Softball: Katey Pierce, Wheaton Warrenville South keep their cool in cold, hold off Oswego

OSWEGO – Katey Pierce repeatedly rubbed the softball against her uniform pant leg before throwing a pitch on a raw Monday afternoon. That was no coincidence.

“It takes a while for your hands to get used to the cold, for sure,” said Pierce, Wheaton Warrenville South’s senior pitcher. “I know a few of those innings, it was a little bit of a rough start because it’s like ‘Alright, let’s spin the ball, let’s get my fingers moving.’ Because it’s all about the fingers.”

Pierce’s control came and went at times on the cold day. On one pitch, she airmailed a delivery over the catcher’s mitt to the backstop.

But she remained in command.

Pierce struck out six in a two-hitter, took a shutout into the seventh inning, and Wheaton Warrenville South first baseman Ella Krejci threw the tying run out at the plate in a wild ending to the Tigers’ 2-1 win over Oswego.

Oswego (1-3) had baserunners in all but one inning against Pierce. But the College of Central Florida commit did not allow a hit in 12 at-bats with runners on base, effectively mixing a screwball, drop curve and occasional change.

“I just trust my pitches,” said Pierce, who walked four and hit a batter. “I knew what we were throwing and the sequencing we were going with and I trusted my defense behind me. I’m not going to strike everybody out but my teammates made plays.”

That was certainly the case in the last inning.

Oswego’s Sam Worland singled with one out and WW South (3-1) leading 2-0, and with two out Marissa Moffett walked on a full count. Kayla Maruna hit a grounder to short, and the low throw to first base got away, allowing one run to score. But Krejci threw a strike from first home, and Tigers catcher Maggie Reinert tagged out the runner before she hit the plate.

“A little bit scary, but I’m glad we were all communicating,” Pierce said. “Maggie made a really good tag.”

WW South coach Jeff Pawlak was impressed with Krejci’s perseverance after an 0-for-3 day at the plate, and is impressed with Reinert’s transition to catcher. The Wisconsin-Whitewater recruit, a center fielder by trade, moved behind the plate when the Tigers expected catcher tore her ACL a month and a half ago.

“Maggie has taken this on and done an outstanding job. Talk about senior leadership and unselfishness,” Pawlak said. “Ella had a really good game with the bat, didn’t see the results, I told her she could have easily dropped her head but she came out and made a strike.”

Oswego wasn’t about to drop its head after Monday’s loss.

The Panthers graduated a huge senior class from 2020, nine seniors, and are playing three freshmen, two sophomores and five or six juniors and three seniors who had never played a varsity game until this past week. Oswego looked the part at times with three errors, but also made some stellar plays like Moffett’s running catch in right in the first inning and third baseman Corrin Kennedy’s diving catch on a bunt attempt in the fourth.

“This is one of the youngest teams I’ve ever coached. We are pretty young, pretty fresh,” Oswego coach Sarah Pawlowski said. “But other teams are going through the same.”

Oswego junior pitcher Caitlin Hartsell allowed just two unearned runs on four hits, striking out one.

“She has been doing really well for us,” Pawlowski said. “She pitched a great game against Neuqua too. I can’t ask for much more from my pitchers.”

WW South broke through for its two runs in the fourth inning. Pierce reached on an error, Leah Adamek lined a single and Parker Leonard doubled over the third base bag to bring in the first run. Krejci’s squeeze bunt made it 2-0, and Pierce did the rest.

Pierce, one of three girls returning from WW South’s 24-win 2019 regional champs, threw 97 innings as a sophomore and will be asked for more this spring.

“We will go as far as Katey takes us, and she knows it,” Pawlak said. “She’s grown up, she keeps her poise. She is a competitive kid.”