Novak, Minooka escape Plainfield Central

Updated: April 14, 2011 2:16PM

High school softball teams often play 30 or more games in a season, making it hard to remember one game from the next.

That doesn't hold true when Plainfield Central and Minooka meet. In the first of two games this season between the Southwest Prairie Conference powers, Minooka escaped with a 4-2 victory Tuesday thanks to a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.

"It got a little exciting at the end there, a little more exciting than we wanted it to be,'' Minooka coach Mark Brown said.

Second baseman Lindsey Fenner caught a soft liner for the second out and threw to Kim Ramsak at third base to double up the runner.

"That was awesome,'' Minooka pitcher Sara Novak said.

"We got off a little too far and couldn't get back,'' Plainfield Central coach Anne Campbell said. "We were trying to be aggressive.''

Minooka (9-4, 3-0) finished second to SPC champ Central last year, so Brown was happy the Indians struck first this season. The rematch is May 5 at Plainfield Central.

"We really wanted to come out and get the first one and get that monkey off our back,'' Brown said. "The last couple years they got the first one and put us behind the 8-ball.''

Novak (5-1) pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts, including two to get out of jams in the fourth and sixth innings.

"I thought I did all right,'' Novak said. "Just making some pitches and battling when I was down in the count.''

"She had some pop on the ball,'' Campbell said. "We weren't catching up with her today.''

Novak gave up a solo home run to Olivia Scott (2 walks, 2 runs) in the first inning, but a two-run single by Kassie Marsala put the Indians up for good 2-1 in the bottom of the first.

"I haven't been hitting like normal so it's been nice two games in a row to help pick the team up,'' said Marsala, who contributed to a late rally in the 4-1 victory Monday over Marist.

Katie Chitkowski added an RBI-double and Jackie Lilek an RBI single to extend the lead Tuesday to 4-1 in the fourth.

Karly Jackson had two hits for Plainfield Central (8-4, 2-1), including a single to right that loaded the bases in the seventh after Brown had called an infield meeting.

"I saw them kind of slump down,'' Brown said. "I said, ‘We're winning. Let's take it one out at a time.' Just calmed them down a little bit.''

"They didn't quit, so that's an important thing,'' Campbell said of her team threatening in the last inning. "We just didn't hit the ball well enough today. They outhit us, they outplayed us today.''

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