Softball: Joliet Catholic walks off with win over Marian Catholic

JOLIET – Leading off the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday, Madison Patrick saw a pitch she liked.

With her team trailing by a run, the Joliet Catholic Academy left fielder swung and drove the ball to right-center field and sped around the bases for a triple. Wrigley Fanter, who had doubled home a run in the bottom of the first before taking a foul tip off her catcher’s mask and sitting for most of the rest of the game, came to bat and laid down a beautiful bunt up the first base line do bring home Patrick to tie the game.

“That first pitch was low and over the middle of the plate, just where I like it,” Patrick said about her leadoff triple. “That’s my favorite pitch to hit, so I went after it. I was thinking three when I saw it hit the fence. I have pretty good speed, so I was pretty sure I would make it.

“Then Wrigley laid down a nice bunt on the squeeze. I knew she would get it down. This was a great win for us. We never gave up.”

The bunt was Fanter’s idea.

“I wanted to bunt,” she said. “I have the confidence that I can do it. My dad makes me bunt every day. Plus, I hadn’t seen the pitcher for a while, so I figured, why not try a bunt?”

After Patrick scored to tie the game, Mack Brow delivered her third hit of the day, a single to right, then stole second during a strikeout. Freshman Addy Rizzato, who had an RBI triple in the third, lifted a fly to right. The Marian Catholic right fielder had the ball tip off her glove while still in fair territory, and Brown came around to score the game-winner as the Angels picked up a 6-5 East Suburban Catholic Conference win.

“This was a big team win. We hope we can keep building on it and carry it into the postseason.”

—  Wrigley Fanter, Joliet Catholic junior

“This was a big team win,” Fanter said. “We hope we can keep building on it and carry it into the postseason.”

The Angels (16-8, 5-3 ESCC) drew first blood in the bottom of the first after Patrick gunned down Nicole Paris at the plate to end the top half. Patrick (3 for 4) led off with a single to deep short, stole second and scored on a double by Fanter. Brow (3 for 4) then drove home courtesy runner Jordan Reeves with a single to right for a 2-0 lead.

Each team scored a run in the third, with JCA getting the RBI triple by Rizzato to score Brow before Camryn Kinsella, who moved from right field to catcher after Fanter’s injury, homered to right-center to put JCA ahead 4-1.

Marian Catholic threatened in nearly every inning and finally broke through in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of some wild pitches by JCA starter Sydney Walker as well as three singles to take a 5-4 lead. JCA freshman Nina Sebahar came on in relief and got out of a bases loaded, one-out jam with minimal damage, then struck out four batters – one reaching on a dropped third strike – in the seventh.

“We made the big plays on defense when we had to,” JCA coach Tina Kinsella said. “But they got a few dinkers on us. They scored on one hit that the girl couldn’t have walked out there and placed it any better. Everyone says that always happens against us, but we won the game on one that went our way.

“What a start to the seventh by Madison Patrick. We couldn’t have asked for more than to get our leadoff hitter on third base with no one out. And Wrigley did a great job getting the bunt down. Nina got out of that jam in the sixth, and that’s a hard spot to come into as a freshman. It was a good experience for her.

“Everyone is doing their part for us, which has been nice to see. It seems like every game, it’s a different group of girls. We aren’t just relying on the same two or three to do it for us every game. Everyone is contributing.”