Softball: Zion-Benton races past Warren
Updated: April 16, 2012 10:20PM
Zion-Benton hit the softball parlay — quality pitching, big-time defense, timely hitting and aggressive base-running — on Monday and stunned host Warren 8-4 in a key North Suburban Conference Lake Division game.
The Bees are now 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the division. Warren and Lake Zurich also have one division loss.
“This is a big win for us ... a building block to give us the confidence to take the next stop forward, which is the conference championship,” said Zee-Bee coach Rick Rymer, who had three freshmen in the lineup.
“It’s the little things that win games, and we did a great job base-running and getting outs in the field.”
He also got a great outing from senior hurler Nika May, who pretty shut down the area’s most powerful offense, and also supplied plenty of offense for her own team.
At the plate, May was 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI.
On the mound, she fanned just one, but had either a putout or assist on seven other plays.
“I have one of the best pitchers in the county,” said Rymer. “She’s been great at the plate all season long (hitting .600.”
Other key hitters for the Bees were Sydney Ruotsi (two-run single in the seventh), Meg Crosswhite (2-for-4), and Janie Torola (2-for-4).
The loss dropped Warren to 13-3-1 on the season.
“We had too many mental errors today,” said Warren coach Carri McGahan. “The girls weren’t thinking about where the next play needed to go.”
Leading Warren’s offense was Amy Ricci (3-for-4, 2 RBI). Warren, which had scored 54 runs in its last four games, had just six hits off May.
Today, Zion has a trap game at Mundelein and Warren is off.
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