Sports

Softball: Marian Catholic Outslugs Oak Forest

Marian Catholic 8, Oak Forest 3: Rebecca Stanton and Alex Nickel connect for homers as the Spartans rally from a 3-1 deficit to take the non-conference battle on Friday afternoon in Oak Forest.

Touching All the Bases: A big crowd turned out to watch some of the Southland’s biggest boppers put on fireworks show in a non-conference softball matchup with playoff implications on a chilly Friday afternoon in . And, sure enough, the ball was flying out of the ballpark in Marian Catholic’s 8-3 victory over Oak Forest. Emily Naegele’s solo homer in the bottom of the third inning staked the Bengals to a 3-1 lead. The blast for Naegele was her ninth of the season. Marian Catholic tied the score 3-3 on a solo homer by Alex Nickel in the top of the fifth. And the Spartans’ Rebecca Stanton connected for a three-run homer that broke the game open in the sixth. The homer for Stanton was her eighth and came on an 0-1 pitch from Oak Forest’s Emily Larsen.

Patch’s MVP: Rebecca Stanton, junior, right fielder, Marian Catholic.

Marian Catholic Leaders: Rebecca Stanton (1-for-4, 3-run homer, 3 RBIs), Kelly Foley (2-for-5, 1 run, 1 RBI), Alex Nickel (1-for-2, solo homer, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Lyndsey Trump (2-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI), Allison Spence (1-for-4, double, 1 run, 7 innings pitched, 3 runs, 1 earned, 2 strikeouts).

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Oak Forest Leaders: Emily Naegele (2-for-3, solo homer, 1 run, 2 RBIs), Priscilla Rios (1-for-3, double), Calie Delisi (2-for-2), Ashley Benniger (1-for-4, double).

Quotable I: “It seemed like there was a playoff atmosphere, and that’s what I told my girls,” Marian Catholic coach Kerri Evans said. “I’m proud of you because we made some physical and mental mistakes early. We knew we made them. We were upset about it. But, in the crazy atmosphere that it was, to come back like they did, I was proud of them.”

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Quotable II: “There were definitely a lot of big hitters on that team,” Oak Forest’s Emily Naegele said. “Last year, this game was like a home run derby. I guess it was again today. The fans were treated to a show. It’s always nice to have a lot of fans. But, I don’t know, I don’t want to say I’m disappointed in everyone, but I just wish we didn’t take these games for granted, not with all these fans here. When something bad happens to us, we need to pick up our energy.”

Quotable III: “It’s definitely hard to (bounce back),” Oak Forest coach Katy Dammer said of the Bengals’ inability to counter following Rebecca Stanton’s three-run homer. “I mean, we start off the game super-strong. Then, one bad thing happens and it kind of had a little snow-ball effect. We’ve been talking all season long about playing all seven innings. It just didn’t happen.”

Team Records: Marian Catholic is 18-7. Oak Forest is 16-10. The two teams could face off again in the Class 3A playoffs.

What’s Next: Marian Catholic plays Benet Academy at 11 a.m. today in Lisle. Oak Forest is at Mother McAuley at 11 a.m. today.


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