The Wilmington softball lineup is a tough one to negotiate if you are a pitcher.

Joliet West found that out Friday, as the Wildcats picked up a 6-1 win over the Tigers for their 12th straight win after opening the season with three losses.

The three left-handed hitters at the top of the Wilmington order - Keeley Walsh, Molly Southall and Taylor Stefancic - were 6 for 11. Walsh went 1 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored, North Carolina State-bound Southall went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Stefancic was 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

Stefancic, for one, relishes her spot in the order.

“Keeley and Molly are almost always on base when I come up,” Stefancic said. “I know the pitcher doesn’t want to walk me to load the bases, so I can look for a pitch I want and hit it hard.

“And, with this team, even if I don’t come through, I know that someone hitting behind me will. We have a lot of trust in each other. We’ve been together a long time and this is the year we have been waiting for.”

The Wildcats wasted no time in getting on the board. After winning pitcher Taryn Gilbert held the Tigers scoreless in the top of the first, Walsh led off the bottom half with a walk and Southall was hit by a pitch. Stefancic drove a ball through the middle, but West second baseman Mallory Crisafulli made a diving, back-handed stop and touched second just before Southall slid in for a force out, saving a run for the time being as Walsh held at third. Nina Egizio reached on a bunt single to load the bases and Emilie Strong singled to score Walsh.

Wilmington added another run in the bottom of the second when Stefancic grounded out to first with the bases loaded, bringing home No. 9 hitter Sami Liaromatis (1 for 2, walk, run) to make it 2-0.

Joliet West (7-11) scored its lone run in the top of the third. Olivia Horn led off with a single and pinch-runner Emi Catlin scored on a double by Crisafulli.

Wilmington added to its lead in the bottom of the fiffh. Southall led off with a single and Stefancic doubled, with Southall holding at third. Egizio laid down a squeeze bunt to score Southall and, an out later, Madelyn Rossow singled to bring home Stefancic. They plated two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Southall singled in Walsh, who had reached on a fielder’s choice and then Stefancic doubled to right-center and Southall came home to score.

That was more than enough for Gilbert, who fired a complete game, allowing six hits and striking out two.

“This was a solid game for us,” Wilmington coach Jack Skole said. “I liked the way we hustled in the field. Sami Liaromatis set the tone with a diving catch in the first inning, and Nina Egizio made a real nice play to catch a line drive at short. We try to prevent big innings by playing good defense, which we were able to do today. I’ll take the middle of our defense, with Nina at short, Keeley Walsh at second and Molly Southall in center, against just about anybody.

“These girls have been together for a long time and they work well together. They put the ball in play and don’t beat themselves in the field. That can be tough to beat.”

Joliet West got a double from Ella Featherston, along with singles from Mikaela Munoz, Madeline Woods and Gabriela Juarez. The Tigers made just one error in the field and turned a double play.

“We just got beat by a better team today,” West coach Heather Suca said. “We played well defensively and we got runners on base, but Wilmington got more timely hits with runners on than we did.

“Laci Cole threw the ball well and hit her spots. We only struck out twice, so we gave ourselves a chance. The girls’ attitude is awesome and we are headed in the right direction.”