Huge fifth inning does in Wilmington in ICE clash

MANTENO − Things went down to the wire on Tuesday between the top two teams in the Illinois Central Eight Conference. It was host Manteno that wound up on top 9-7, taking a 9-3 lead into the top of the seventh inning and surviving a comeback push from Wilmington, one that saw the Wildcats bring the tying run to the plate with two outs.

With the win, Manteno improved to 7-0 on the season and 3-0 in the ICE while Wilmington dropped to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

The Panthers rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning after falling behind 3-2 in the fourth. They played a little small ball to get the runs home, tallying six singles, a pair of walks and two RBI groundouts in the frame, and took advantage of some Wilmington miscues on defense.

Ava Peterson, who was also the winning pitcher for Manteno, delivered what would ultimately become the game-winning hit. Her single drove in Amiya Carlile and led to an error that allowed Julie Ott to score to make it 8-3.

The Wildcats bounced back a bit in the seventh, scoring four two-out runs to make tighten things up a bit. Keeley Walsh doubled home a run, and after a walk loaded the bases, Molly Southall drove in three runs with a triple to bring the score to 9-7. Peterson then induced a groundout to end the game.

That fifth inning rally that propelled Manteno to the win was something that head coach Josh Carlile said that team felt was bound to happen at some point in the game.

“We talked in between the inning before that, and even the inning before that, that we felt like we were on time with our swings and we just weren’t getting the results that we wanted,” he said. “We just wanted to just go up to the plate, have the same approach and let it work, and it did. Sometimes it just takes a little spark, it takes one person making something happen, and once it does it kind of snowballs.”

That positive momentum snowballing for the Panthers meant that Wilmington was having things roll in the opposite direction.

“We talked about how you just can’t let one error multiply,” Wilmington head coach Jack Skole said. “They hit the ball, and we know they’re going to hit the ball. We hit the ball, they made plays. It’s just one of those things where the wheels came off for one inning.”

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Manteno's Aubrie Goudreau catches a throw to second base as Wilmington's Keeley Walsh narrowly steals the base during the Panthers' 9-7 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Wilmington’s lineup had generated plenty of runs on the season, averaging over 16 runs per game heading into Tuesday. They had nine hits and worked six walks on Tuesday.

Walsh finished the game 3 for 4 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs. Southall was 1 for 2 with three walks, three RBIs and two stolen bases while Nina Egizio was 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Wilmington put the ball in play frequently against Manteno, striking out just twice as a team, but the Manteno defense managed to turn enough of those batted balls into outs to get the job done.

“[Peterson] didn’t have her best stuff tonight, so we really had to focus in on getting a little more of the plate than we probably wanted, which allowed them to get more barrels on the ball,” Carlile said. “But the defense did a nice job making enough plays to get us out of innings a couple of times, and I think that was the difference.”

Peterson said that having confidence in her defense helped her get through that final inning against the heart of the Wilmington lineup.

“It was definitely different knowing [Wilmington] could heat up so quick, but I had all the confidence knowing that they could heat up and my defense was going to step up and make the plays like they did,” she said. “They were going to put it in play, yes, but someone was going to find a way to get the ball in their glove.”

Peterson led the way offensively for Manteno, going 4 for 4 from the leadoff spot with three RBIs and two runs. Macy Iwanus was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Amiya Carlile was 2 for 3 with two runs and two stolen bases.