OTTAWA — Marquette Academy sophomore Caleigh Rick doesn’t often see much playing time on the softball diamond. When she did get a chance Thursday afternoon during a Tri-County Conference contest versus Midland, though, she sure made the best of it.

Rick posted two key hits and four runs batted in to lead the Crusaders to an 11-1, five-inning victory over the Timberwolves at June Gross Field.

“It was really nice to get out there and see some pitching, put the bat on the ball, and I think I hit pretty well today,” Rick said. “It’s nice to get in the lineup and play, so when I had the chance I wanted to make the most of it.”

So did junior pitcher Maisie Lyons, who came on in relief of starting hurler Kaylee Killelea (2 IP, 6 K) before Lyons (3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 5 K, 1 BB) earned her first win of the season in the circle.

“I was pretty happy to get a victory today, because normally I don’t pitch very much,” Lyons said. “I had a lot of fun out there, and to come in and get the job done after Kaylee pitched so well to start the game.”

“This was a great chance for all of our girls to get some playing time, and I was proud of all of them and the way they stepped up.”

—  Brad Oakes, Marquette softball coach

Marquette (17-6, 11-1 TCC) – the No. 8-ranked team in this week’s Illinois Coaches Association Class 1A poll – bolted out to a fast start, scoring four times in the bottom of the first inning against Midland lefty pitcher Lily Leach.

Killelea (two hits) blasted an RBI double, while Taylor Cuchra followed with another run-scoring double before Rick plated two runs with a double of her own down the right-field line that gave the Crusaders a 4-0 lead after one inning of play.

“It was an inside pitch that almost got me, but I was able to hit it well and score a couple of runs and got us going,” Rick said. “After that, we just kept things rolling.”

Marquette did just that, adding six more tallies in the bottom of the second after RBI singles from Emma Rinearson and Eva McCallum (two hits) before Rick placed a two-run single to center ahead of Taylor Gamons’ RBI infield safety that plated Rick. The Crusaders took a 10-0 lead into the third stanza.

There, Marquette would add its final run of the contest against Midland relief pitcher Mariska Faulkner when Lindsey Kaufmann reached second on a Timberwolves outfield error and eventually scored on Killelea’s sacrifice fly to left to put the hosts ahead 11-0 after three frames.

Lyons retired Midland (0-25, 0-12 TCC) in order with two strikeouts in the top of the fourth. The Timberwolves added their lone run of the game on an infield single by Faulkner and an RBI double by Sophie Milloy in the visitors’ half of the fifth.

But Lyons got the final out of the contest, sending the Crusaders into next week’s final two conference games tied with Seneca (18-5, 11-1 TCC) and the league championship still at stake.

“This was a great chance for all of our girls to get some playing time, and I was proud of all of them and the way they stepped up,” Marquette coach Brad Oakes said. “We’ve got two conference games left against Putnam County next week, and then we’ll get ready for the postseason, which we’re all looking forward to for sure.”