Kouts wins first sectional title

Updated: May 29, 2011 12:02AM

With runners at the corners and two outs, Kouts held a 5-3 lead over Washington Township in the seventh inning of the Class A Whiting Sectional championship game. Kouts coach Tim McNeill called an infield meeting, giving specific instructions to his catcher Elena Rosenbaum: throw out the runner attempting to steal second.

Her response?

“I just knew I had to get the job done,” said Rosenbaum.

Washington’s Macy Mullins took off for second base on the first pitch, and Rosenbaum fired to shortstop Jenna Jessen, who tagged Mullins, clinching Kouts’ (13-10) first sectional championship in school history.

Rosenbaum’s throw — which cut down the potential game-tying run — ended a furious for the Senators (9-11), who had already scored two runs that inning.

“In softball, a lot of times, teams just give up that second base,” said McNeill. “I just told (Rosenbaum) to keep the throw low, and she did a great job on that play. She did a great job all day.”

It was the third runner that Rosenbaum had thrown out in the game — and the second time she’d caught Mullins stealing.

Washington worked quickly in the first inning, using a lead-off single from Ali Cobb to move ahead 1-0 before the Fillies got a chance to bat.

It took until the third inning for Kouts’ bats to wake up.

“Our girls put a lot of pressure on themselves early,” McNeill said. “I got them together in the dugout and told them to relax, have fun, and just hit the ball.”

The Fillies heeded McNeill’s advice, putting together a two-out rally in the third inning to take the lead. With Jessen on second base after a lead-off walk, the top of the Kouts’ lineup — Alyse and Elena Rosenbaum and Kelsey Blood — reeled off three straight hits, scoring a trio of runs.

Two more runs scored when Blood hit a triple to the wall in the fifth inning and came around to score after a throwing error on the same play.

Kouts will face Pioneer in the next round.

One day after ending Whiting’s five-year reign as sectional champion with a shutout, Washington pitcher Elizabeth Lustgarten left her pitches up enough for Kouts to get ahold of them, according to Washington head coach Jack Corley.

“If you put your pitches there, they’re going to hit you,” he said. “I think she burned out (Friday) night, she put everything she had into that game.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.