Lincoln-Way Central earns win over Lincoln-Way West in pitchers’ duel

NEW LENOX – Great pitching matchups often lead to a dramatic finish, and that was the case Wednesday as Lincoln-Way Central beat Lincoln-Way West, 1-0.

This matchup was a key softball game in the SouthWest Suburban Conference Red Division, as the victorious Knights (17-2) improved to 2-1 and the Warriors fell to 2-2 in conference play.

The game was scoreless heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, as Warriors pitcher Allie Wondrasek was cruising along, giving up only two hits. She retired the first two batters in what turned out to be the fateful inning.

A throwing error allowed Knights senior speedster Sydra Seville to reach third base with senior Bella Wilkerson coming to bat. Wilkerson had one of the Knights’ previous two hits, a single in the first inning. This time she ripped the first pitch for a double to left-center field to drive in the only run of the game.

“She got me the last time up, and I wasn’t going to swing on a changeup, so I went up looking for the fastball on the first pitch and got it,” Wilkerson said. “This is always a big game for both teams because we all know people on each other’s teams, and at times, especially, today it was a little nerve-racking.”

Seville’s speed was on display ahead of Wilkerson’s clutch hit.

“I saw the first baseman moving to the left on the throw, so I thought I might be able to beat the grounder,” Seville said, “Then when the ball was overthrown I just kept going, and I knew I had to get to third, especially with my speed. Then Bella did her thing as she has done before.”

Lyndsey Grein limited the Warriors (12-3) to four hits, struck out six and walked one. After a leadoff walk to the Warriors’ Emma Young in the fourth inning, Young advanced to third on two groundouts, and that was the only time a Warriors player reached third base.

“I try to treat every game the same no matter who we are playing,” Grein said. “I just stay focused on what I need to do no matter who we are playing. I knew it was West, which is just down the road, but you have to focus.”

“I can’t say enough great things about Lyndsey [Grein],” Wilkerson said. “I see it every game from behind the plate. She has worked so hard, is so intense in the circle and has come so far.”

Wondrasek was masterful for the Warriors. She struck out six and, after the first-inning hit, retired 11 in a row until MacKenzie Murdock singled in the fifth.

“Allie [Wondrasek] did a great job today, and her ability to keep their hitters off guard really set the tone for us,” West coach Heather Novak said. “We had opportunities, and I thought from 1 to 9 our lineup make good adjustments at the plate, and that is something we have talked about. But today we just couldn’t get that one hit or ground ball when we needed it.”