Softball: Benet coach Jerry Schilf gets 300th win
Updated: May 9, 2012 9:20PM
No. 4 Benet could do no wrong in Wednesday’s 10-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory over St. Viator in Lisle.
The Redwings (24-4, 9-2) scored three runs in the first inning, two in the third, four in the fourth and one in the fifth and final inning of play. They also played errorless defense while turning a nifty, albeit unconventional, double play in the top of the fifth. Sophomore pitcher Molly Moran (24-4) twirled five scoreless innings.
Coach Jerry Schilf won his 300th career game at Benet. He credited the talented ballplayers he has had over the years with the accomplishment.
“It just means I’ve been here 13 years,” Schilf quipped.
Moran allowed just four hits — two of them to Lions catcher Gina Mastrodomenico — and struck out three. She did not walk anyone. Afterward, Moran downplayed her performance.
“I wasn’t at my best but my team really played great behind me and they hit the ball so hard, so that was great for them,” she said. “Everyone just did phenomenal and so it feels really good to get back on track.”
Benet had lost two recent games.
Moran said she mixed up her pitches to keep the Lions guessing at the plate. She allowed back-to-back hits for the first time in the fifth, when Mastrodomenico led off the frame with a single and Michelle Presslak doubled into the left-center gap.
The Redwings not only nailed Mastrodomenico at the plate but Benet catcher Kendall Duffy fired to third to cut down Presslak for the second quick out of the inning. That play erased whatever momentum the Lions had gained despite trailing 9-0 at the time.
“It just shows the kind of quality players we’ve got here,” Schilf said. “They don’t give up on plays. We’ve got quality athletes out there (defensively) and they made three great throws — the relay, the extension of the relay and then the throw from home to third. They don’t give in just because we’re up by nine runs; they play hard all the time whether we’re behind or whether we’re ahead.”
Ironically, despite its 12-hit onslaught, Benet scored its final run on a bases-loaded wild pitch with one out. Southpaw Krystal Harris took the loss for St. Viator. The left-hander with the unorthodox delivery allowed four runs on seven hits in three innings.
She had re-entered the game with one out in the fourth for reliever Sam Hogan after Harris started the game.
Despite Benet’s lineup having five lefties, the Redwings started the game in typical high-octane offense fashion. Left-handed hitters Maeve McGuire and Marissa Panko smacked back-to-back doubles to begin the game. Fellow lefty Stephanie Abello drove in the team’s second run on an RBI groundout following Julianne Rurka’s single and righty batter Emily York singled in the third run of the frame.
Panko, a sophomore, finished 3-for-3 with an RBI double and two stolen bases. Rurka, also a sophomore, went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a triple.
“Lefties are more tricky to hit off of (and) Harris had some good movement,” Panko said. “I was just trying to get the hands through the ball and stay through it.”
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