Joliet West picks up first win of the season with victory over Providence

JOLIET – Things couldn’t have been going much different for the Joliet West and Providence softball teams. Entering Friday, the Tigers had lost their first nine games of the season while the Celtics were 6-3 and on a two-game winning streak.

Yet when the final out was called in Friday’s game, the Tigers were celebrating something they hadn’t felt in almost a year: victory.

Madi Jadron struck out six batters from the circle, Caitlin Jadron went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored and Joliet West earned its first win of the year with a 4-2 victory over Providence.

After a solid 2024 season, Joliet West (1-9) had pieces to replace and the youth showed to start the year. There was a challenging schedule laid before them as well, but the Tigers didn’t let what happened the first nine games impact what they did in the 10th game.

“We had a full week of practice which was nice,” Tigers coach Heather Suca said. “We had some stuff to work on after a long week last week against some tough teams. The girls kept the energy up the whole game. Their mental attitude was the big thing for us right now. We really worked on that this week and I think it showed in the game today.”

That “long week” Suca referred to was the WJOL Tournament in addition to a Saturday game against Lincoln-Way East. The Tigers fell to Lincoln-Way West 13-2, Coal City 13-9 and Minooka 21-7 before Saturday’s 9-3 loss to the Griffins.

What was the difference between those four games and Friday’s?

“We wanted it,” Suca said. “We had the confidence to win. We put the ball in play which was the difference. We’ve been stressing that we’ll make errors and give up hits, but how are we going to react and compound. They worked on that and did a good job of it today. We didn’t let stuff snowball. We’d make a mistake and then come back and get the next out. We played as a team today.”

Caitlin Jadron and Ella Featherston scored runs in the first inning on a pair of fielder’s choices to give Joliet West a 2-0 lead to start.

Providence’s Angelina Cole hit a two-run homer in the third to tie it 2-2, but Joliet West answered back in the fourth.

Caitlin Jadron’s sacrifice fly scored Gabriela Juarez and Mallory Crisafuli scored on a bases loaded walk to give the game its final score.

“Our energy was really good,” Madi Jadron said. “We had some timely bunts and hits and we kept it up the whole game.”

Jadron’s sister echoed that sentiment.

“We’re just having fun together,” Caitlin Jadron said. ”We’re keeping the energy up. ...We just have to keep our mental state up."

Providence (6-4) got two hits from Bella Olszta in addition to Cole’s homer, but three errors and just two additional hits doomed their day.

“I thought our pitcher (Carsyn Petrow) did her job today throwing strikes and giving us a chance to be successful,” Providence coach Jim Holba said. “Our offense and defense was not good enough tonight. I thought West played great and it showed.”

Next up for Providence is a Saturday game against Resurrection. The Celtics will hope to get back on track after a strong start to the season.

The Tigers have a short turnaround as well. They’ll host Lockport on Saturday for a chance to make it two in a row. Suca believes the team is capable of turning the corner very soon.

“We faced a lot of good competition at the beginning of the season,” Suca said. “We have young players out on the field who are growing and getting better each time (we play). We’re going to keep getting better and the wins are going to fall. They’re believing in that and we just have to keep giving energy.”