3, seven-inning victory over the host Warriors.

“We were making contact early, but we just couldn’t find the gaps, couldn’t get on,” said Streator shortstop/No. 5 hitter Caitlin Talty, who provided two of those sixth inning hits, including a run-scoring double. “We just kept swinging, though, and eventually we found some gaps and got going.”

Talty preceded her two-hit sixth inning with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and in the seventh added an RBI groundout to finish 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Teammate Morgan Kostal (2 for 3) was the game’s only other player with multiple hits, though Streator’s Madyson Wahl (1 for 3) and Makenna Ondrey (1 for 4) along with WFC’s Emma Palaschak (1 for 3) finished with two RBIs apiece.

“We had a good first four or five innings, and then it was downhill after that,” said Palaschak, who delivered an RBI single in the fourth and a run-scoring groundout in the sixth. “But we played good other than that.

“It’s fun seeing [so many girls I grew up playing with], and all improved too.”

The win lifts the Bulldogs to 6-14 heading into tomorrow’s visit from another Tri-County Conference team, undefeated Seneca.

Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell falls to 1-13, but seemed buoyed by its close-for-the-majority showing against larger-school Streator.

“That’s the best ball we’ve played all year long,” Warriors coach Sydnee Plesko said. “It was really good to see that [the team] had fun, they were aggressive. It was good all around. ...

“We’ve played Seneca, which is a heck of a team, and now Streator, and it’s good. It’s helped us play better.”

Before Streator’s 11 late-game runs, it was a certified pitchers’ duel between hard-throwing Bulldogs veteran Makenna Ondrey (win, 5 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K) and WFC soft-throwing southpaw rookie Brooklyn Delheimer (loss, 5 ⅔ IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 H, 9 BB, 2 K).

All eight of the Bulldogs’ sixth inning runs were charged to Palaschak (1 ⅓ IP, 8 R, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 1 K) in relief for WFC. After piling up insurance runs, Streator sent Talty (2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K) to the circle to close things out.

Despite not breaking out until late, Streator led throughout, striking in the top of the first when leadoff hitter Mya Zavada (three runs scored) drew a base on balls, advanced to third on a pair of right-side groundouts and scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Talty’s sacrifice fly in the fourth scored Kostal to make it 2-0, but the Warriors very nearly tied it in the home half after Olivia Chismarick reached on an error, stole second and third and scored on a Palaschak single that bounced off the second-base bag. Palaschak herself almost scored to make it 2-2, but was cut down on a close play at the plate on a comebacker to Makenna Ondrey.

A scoreless fifth preceded the game-changing sixth, where Streator finally broke through against first Palaschak and later Delheimer to put the crosstown contest away.

“Woodland did [hang in there],” Streator coach Louis Ondrey said, “and we just couldn’t get the bats going after seeing that girl [Peotone’s Sophie Klawitter, committed to] Louisville twice and then Washington yesterday. It’s a big change of speed, and nobody could adapt to it early on.

“We finally getting some confidence, hit a couple line drives, and the confidence started to come.”