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PLAINFIELD — The announcer at Plainfield Central had a bit of fun with Wildcat freshman Maeve Carlton when she came to bat Thursday in a Southwest Prairie Conference game against Romeoville.
Once, she was announced as “Mauve” Carlton and once as “Maybe” Carlton.
After going 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI in a 9-1 win, it’s safe to say that more people are going to know her correct name.
Not only did Carlton get the job done at the plate for Central (6-4, 1-1), she also played flawless defense at shortstop, a tough position for anyone to play, let alone a freshman.
“It was kind of intimidating at first,” Carlton said about playing with the varsity as a freshman. “But, our environment is pretty easy to fit into. We are also a fairly young team. We only have three seniors, and there are three freshman starting. It made it easier to have some of my classmates up with me so I wasn’t the only one.”
After both teams were held scoreless in the first inning, Carlton drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double to bring home Delaney Weber, who was courtesy running for Sophia Patterson, who had led off the inning with a single. An out later, Carlton came around to score on a double by Ava Zitello for a 2-0 lead.
That lead was enough for Wildcat pitcher Jamie Crawford, who scattered seven hits and allowed one run while striking out seven.
In the bottom of the fourth, another freshman, Evelyn Prochaska, led off with a single, stole second and scored on a single by Ava Sommerfeld for a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth, Patterson led off with a single and courtesy runner Weber went to second on an error on a ball hit by Carlton. A bunt by McKenna Ignasak moved the runners to second and third before a single by Zitello (2 for 4, double, 3 RBIs). An out later, back-to-back singles by Prochaska and Sommerfeld each drove in a run to cap the four-run rally and give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
“It’s been a different person stepping up pretty much every game,” Carlton said. “Today, we had a player who hadn’t bunted all year get down a perfect bunt. Everyone is making the plays we need them to make and stepping up.”
Central put up two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Tricia Hogrefe led off with a walk and went to second on a single by Crawford. An out later, a single by Carlton loaded the bases. Ignasak followed with a screaming single up the middle to score both Hogrefe and Crawford.
Romeoville (1-6, 0-2) avoided the shutout in the top of the seventh. Kasia Brandt led off with a single and Delaney Giacomo followed with a single of her own. A walk to Rylee Teel loaded the bases. After a popup to second, Madai Valdez-Juarez grounded to second to bring Brandt home.
“This was a good team win,” Central coach Kate Welsh said. “We put the ball in play and put a little pressure on their defense. Our young players are really mixing well with the older players. Jamie Crawford pitched a great game. She threw strikes and didn’t hurt herself by walking hitters.
“Our defense made all the plays in the field and we have really good depth with our lineup. When all the girls are able to come through, it’s nice to see.”