JOLIET -- With clay-laden dirt caked on her black-and-green uniform from the top of her left shoulder to a shade below her kneecaps, Plainfield Central High School junior Taylor Tooley looked like Tim Taylor's long-lost sister as she stared into the sun near the depths of second base.
Twice diving better than Greg Louganis, Tooley took away sure singles by Plainfield South senior outfielder Lauren Walker and senior pitcher Alyssa Schrader in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively -- preserving the shutout for senior pitcher Brittany Adcox in TV-show fashion.
It's "Tool Time": the sequel.
"Well, no one has ever seen that from me before because I'm so used to playing shortstop," said Tooley, who batted .473 with 53 hits, 31 runs, 11 doubles, 7 triples, 7 homers and 46 RBIs as a first team all-area selection last spring. "It always was, 'Oh, she's up to bat.' Now, it's finally coming out that I can play the field."
Behind the all-purpose tools of Tooley, Plainfield Central played the field and then some Wednesday afternoon. Adcox aced a 7-strikeout 3-hitter and Tooley produced 2 RBIs and a pair of defensive gems, gliding the Wildcats to a 5-0 Southwest Prairie Conference softball victory over host Plainfield South.
A Lemont Rockers product who is being recruited by the University of Illinois and NCAA Division II national champion Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Tooley paced Plainfield Central (2-0, 1-0) with a single, a walk and a run. Her single drove in the eventual game-winner and she later scored during a 4-run third.
Senior shortstop Stephanie Kirkpatrick, the converted third baseman but Michigan shortstop recruit, went 2-for-3 for the Wildcats with a double, a steal and 2 runs. Junior outfielder Kali Pasternak popped 2 hits with an RBI, while junior third baseman Nancy Carrington also contributed an RBI.
Ahead 1-0 in the first via the Kirkpatrick-Tooley combo and up 5-0 by the third, that was more than enough for the Benedictine-bound Adcox (2-0), a tall, rangy right-hander who fanned a couple in each of the second, fourth and fifth innings. And this all began with Kirkpatrick's leadoff and Tooley's one-out swing.
It's "Tool Time": the original.
"We just told the girls that, coming into this, we really didn't know what to expect," Plainfield coach Anne Campbell said. "We've only been on the dirt one time and that was for a game, so we haven't been able to challenge ourselves. Neither team has, and I thought that our kids responded very well to the challenge."
"We came out ready," said Kirkpatrick, who kicked off the first getting hit by the third pitch. "Coming out against South and the first game of conference -- that makes it a big game right away. We were kind of nervous before the game, but I think we came out with the best of our abilities, did the best that we could and we finished it."
Highlighting the start and the finish was Tooley. After Kirkpatrick reached third on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt by freshman outfielder Krista Fiorini, Tooley bounced a sharp RBI single to right, barely beating the throw at first. In the third, Kirkpatrick doubled to the center-field fence, scoring on Tooley's RBI grounder.
That put junior starter Gaby Liberatore (0-1) and Plainfield South (1-2, 0-1) into a 2-0 hole. Tooley kept the Cougars in the clinch thereafter, diving to her left to snag Walker's shot in the fifth. Much like a singer returning for an encore, Tooley swiped Schrader's one-out rope on a dive -- again to her left.
"Absolutely, that's why she's at second," Campbell said. "We honestly feel with 'KP' at short and Taylor there, we can cover a lot of ground ... like we have an extra infielder. Seriously, they're both shortstops who have such good speed and great range."
"She's an amazing infielder," Kirkpatrick said of Tooley. "And this was really a rough infield, so for her to make those plays and save the shutout for us, that is definitely what we wanted."
Said Tooley: "It was hard on this field, though, because I got stuck and it was lumpy. But I love diving, and when I see that the first baseman can't get to it, I know that it is all up to me."
Everything imploded for Plainfield South during the third, when 2 errors and three fielder's-choice situations ended up chasing Liberatore after 2 1/3 innings. The Cougars closed with 5 errors, and combined with the Wildcats' aggressive baserunning, spelled complete doom.
"How about it," South coach Tara Singler said. "We should have been out of it before any runs crossed in the third. We took ourselves out of the game. We didn't hit at all and we gave them umpteen outs. You know, you just can't do that. It's crazy."
Crazy-good described the relief effort of Schrader. The Carthage recruit dominated in 4 2/3 innings, scattering 3 hits and 2 walks and striking out 9. The final 4 runs, including 2 allowed by Schrader, were unearned.
"Alyssa was phenomenal," Singler said. "We counted up nine strikeouts against a great team, and that's outstanding. And what else did she do? She made them put the ball in play on the ground, and that's what you want to have."
On the other side of the mound, Adcox did what she wanted, working 69-of-88 pitches for strikes. She allowed singles to senior first baseman Taya Meeder, Lewis-bound senior catcher Mary Giancarlo and junior second baseman/DH Alexis Alvarez.
"My changeup was pretty good and I threw a lot of fastballs on the corner," Adcox said. "In the beginning, they were catching up with the curveball, so we moved away from that and it came around for me really well."
When that well features the wow of Tooley's gotta-love-the-glove style -- something as traditional as Thanksgiving dinner under Campbell at Plainfield -- the Wildcats' middle infield with Kirkpatrick and the 1-3 of the batting order will be a continual support of their pitching.
It's "Tool Time": the series.
"We were able to back it up offensively and defensively," Adcox acknowledged. "We really didn't know what we were getting into because we're a young team this year and we haven't been challenged yet, so it was good to come out here and see what we can do."
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