Kramerich, Lockport go on run

LOCKPORT -- A slight bobble of the softball and a low throw from third base meant Lockport High School's Morgan Kramerich located "The Perfect Storm" of baserunning Monday, receiving the right moment to strike it rich.

A right fielder by nature, the junior pinch-runner traded her glove for a sprinter's groove, going from first to third on senior outfielder Cassie Walisiak's groundout in the bottom of the eighth inning -- her credo becoming crystal clear.

Always play the mistake.

Always.

"Well, I knew I was going to make it to second for sure," said Kramerich, who scored the winning run as Lockport slipped past Plainfield South for a 1-0 nonconference victory. "As soon as I saw the ball hit the dirt to the first baseman and it was in her feet, I knew that I was gone."

Chances of a win for Plainfield South (20-6) also were as gone as the days of low gas prices after University of St. Francis-bound pinch-hitter Jenny Festin -- in her first varsity at-bat since the third game of the season -- fisted a taut RBI single to second of a pulled-in infield.

After junior first baseman Alyssa Vorel, a lefty, led off the eighth by chopping a single up the middle, Walisiak bounced a 1-1 pitch from Cougars senior right-hander Alyssa Schrader (15-3) to third -- the Porters' 13th groundout of the game. Still, Kramerich came all the way to third base, setting up the festivities for Festin.

On a sunny, breezy afternoon that required long sleeves, however, Festin rolled up hers. She greeted a 1-2 offering from Schrader with a textbook swing toward the hole between first and second. Junior second baseman Gabby Liberatore fired a laser to home, but Kramerich's rabbit and Festin's poke paved the decision.

Always go to the right side.

Always.

"I knew I had to get the ball down," said Festin, a senior infielder who's fully recovered from a broken hand. "Morgan is so fast at third that I knew she would probably score on anything -- just a little hit. (Schrader) pitched great, and she was awesome at keeping it outside, so I tried my best to take it over to that way."

"Yep, yep, she was ready for it," Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec said of Festin. "She wanted to come in and do the job, and I know she was excited about getting back into the game. She showed us that she was ready."

As ready as Festin was in the batter's box, Kramerich carried a similar torch on the basepaths, a particular boost for Lockport (23-6) considering Plainfield South outhit the Porters 6-4 and stranded 6, including 5 in the final 4 innings and 4 in scoring position. Kramerich established her trend by scoring from second in a JV game vs. Plainfield Central.

"She's that instinctive of a baserunner, and it's nice to have that speed," Chovanec said of Kramerich, who scored Saturday when the Wildcats attempted a bases-loaded double play on a force at home and a throw to first. "If we get her on, she'll most likely score, and Jenny got the ball enough to the right side to get her in."

Getting on base posed enough of a problem for Lockport against Schrader, the sensational Carthage recruit. She struck out 5 in 7 1/3 innings and hit a batter, but left the Porters guessing in pumping 57-of-78 pitches for strikes. Vorel finished 2-for-2 and sophomore shortstop Amanda Stanton managed the only other single.

"Schrader was fantastic," Plainfield South coach Tara Singler said. "She had them fooled. She really did a nice job, and to take a team like that to extra innings, a quality program like that, that should give our girls the confidence to know that they can play with them -- play with anyone."

If anyone could relate to Schrader, the answer would be Porters junior righty Allison Shimkus (5-2). She scattered 6 hits and a pair of walks in 8 innings without the benefit of a strikeout, smoldering 51-of-81 pitches for strikes. She replaced junior Dana Bowler, who has been sidelined by a sore shoulder.

It's always about pitching.

It's always about defense.

Always.

"She did an outstanding job," Chovanec said of Schrader. "We were constantly trying to figure out what we could do to adjust, and 'Shimmie' did her job. They had a lot of baserunners on, but our defense was solid, and they know how I feel about defense."

"We threw a little bit of everything," Schrader said. "But it's always having that confidence in the defense behind you, and that helps. I had all the confidence in the defense behind me, that they would back me up, and Krista made some awesome grabs, phenomenal plays in the field."

Krista, as in Northern Illinois-bound senior shortstop Krista Mastui, kept the Southies in the mix with a 4-for-4 performance that featured a liner to center in the first, a blooper down the left-field line and a stolen base in the fourth, a sliced double up the middle in the sixth and a slap shot to short during the eighth.

"I was trying to place it," Matsui said. "Their coach had them playing up, then playing back, so I was trying to hit the holes where they weren't. It worked for the most part, but we have to string our hits together. We string our hits and it won't come down to one hit at the very end of the game."

In the end, the Cougars could not capitalize, especially on a leadoff single to left-center by junior outfielder Kendall Weber in the second and Schrader's double to the warning track in right to lead off the fifth. Junior DH Alexis Alvarez and senior outfielder Lauren Walker added walks.

"It's sooo frustrating," Singler said. "We had so many opportunities. We had runners on second, we had runners on third, over and over and over again. We just couldn't pull through, and I guess there's something to be said about the clutch hit."

While Festin feasted on the clutch scenario, Kramerich created the run-producing situation, this after a 40-minute delay to start the game as South senior first baseman Taya Meeder was hit in the head by an errant warmup throw. Play took a scoreless pace until the eighth, when Kramerich completed the circle.

It's always about pitching.

It's always about defense.

It's always about execution.

Always.

"Definitely," Kramerich said. "Coach said if it was to third or short to hold because we weren't in the 'Green' -- that's what coach calls it. But when it went to the first-base side, I was gone, and I've done that a couple of times. And when it got past the first baseman, I knew that I could take it from there and score."