(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Under sunny skies but still chilly conditions, Waubonsee Community College's softball team hosted Elgin Community College in their home opener on Tuesday afternoon. The Chiefs (11-6, 2-0) kept the Spartans winless (0-10, 0-2) on the season by sweeping the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) doubleheader. Waubonsee won the opener 11-2 in five innings and then blasted Elgin in game two 23-2 in five innings. The 21-run advantage set a program record for largest margin of victory, eclipsing a 20-0 win over Century (MN) College set in 2014. Overall, the Chiefs registered 25 hits and capitalized on sloppy defense by Elgin to help first-year head coach Hannah Tomasko pick up her first ISCC coaching wins.
In the opener Waubonsee struck first when AnnaMarie Vivirito slapped a one-out single through the left side of the infield. She moved up to third base when Ionicca Rivera tapped the ball in front of home plate and the throw to first by Spartans' catcher Madelaine Gilpin went off the first baseman's glove. Vivirito scored two pitches later when Brooke Pfeiffer lofted a sacrifice fly to right center field. Elgin evened things up in the top of the second on a sacrifice fly of their own. The Chiefs regained the lead in their half of the second as both Morgan Iwanski and McKenna Ignasak scored on a throwing error. Waubonsee tacked on two more runs courtesy of the Spartans' third error of the game to make it 5-1.
The Chiefs added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly to left center by Julia Hupp. Iwanski followed with a ringing double that one-hopped off the fence in left center field. Ignasak then singled to left and stole second two pitches later. Gianna Madrigal ripped a one-out, pinch-hit two-run single to right center to extend the lead to 8-1. Haley McCoy then grounded a ball to third that potentially could have been turned into an inning-ending double play. However, the Spartans committed another error with the errant throw rolling all the way to the fence in right center. Madrigal scored easily and McCoy scampered all the way around the bases beating the throw home to break the game open.
Elgin's Sydney Haughs led off the fourth inning with a solo home run that sailed just below the scoreboard in left center. The Spartans got two more runners on base before Waubonsee starter Peyton Dudzik worked out of the jam by inducing three ground balls. The Chiefs scored again in the fourth when Iwanski lofted a two-out, run-scoring triple to the base of the right field fence to give Waubonsee an 11-2 lead. Iwanski finished with a double and triple, going 2 for 2 officially with two runs scored. Vivirito knocked in two runs and Ignasak scored twice in the win. Dudzik scattered four hits over five innings, striking out four, walking two and giving up just one earned run.
Per ISCC rules the Chiefs were visitors in game two and they picked up right where they left off. Alyssa Perkins led off the game by drawing a walk and Vivirito followed with a double over the left fielder's head to put runners at second and third. Bree Crosby then walked to load the bases for Rivera who smashed a line shot to left field that went all the way to the fence to clear the bases. Jerilyn Staat plated Rivera moments later with a perfectly placed bunt single to make it 4-0. A fifth run scored on a wild pitch before two more walks loaded the bases. An error and another wild pitch led to two more runs before Maya Brito slashed a line single over third base to give Waubonsee an 8-0 lead with still no one out.
Two pitches later Brito scurried all the way home from second base on another throwing error. Perkins then reached on an infield hit and Vivirito followed with her second hit of the inning lining a single to center. Crosby smacked a third straight single to load the bases once more. Rivera ripped a shot to center that was caught for the first out of the inning as Perkins tagged up and scored. Another hit and an error allowed two more runs to score before Brito was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to extend the score to 13-0. When the dust finally settled the Chiefs had sent 19 batters to the plate with the first 12 all reaching base and 10 of them scoring by the time Elgin recorded the first out. The 13-run inning was the second most runs scored in an inning in program history behind only a 14-run inning tallied against Oakton Community College in 2016 and one against McHenry County College in 1997. Waubonsee also booked nine hits in the inning, one short of the program mark previously done three times.
Staked to a huge lead before she even entered the circle Chiefs' starting pitcher Avery Lundblad proceeded to mow down the Spartans hitters registering a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the first. The onslaught continued in the top of the second as Rivera drilled a run-scoring single to center and Staat followed with a smash up the middle to drive in another run to make it 15-0. Mackenzie Fraus then drilled a double to right to knock in another run before McCoy ripped a single to center to push across a run. Iwanski then reached on an infield single as the fifth run of the inning crossed the plate. Jenna Borgstrom lined a double to right to score a 19th run with still no one out. An infield single by Perkins put runners at the corners once more before another run scored on a wild pitch. A fourth error by the Spartans led to a 21st run before the half inning came to an end.
Lundblad then struck out the side in the bottom of the second sending the lopsided affair into the top of the third inning. After a one-out walk McCoy drilled a double to the base of the center field fence to put runners at second and third. Iwanski then walked to load the bases before Borgstrom smacked a single to right to push the lead to 22-0. Lundblad tallied two more strikeouts in the third as she kept the Elgin bats in a deep freeze. The Chiefs threatened again in the fourth as Madrigal led off with a double to straight away center field. However, Waubonsee did not score even though they loaded the bases twice during the inning.
Gilpin then broke up Lundblad's perfect game and no-hitter by reaching on an infield single to start the bottom of the fourth. Another infield hit and a bloop single loaded the bases with no outs. A groundout to second then broke the shutout as Gilpin scored from third. Another groundout to shortstop plated a second run for the Spartans to make the score 22-2. Waubonsee again threatened to add to its big lead in the fifth as Iwanski singled and the Spartans committed a seventh error on defense. Perkins, who launched a dozen home runs as a freshman last season, nearly got her fourth of this season flying out to deep left field for the first out. Iwanski then scored on a fielder's choice ground out before the game headed to the bottom of the fifth a short time later. Lundblad surrendered a two-out walk before getting the final out on a fly out to right field.
McCoy ended the game 3 for 4 with a double, two runs scored, a run driven in and a walk. Vivirito, Madrigal, Rivera, Staat, Fraus and Borgstrom all finished with two hits apiece. Rivera knocked in three runs, while Staat, Brito and Borgstrom all batted in two runs each. Lundblad finished the game with nine strikeouts, one walk and three hits allowed over five innings of work. Waubonsee is in action again this coming Thursday, March 27 when they are set to host Madison (WI.) College in a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. The Chiefs are also at home on Saturday, March 29 when they take on Milwaukee Area (WI.) Technical College in a twinbill set to start at noon.