Glenbard South takes down Elmwood Park

Updated: June 6, 2011 7:40PM

Three’s were wild for the Glenbard South on Monday afternoon during their IHSA Class 3A Super-sectional Championship Judson University in Elgin. The Raiders defeated Metro Suburban Conference rival Elmwood Park for the third time this season with a 3-0 win clinching their third trip to the state semifinals in four years.

A single run on a broken play in the bottom of the first proved to be enough for Glenbard starter Jess Wilkes, but the Raiders added two insurance runs in the sixth for good measure. Wilkes threw all seven innings allowing three hits and three walks while striking out two batters while raising her season record to 20-3 and a perfect 3-0 in games against Elmwood Park in 2011.

“It’s the third time we played them and I had to do everything I could to keep them off balance,” Wilkes said after the victory. “They got on me quickly and more than they did the first two times, but I worked through it. I had a lot of encouragement. I worked through the heat, and after we had that first run I was more confident.”

Glenbard South (28-5) took the lead in the first inning as center fielder Hannah Davey took a one-out walk and went to third on shortstop Jenny Wittenberg’s single. With first baseman Danielle Chitkowski up to bat, Davey stole home when Elmwood Park catcher Catherine Conte threw to second base trying to cut down Wittenberg. The Tigers eventually got Wittenberg, but the Raiders had drawn first blood.

Elmwood Park (24-16) had the better chances the next few innings but couldn’t cash in. With two outs and runners on first and second in the top of the second, starting pitcher Katelyn Jakobsen flied out. Conte led off the third with a free pass, and with one out, right fielder Meghan McNulty lined into a double play to end the threat. Center fielder Brittany Fanella walked to lead off the fourth inning and advanced to third when shortstop Kate Zucker reached on Raiders’ third baseman Olivia Ramirez’s error. Zucker stole second base before Rachel Sannicandro and left fielder Danielle Kerschhackl were unable to bring anyone home. Jakobsen singled to lead off the fifth inning and advanced to second on Conte’s sacrifice bunt, but third baseman Bianca Garcia popped to center and McNulty grounded to third base.

“I think she pitches stronger with runners in scoring position,” said Glenbard South head coach Julie Fonda about Wilkes’ performance under pressure. “If she gives up a walk she doesn’t get nervous, and it’s a trait that will take her a long way in the next few days and at Eastern Michigan (starting next year). You have to have a lot of things to go your way to get (to the finals).”

Jakobsen worked through a season-long shoulder problem and the heat to put up a great pitching effort. She went the six innings allowing three runs on five hits, two walks, a hit batsman while striking out two.

“We had chances and weren’t able to get it across,” said Elmwood Park head coach Erica Hanrahan. “We made a little mistake in the first inning, but one run shouldn’t have made the difference. If we can’t score, we can’t win.”

To make things a bit calmer for Wilkes in the final inning, the Raiders added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to the first four batters reaching base. Second baseman Brianna Meath drew a walk and advanced to second on Davey’s single. Wittenberg singled home Meath before Chitkowski singled in Davey to round out the scoring.

© 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.