No. 5 Thornwood and No. 6 Stagg entered Wednesday’s softball showdown in South Holland in very different moods.
Thornwood was still trying to shake off a tough 2-0 loss to Argo the day before while Stagg was riding high after handing SICA West rival Lincoln-Way Central its first loss of the season on the same afternoon.
After the dust cleared the moods shifted as the Thunderbirds, behind the pitching of Uju Ibekwe and a pair of RBIs by third baseman Briane Christofanelli, cruised to a 4-0 win.
“That was a tough loss against Argo, but we had to shake it off today,” said Ibekwe after her 14 strikeout, one-hit performance. “We came in a little more prepared.”
The Chargers (13-2) didn’t look prepared for Ibekwe from start to finish. Her no-hit bid ended in the top of the seventh with a sharply hit single from Chargers pinch-hitter Amy Hyerczyk.
The Thunderbirds’ bats were productive, scoring three in the third–highlighted by an RBI double by Christofanelli–and an insurance run in the fifth. That was plenty for Ibekwe, who allowed only two base runners.
“We were hoping to give Thornwood (11-2) a much better game,” Stagg coach Missy Mason said. “Ibekwe is one of the top two or three pitchers we have seen all season.”
Bill Harrison.
Glenbard North 2, West Chicago 1: Lindsey Veselsky fired a three-hitter with 16 strikeouts to lead the No. 1 Panthers (13-0, 2-0) in the DuPage Valley.
Lincoln-Way Central 5, Argo 0: Kristin Noble pitched a six-hitter for the No. 2 Knights (12-1).
Oak Park 3, Downers Grove North 1: Beth Price went 3-for-3 and drove in three for the No. 4 Huskies (9-0, 3-0) in the West Suburban Silver.
Lockport 5, Queen of Peace 1: Denise Van Vossen went 3-for-4 to lead the No. 8 Porters (11-4).
Larkin 9, Elgin 8: Courtney Laferle had two doubles and a RBI for the No. 9 Royals (13-1, 4-1).
Barrington 8, Fremd 2: Danielle Tinkoff and Chrissy Lund each drove in two runs for the No. 10 Fillies (19-1, 5-0) in the Mid-Suburban West.
Elk Grove 3, Rolling Meadows 0: Megan Huitink pitched a no-hitter and struck out 14 for the Grenadiers.
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Baseball
New Trier 3, Maine South 0: Tav Rogan threw a four-hitter and struck out four as the Trevians (5-3, 1-1) knocked off top-ranked Maine South in the Central Suburban South.
Schaumburg 15, Conant 5: John McGowan hit a grand slam and a three-run homer as the No. 3 Saxons (12-2, 4-0) rolled.
Reavis 9, Andrew 1: Mark Satkowski had two doubles and a home run as the Rams (11-4) defeated No. 4 Andrew.
Buffalo Grove 4, Prospect 2: Chris Pietroski scored three runs as the Bison (13-2, 4-0) defeated No. 5 Prospect (14-2, 3-1) in the Mid-Suburban East.
Bradley-Bourbonnais 5, Sandburg 2: John Juergens homered as the Boilermakers (14-3) defeated No. 8 Sandburg.
De La Salle 15, Hales Franciscan 8: Joe Johnson had four RBIs for the No. 10 Meteors (14-1, 6-0) in the Catholic League.
Boys volleyball
Sandburg d. Andrew 15-9, 15-10: Drew Cunningham had nine kills for the No. 9 Eagles (10-3, 5-0) in the SICA West.