Glenbard South spent most of Monday’s Upstate Eight Conference softball game looking content to nibble away at Ridgewood pitching, playing small ball with timely singles and good baserunning.
Until it was time for one big hit to put the game away.
The result was an 11-0 Glenbard South victory in five innings in Glen Ellyn.
“Just little hits after little hits, single after single,” said junior right-fielder Paige Foster-Simbulan, who scored twice and drove in three runs.
“I felt like we hit our pitches and didn’t settle, so they were patient when they had to be and didn’t go fishing when the count was in our favor,” added Raiders coach Julie Fonda. “Early in the count I think they looked for their pitches, and we’ve been working on that, so the discipline at the plate, thinking about what ball you want to smoke as opposed to hitting her pitch. It was a good offensive day for us that way.”
The Raiders (8-4, 2-2) started well, scoring four runs in the first inning. With one out, Delaney Nelson reached base on an infield single and went to second on Brooke Lange’s single. Evangeline Dupuis’ single to center drove in Nelson, and Lange came in on Foster-Simbulan’s fielder’s choice. Courtesy runner Hannah Grandsard, in for freshman catcher Khloe Bauman, scored on Maryssa Drnek’s single to center, and Foster-Simbulan scored on a wild pitch.
Grandsard scored three times in the game.
It was a tough start for a Ridgewood (5-5, 1-4), which brought eight freshmen for the game.
“It’s hard coming off the bus when we have a 50-hour drive here,” Ridgewood coach Haley Morelli said, exaggerating the ride a little. “And then we’ve gotta play right away. But my girls need to get used to it. It’s just the nature of our conference.”
The Raiders led 8-0 in the fourth when Foster-Simbulan came to the plate with the bases loaded. Feeling antsy to hit after sitting out a couple games due to hip and ankle injuries, Foster-Simbulan lined a pitch deep to left-center, clearing the bases with a triple that might have caught her coach by surprise.
“I don’t think Fonda asked me to come (from second base) because I saw her face as I was going to third and she looked kind of scared,” Foster-Simbulan said with a laugh. “I was like, I’m just going to keep on going. So yeah, I was super excited about that.”
The big hit made the score 11-0, putting the 10-run rule in play for the fifth inning.
Pitchers Kaylie Zeman and Lange combined for the shutout, allowing just three hits. Zeman started, giving way to Lange to start the fourth so the reliever could get a little work in.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260420/softball/softball-glenbard-south-makes-little-hits-and-one-big-hit-add-up-against-ridgewood/