Nichols sparks Downers South in sectional semi

Updated: June 2, 2011 8:50PM

It’s hard to determine if Downers Grove South’s Jenny Nichols pitched or hit better against Naperville Central Thursday.

On the mound, she allowed six hits, one walk and one strikeout. At the plate, Nichols recorded four RBI. Either way, she was a big part of Downers South’s win over Naperville Central, 10-0 in five innings in a Class 4A Oswego East Sectional semifinal.

“She did a good job today,” Downers South coach Ron Havelka said of Nichols, who improved to 14-1 this year. “She changed speeds and got out of a big jam (in the second inning, bases loaded with no outs). She hit great too. It was huge.”

“My biggest thing was keeping it in the strike zone,” Nichols said. “[As for my hitting], it’s very hard to hit off [Naperville Central pitcher Alyssa Wunderlich] obviously, so we prepared for that. I changed my swing before the game because I’ve been in a little bit of a slump lately. Maybe the hitting was on because I was pitching, and I wanted to help myself out. You never know what can happen — if you can help to score as many runs as you can, the pressure is off.”

The win moves Downers South (28-6) to the sectional final against Benet (28-10) Saturday at 11 a.m. Earlier in the season, the Redwings beat the Mustangs, 2-0. Benet advanced to the sectional final after beating Naperville North, 10-1.

Naperville Central finished the season 24-11 with a regional title and coach Andy Nussbaum eclipsing the 500-plus win mark.

“Nothing went the way we wanted to go today,” Nussbaum said. “We picked a really bad day to have a really bad day, but we had a really good season, and our seniors did a great job. I feel bad because there were a few things we couldn’t get done for them.”

Downers South scored on five of the six walks drawn and Naperville Central’s lone error of the game. In addition to Nichols’ four RBI, Aleicia Bozek, Katy LaCivita and Danielle Trezzo each recorded an RBI.

The Mustangs scored twice in the first, three in the second and fourth and twice in the fifth. The final run was scored by Kristina Airdo. She doubled and got to third on a wild pitch and slid home safely when leadoff batter Marissa Mersch made contact with the ball. Mersch ended up scoring three runs.

Wunderlich (15-7) recorded four strikeouts — three in the first inning. She gave up eight hits, including three that went for extra bases. Wunderlich, along with outfielder Meghan Griffin and infielder Erica Conway, were the seniors on the team this year.

“To score that many runs off her — that girl is big-time, and our girls knew that coming into the game,” Havelka said of the SIU-bound Wunderlich. “We tried to prepare for her today. She’s very good, but maybe she was a bit off today.”

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