Downers South jumps on Waubonsie early

Updated: May 24, 2011 9:02PM

Other than its three-error first inning, Waubonsie Valley played at a much higher level than its No. 15 sectional seed.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, though, Downers South (26-6) scored three times in that fateful first inning en route to a 6-2 win Monday in the Downers South Regional semifinal.

Downers South scored once more in the second and twice in the fourth.

The Warriors finish the season 11-20.

“In the beginning, we were a little nervous,” Waubonsie Valley coach Aly Kelley said.

Standout sophomore shortstop Amanda Minahan, also the team’s No. 3 hitter, played with a “crick” in her neck that made moving her head agonizing. She was a game-time decision, opting to play through her pain.

Said Kelley: “I think as soon as (her teammates) heard about her having that injury, a lot of them kind of started to get nervous, thinking, ‘What are we going to do?’”

Minahan didn’t warm up and Mustangs leadoff hitter Marissa Mersch tested the Warriors infielder early with a ground ball to start the bottom of the first. Minahan airmailed first baseman Jackie Kreiner, allowing Mersch to take second when the ball went out of play.

“At the beginning, you could see how shaky and nervous we were but then, toward our last few innings, we came back and we played the solid ball that we’ve been playing at the end of our season,” Kelley said. “So, if we get rid of that beginning part, we hang right with ‘em.”

Illustrating the overall competitive nature of the game, Downers South outscored Waubonsie Valley just 3-2 over the final six innings and each team finished with seven hits.

The Warriors finished with three errors — their first-inning total — and the Mustangs had two.

“They’ve played a lot of people tough this year, and we knew that forget about all the seeds and all that stuff, they were gonna come out there and battle,” Downers South coach Ron Havelka said. “We knew we were in for a good game. They’re a scrappy team.”

Warriors starter Amy Jablonski (8-12) went six innings and turned in consecutive perfect innings in the fifth and sixth. She struck out three and walked one.

Aleisha Bozek (12-3) went the distance for Downers South and also had two hits and an RBI.

Bozek was good but not untouchable, as the Warriors left the bases loaded in the seventh. They left eight runners on base for the game.

Senior Sarah Gosciniak led off the frame with a single and Julia DiMonte walked with one out. Jessica Sarch then singled and Gosciniak scored on an Amanda Lack sacrifice fly. Minahan (1-for-3 with a sac bunt and a stolen base) reached on an error but she would be the last Warrior to reach base.

Waubonsie Valley got its other run in the fourth, when Kreiner (1-for-2 with a double and a sacrifice bunt) scored on Koulos’ single. Both reached base with two out.

Sarch picked up two hits.

“We’ve come a long way as a team,” Kreiner, a senior, said. “We started out the season kind of rough, but lately we’ve been playing really good ball. Obviously, our first and second inning weren’t how we wanted them to go, but other than that I’m really proud of how we played today.”

The Mustangs, seeded second in the Oswego East sectional, advance to play the winner of Wednesday’s Hinsdale South-Neuqua Valley semifinal contest. The regional final is Saturday at 11 a.m.

“We’ve gotta hit the ball better on Saturday if we’re going to advance,” Havelka said. “We got three runs in the first but we got a little help on some of that early on.”

Hinsdale South is seeded 10th and Neuqua Valley is seventh.

Waubonsie Valley defeated Oswego (seeded 19th) 2-1 Monday in a “play-in” game.

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