Prep softball: Sycamore finally gets ‘W’ over Kaneland led by Brooklynn Snodgrass, Alyssa Wilkerson

-SYCAMORE – The Sycamore Spartans won Friday against conference rival Kaneland behind a slugging first inning and an ace performance by pitcher Alyssa Wilkerson.

The Spartans topped the Knights 6-1 for their first win against their rivals in almost five years.

“Is it a rivalry if you haven’t won in a while?” Sycamore coach Jill Carpenter said. “I don’t think we’ve beaten them since 2018. Our 2019 state championship team didn’t even beat them that year. So they’re always on our radar.”

The Spartans (15-5, 5-5 I-8) started the game with a leadoff triple by Addie McLaughlin. McLaughlin was brought home on a single by Kairi Lantz. The next batter, Brooklynn Snodgrass, mashed a no-doubt home run over the left-field fence to bring the Spartans’ lead to 3-0.

“It’s kind of a breath of relief,” Wilkerson said. “I still have to get in my zone, but at least we’re a little bit ahead. The team has done a great job hitting today and all of the season.”

After the home run, Brynn Woods came in for relief for the Knights and got the next two batters to close the inning without any more damage.

“You really have to have the mindset where you are in control of the game and they haven’t seen you yet,” Woods said.

Wilkerson didn’t need much offense, though, as she dominated from the start to keep the Knights’ bats quiet.

“Honestly, I’ve been pitching for a while, so once I get in the zone, it’s just go, go, go,” Wilkerson said. “I want to get as many strikeouts as I can. It’s great to let the defense work, but you know, strikeouts are my favorite.”

Wilkerson gave up one hit over the first six innings while striking out the side in the fifth and sixth.

She pitched all seven innings, giving up one run on three hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

“We’ve struggled a little bit with our hitting lately, and we’re trying to find that groove,” Kaneland coach Madison Mikos said. “Our top six girls are hitting and then not hitting, so who’s in that top six every game? Today it wasn’t there for us.”

The Knights (6-11, 3-4) finally broke through in the seventh, with Woods hitting a single to lead off the inning. Gabriella Gonzalez followed with a hit to drive in Woods for the only run of the game for the Knights.

With the Knights rallying, Carpenter called timeout to settle the Spartans down. Wilkerson stepped back into the circle and got two strikeouts and a popout to first to end the game.

The Spartans never let up, recording at least one hit in every inning. They scored a run on an RBI triple in the second from Tia Durst that drove in McLaughlin. They added another run in the fifth on an RBI single off the bat of Faith Heil, driving in Snodgrass.

The final run for the Spartans came on a Lantz single, knocking in Bella Jacobs, who came in to pitch run in the sixth.