Unflappable Sandburg grounds Downers South

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Sandburg softball coach Jim Fabianski has a stuffed yellow duck with him in the dugout.

Like ducks, the top-rated Eagles were unflappable as sophomore Brit Gardner struck out 12 as Sandburg knocked off host Downers Grove South 6-0 Tuesday.

“Ducks have a way of letting things go,” Fabianski said. “They honk at each other and then flap their wings like a signal for let’s go.”

In the second, Sandburg (24-1) scored four times with one RBI from Gina Gawron, Erin Cotter, Laura Christensen and Brittany Wolski.

Gardner scattered five hits in improving to 19-1.

“Right now, she has a lot more confidence in her change-up,” Fabianski said. “She hadn’t been throwing it for strikes, and now being down 3-0 in the count doesn’t bother her.”

“I never used to throw it [a change] because it didn’t work,” Gardner said. “[On Tuesday,] I threw one on a 3-2 pitch and got the girl out. I thought we did great, and so did they. That’s a very good team.”

Nikki Abramovske had three hits and Gawron two RBI.

“Sandburg’s a nice team with a good pitcher,” Downers South coach Ron Havelka said. “Our 6 through 9 hitters were 1-for-12 with nine strikeouts and you need something from the bottom of the order.”