STREATOR – There’s an old softball axiom that when fast pitchers square off, the hitters they’re facing can’t hit what they can’t see.

An addendum to that phrase should read they can’t hit what they can’t reach.

In the championship game of the Streator Girls Softball 10-11 city tournament at Bodznick Field on Thursday night, a combination of those two facets came into play, as McDonald’s managed just three hits and Chipper’s Grill only two. However, the blue-clad girls from Mickey D’s took advantage of eight walks issued them to come away with an 8-2 five-inning victory and the league title trophies.

Of the winning team’s eight tallies, five of those runners reached base by walk and another on a hit-by-pitch. Couple those with singles by Maddie Campbell, Leigha Gammie and Carly Taylor and McDonald’s notched a three-run rally in the second inning and a maximum five-run outburst in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Campbell struck out 10 in just three innings of work, while Henderson added another five whiffs. Together, they surrendered a mere four walks and just a pair of hits, a double to Peyton Marin and a single by Heyden Flori, both in the first inning.

Marin and Flori combined for the pitching loss, despite striking out six.

“It’s something that I’ve been trying to teach them from the very start: you get on base, be aggressive to create as much chaos as possible and you’ll score runs, and that worked today,” McDonald’s coach Brendan Henderson said. “There was a lot of work that went into our patience at the plate, and it paid off … Maddie throws pretty hard – she’s the starting pitcher for the Streator Storm (travel team) also – and she’s grown a lot. I’ve been with her for about a year now and she’s really improved a lot.

“Of course I felt we could do this from the first day of the season. That’s always the goal, to win a championship and today they reached that goal. I’m super proud of them. They did a great job today and all year.”

Chippers jumped in front in the first frame when Marin slammed a double down the left-field line off Henderson and later scored on a wild pitch. Two walks and the Flori safety loaded the bases with one out, but the rally ended there.

McDonalds got all the runs its needed in the home second starting with a walk to Campbell, a Gammie single and Taylor being hit by a pitch to load the bases. Morgan Ruff’s ground out plated one run, and another scored on an error on the same play. Kaeleigh Rhodes later walked and scored on another error.

The visitors got within 3-2 when Sessily Patton reached on a dropped third strike and later came across on a wild pitch, all before McDonald’s posted the clinchers.

In the fourth, Gammie was hit by a pitch and later scored on a Taylor single before walks to Ruff Rhodes and Jaylin Lowe forced in another. Aubry Hillyer’s hit-by-pitch drove in another before an Amyla Urbanec free pass and a Henderson single capped the frame.

“That’s about how it goes for us. That’s how it’s looked all year long,” said Chipper’s coach Katie Cox, who had each of her players play a different position in every game this season to gain experience on the defensive side. “With the year off because of COVID, the girls aren’t as used to the faster pitching like we saw tonight, but they’re learning. The girls have worked hard and come a long way, some of them never having played before, but some of these girls will be playing with the all-stars next Monday … They have grown so much this year and I’m really so proud of them all.”