Softball: Madi Reeves’ 17-strikeout gem pitches Yorkville past Plainfield North in SPC opener

YORKVILLE – Madi Reeves didn’t reveal a whiff of emotion after it was announced that the Yorkville senior had struck out her 100th batter of the season.

Her reason for no reaction? Well, there was the matter of the business at hand.

“I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time. I just knew they were cheering louder,” Reeves said. “Plus, I only had one out. So I needed to get out of the inning.”

Reeves has been all business since she stepped into the varsity circle two springs ago. Once again, the Miami (Ohio) recruit took care of business Tuesday.

Reeves struck out 17 batters in a three-hit shutout. The Foxes supported her with four two-out runs, and went on to a 4-0 win over visiting Plainfield North in the Southwest Prairie Conference opener.

“She’s a gamer. She wants to go out there and compete every time.”

—  Yorkville coach Jory Regnier, on pitcher Madi Reeves

Yorkville coach Jory Regnier, with a knowing smile, was hardly surprised at the mention of Reeves’ minimal reaction to her milestone strikeout. That’s Reeves.

“Sometimes she’ll laugh or something crazy happens or give you a smile, but she’s a gamer,” Regnier said. “She wants to go out there and compete every time.”

Reeves did celebrate the 100th strikeout with the gift of a portrait of Blue, a character from her favorite movie “The Sea Beast.”

She’s certainly had opposing hitters feeling blue.

Reeves had a 0.97 ERA and struck out 341 batters as a sophomore, leading Yorkville to its first sectional title. She struck out 249 more batters last spring as the Foxes won 28 games and repeated conference and regional titles.

Reeves was on her game Tuesday, striking out the side in the first and retiring the first seven batters she faced.

Plainfield North (5-4) looked poised to break through against Reeves in the fourth inning when Alex Sikora reached on a leadoff single and advanced to third on two wild pitches.

She stayed there. Reeves struck out the next three batters, the first that 100th of the season.

“That’s the spot where I need to be mentally tough and lock in on what I’m doing,” Reeves said. “I try to think about all my technical cues, what I can do for my team in the moment.”

Reeves (7-1) didn’t let the baserunner or a brief physical inconvenience affect her. A nail was digging into her finger from the seams on the ball, a problem rectified by a nail file from Reeves’ mom.

“Veteran, not rattled, the pressure doesn’t get to her. That was a key moment, really big for her,” Regnier said. “She could have easily let it go a different way, but she buckled down and did what she needed to do.”

The Foxes (10-1)) did their part with two runs in the third inning and two more in the sixth.

Four straight batters reached with two out in the third inning of a scoreless game. Sara Ebner knocked in Makenzie Sweeney with the first run with a line single up the middle, and Katlyn Schraeder followed suit to make it 2-0.

“We worked yesterday on hitting in the machine, right about that speed that the pitcher was throwing,” Ebner said. “I was just trying to focus on driving the ball up the middle, just stay through the ball and get it up the middle or to right field.”

Kaitlyn Roberts’ two-out, two-run single in the sixth made it 4-0, more than enough offense the way Reeves was throwing.

“Obviously, when Madi is pitching the pressure is on the other team. Our defense is confident when Madi is pitching, as we should be,” Ebner said. “We’re just trying to get some insurance runs for Madi, relieve the pressure on her.”

Plainfield North senior pitcher Megan Bouska acquitted herself reasonably well facing a tough customer. Not overpowering but effective, Bouska scattered nine hits and struck out two. Bouska, pitching on varsity for the first time this season, kept the Tigers in the game until Roberts’ hit despite three errors behind her that led to the four runs.

“She’s a senior this year, first time ever pitching on varsity, and we’re using her to build that confidence. I think this is a great day for her to build that confidence,” Tigers coach Julie Ann Czerniakowski said. “We have five pitchers who can throw, so we’ll do a little bit of a rotation. She never got the opportunity last year. She will this year.”

Natalia Lesnicki had two of Plainfield North’s three hits. Sweeney reached base four times, and Roberts had two singles for Yorkville.