Softball: Minooka tops Marian Catholic in extras
Updated: March 28, 2012 8:35PM
Minooka’s win Wednesday may have been lacking in the dramatic flair of a typical walk-off victory, but it certainly wasn’t short on satisfaction for the Indians.
Meghan Quirk scored on an error in the bottom of the eighth to give host Minooka a 6-5 win over Marian Catholic.
After Quirk doubled, Marissa Burns followed with a single to left. Quirk stopped at third, but the throw into the infield eluded the Spartans and trickled under the fence next to Minooka’s dugout on the third-base side, allowing Quirk to walk home with the winning run.
“It wasn’t the ideal way to walk off,” Minooka coach Mark Brown said. “We’ll take it, though. With our squad, every game it’s something new. They stayed positive and pulled it out.”
The Indians (4-1) were so excited after winning despite letting a 5-3 seventh-inning lead slip away that they doused Brown with Gatorade.
“A lot of weird things happen in softball,” Quirk said. “You’ve just got to roll with the punches. I expect nothing but good things for us this year.”
Quirk also picked up the win in relief. Marian (2-3) had the go-ahead run on second base with one out in the seventh before she wiggled out of trouble.
Burns was the other hero for Minooka, going 4-for-4 from the No. 8 spot in the lineup. Her double gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in the second before Marian scored three in the third.
Minooka re-took the lead with a three-run fourth, but the Spartans rallied in the seventh.
Kelly Foley beat out a swinging bunt, Allison Spence (3-for-4) doubled, Foley scored on a wild pitch, and Julie Kistner tied the game with a base hit.
“You hate to see a game end that way after our girls worked so hard,” Marian coach Kerri Evans said. “We really fought, though, and it was nice to see us play a team like Minooka tough.”
© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment