Softball: Oak Park-River Forest’s Andreoli nearly no-hits St Ignatius

Updated: April 2, 2012 10:42PM

Oak Park-River Forest senior Sarafina Andreoli was just about as perfect as a pitcher could be until a two-out single in the top of the seventh spoiled her bid for a no-hitter as the host Huskies edged St. Ignatius 1-0 Tuesday.

Andreoli (four strikeouts, no walks) needed just 46 pitches to improve her record to 4-0 as the Huskies moved to 8-2 on the season. She retired the first 11 batters before a dropped fly ball in the outfield squashed any notions of a perfect game — a milestone achieved by Andreoli as a sophomore. She knew what was at stake as she entered the seventh.

“I knew I had a no-hitter going,” admitted Andreoli, who surrendered the fateful single to right-center field on a 1-2 pitch. “I had a perfect game sophomore year and I had the same feeling going through my head … ‘You just need three outs.’ That last pitch she (Diane Casini) hit was a rise ball and I think I just tried to overpower it. I missed my spot and she hit it. It was a little upsetting, but we still got the win.”

OPRF banged out 10 hits, but scored the only run of the game off Wolfpack hurler Maura Lynch (three strikeouts, no walks) in the third inning with two outs.

The Huskies’ Mariah Weinand (2-for-3) singled with one out before Dana Alcock kept the inning alive with a two-out base hit to left field. OPRF catcher Annie Ford (2-for-3) then lined a single to left-center to drive home Weinand with the only tally the Huskies would need.

“A couple of equally matched, competitive teams battled out there today,” St. Ignatius coach Megan Reagler said. “It was a very quick, efficient, pretty much errorless game, but the difference between one and zero was that their hits fell and ours didn’t. That’s the nature of the beast. We are 8-3 now and we have shown strong pitching and our hitting also has been pretty consistent all season long until today. But we only struck out three or four times this game, and I’ll take that. We can put runs on the board, but their pitcher was moving the ball around really well today.”

Valerie Cundari belted a pair of doubles and had a bunt single to go 3-for-3 for the Huskies.

“Sarafina is pitching very well lately,” OPRF coach Mel Kolbusz said. “She’s 4-0 and has been very efficient with her pitches. I don’t think she went to three balls on any hitter today, and if she didn’t it’s the third game in a row where she has done that. She’s hitting all her spots. The kid who got the hit in the seventh hit a rise ball that should have been a little higher. I know a no-hitter is a better story, but I’ll take a 1-0 win any day.”

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