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PLAINFIELD – With the wind blowing in strongly and the temperature dropping, it was a perfect pitcher’s day Wednesday as Minooka took on Plainfield South in a Southwest Prairie Conference softball battle.
Minooka’s Marina Hristov took full advantage of the less-than-ideal hitting conditions and shut out the Cougars through the first six innings of a 4-2 victory.
“It definitely makes it easier to pitch,” Hristov said about the conditions. “I feel more free to just throw strikes and let the other team put the ball in play. I know my defense has my back, and they made some nice plays today.”
Hristov didn’t need her defense in the first inning as she struck out the side in order, but the Cougars (13-11, 5-5 SPC) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second.
Hristov induced a grounder to short, which Karli McMillin threw home to force out the runner, before striking out the final batter of the inning.
Minooka (17-8, 9-1) spotted Hristov a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. With one out, Jaelle Hamilton was hit by a pitch and, an out later, she came around to score on a double by Mayson Carr.
The Indians added two more in the top of the third on an RBI groundout by Gracie Anderson that scored McMillin, who reached on an error, and a wild pitch that brought home Olivia Boyd, who singled and stole second.
Plainfield South threatened to score in the bottom of the third when Hailie Boardman doubled with two outs. Ava Forsberg then hit a liner to left that seemed destined to be a hit, but Payton Psinas made a diving catch to end the inning.
The Indians tacked on an insurance run in the top of the fifth. They loaded the bases with one out, and Addisonn Crumly greeted new pitcher Boardman by slamming her first pitch for a double to left. Unfortunately for Minooka, Boyd slipped rounding third and was out at home. Boardman got the next hitter out to end the threat.
“Our offense has been good all year,” Hristov said. “I know that we are going to score, so I know that I don’t have to be perfect.
“My changeup was working well for me all day. I have been pitching to [catcher] Gracie [Anderson] for about six years now. She knows what’s working and what isn’t, so I throw what she calls. I think she knows my pitches better than I do.”
South, which defeated state-ranked Oswego on Monday, wasn’t about to let another state-ranked team in Minooka get away easy.
Peyton Isaacson led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and Gracie Smega doubled to center to put runners on second and third with no outs and bring Emma Best to the circle. A wild pitch brought home Isaacson before Best induced a pop-up for the first out. A grounder to short by Giana Zumdahl scored Smega before Kendal Pasquale doubled to bring the tying run to the plate. Best induced a grounder to short by Boardman, and the Indians had the win.
“The last couple of weeks, Marina and Emma have thrown the ball really well,” Minooka coach Mark Brown said. “They have kept us in games. With the offense and defense we have, if they can do that, we are tough to beat.
“The defense was great today. Payton Psinas made a game-changing play in left with that diving catch, and Gracie made a great catch of a foul ball, banging into the fence. We got a couple of big hits with runners on, so it was a good day overall.”
Plainfield South coach Taylor Schwall wasn’t surprised with the seventh-inning rally.
“Our girls play until the last out,” Schwall said. “They keep fighting up until the end. We were able to put a couple of runs on the board in the seventh and bring the tying run to the plate. We can’t ask for much more than that.”