Softball: Taylor Vescogni, La Salle-Peru come out on top at Princeton

PRINCETON – La Salle-Peru softball coach Randy Huebbe had been treating sophomore ace Taylor Vescogni with kid gloves coming off tendinitis in her shoulder.

Those gloves came off Tuesday.

Vescogni went the distance, pitching out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam to preserve a 7-4 win over host Princeton at Little Siberia Field.

She allowed four hits and four walks while striking out nine. It was the first game Vescogni, who did her day’s work on 70 pitches, was given the clearance to throw her curveball.

“I didn’t come out the strongest as usually I have been, but I thought I made my way through the game and I worked through it,” Vescogni said.

In the seventh inning, “I just had to really focus in and focus on every pitch and every pitch mattered,” Vescogni said.

“I just had to really focus in and focus on every pitch and every pitch mattered.”

—  Taylor Vescogni, L-P pitcher

The Cavs staked Vescogni to a three-run lead with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore Brie Ruppert, who was just cleared to play coming off a concussion, smacked an opposite-field, leadoff home run. Karmen Piano followed her path for an RBI double to make it 7-4.

“I’m super proud of her,” Vescogni said of Ruppert. “We really made adjustments in the game, hitting the pitch where it was pitched, and we got some nice contact and scored runs when we needed to.”

Vescogni retired six straight heading into the bottom of the seventh and retired the first batter, freshman Kyrra Morris, on a groundout to third.

Then things got a little more interesting. Slap-hitter Caroline Keutzer reached on a two-base throwing error. Makayla Hecht was hit by a pitch, and Keely Lawson walked for the third time to load the bases.

Vescogni got freshman cleanup hitter/pitcher Avah Oertel to hit sharply to shortstop Ava Lambert, who fired to catcher Addie Duttlinger for the forceout on Keutzer at home for the second out of the inning.

“That was a big help saving that run,” Vescogni said.

Vescogni struck out the final batter to earn her third win of the season for the Cavs (3-1).

“I don’t know if she could have done it earlier in the game the way things were going. But she did find it, and that’s why I stuck with her because I could see her making the adjustments out there,” Huebbe said. “I told her I was proud of her the way she gutted it out. A lot of pitchers would have had their heads down, but she wasn’t. She’s just like, ‘Give me the ball,’ and I’m proud of her.

“Remember, she’s only a sophomore. She doesn’t look like a sophomore. She doesn’t act like a sophomore, but she’s only a sophomore. And she hits the heck out of it, too.”

With their bus still warm, Callie Mertes singled in L-P’s first run of the game and scored on a wild pitch to give the Cavs a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

That lead didn’t last long as the Tigresses struck for two runs on no hits in the home half to tie the score at 2.

The Tigresses took a 3-2 lead without another hit in the third when Lawson drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a bunt by Oertel.

The Cavs came back with two runs in the fourth on a double by Lambert and a RBI single by Vescogni to go up 4-3.

Princeton got that run right back in the home half of the fourth to tie the game at 4. Ellie Harp singled to left, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Sam Woolley’s groundout to short.

Vescogni led the Cavs with a 3-for-4 game at the plate. Piano (RBI), Kelsey Frederick (RBI) and Ruppert (2 RBIs) each added two hits.

Izzy Gibson went 2 for 3 for Princeton, including a deep double to left in the second inning.

Despite the loss, their first after opening the season with two wins, Princeton coach Jhavon Hayes was pleased with her team’s play.

“I thought we played a pretty darn good game. We held our own, top to bottom,” she said. “We’re jelling as a team. Just had a couple miscues, but we’ll get that back. We were confident the whole game. They have each other’s backs. We have nothing to hang our heads about. It’s a good team and we played a great game.”

Huebbe was impressed on what he saw from across the field with the Tigresses.

“I want to give them credit. They came to play. We didn’t. Sometimes we don’t. They’ve got to understand that. People want to beat L-P and they’ve got to show up,” he said. “Thank God we got it figured out before the fifth inning.

“[Hayes] had them ready. She had them really ready. I think she’s doing a heck of a job.”