Graffiti got sprayed all over a masterpiece Thursday.
Shannon Hohman was on her way to a special day on the mound and at the plate when it all went bad for the Waubonsie Valley senior.
Hohman had struck out nine of 10 batters in a three-inning span, and her team led 2-0 over Lake Park when she inexplicably lost the strike zone in the sixth.
One hit, two hit batsmen and three walks later, Lake Park took a 3-2 lead on its way to a 6-2 victory that shocked the Warriors at The Dome in Rosemont.
“I was feeling good the whole game, moving the ball around, and then one thing throws me off and I got in my head,” Homan said. “It went downhill from there.
“I put those girls on base and you have to keep walks to a minimum. Then I wasn’t throwing as hard, my ball wasn’t moving as much, and it got into my head.”
Waubonsie Valley coach Valerie Wood wasn’t about to lay the blame solely at Hohman’s feet, however.
“I thought the two runs would hold up but we folded when the pressure was on,” Wood said. “We missed the coverage on a bunt, then we threw the ball away, and we’re obviously not going to get far on that many walks in an inning. The pressure got to us today.”
The Warriors (1-2) led 1-0 in the second inning on an RBI single from Calley Gautschi, and led 2-0 in the fifth on an RBI double by Christina Pembrook.
Hohman was masterful from the third through the fifth innings, striking out nine, and Lake Park only managed two hits through five innings.
The wheels came off with two outs in Lake Park’s half of the sixth, when walks and hit batsmen gave the Lancers a 3-2 lead. Jordan Kurth replaced Hohman on the mound with the bases loaded, and Lake Park’s Marissa Catalano padded the lead with a three-RBI triple to the gap in left-center.
Hohman had three hits including a double, Pembrook had two hits, and also collecting hits for Waubonsie were Gautschi, Sabrina Calabrese, Layne Thresh and Audria Wagenknecht.
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But while Lake Park’s six runs came on only three hits, Waubonsie only managed two runs on nine hits. The Warriors only struck out three times and hit the ball hard, but an unnerving trend has been at play.
“In our last couple of games we’ve done a great job of getting runners on, but then struggled to get them in,” Kurth said.”We have to get better at that.
“I feel for (Hohman). She pitched a great game and she was hitting great spots. Sometimes it takes just one little thing to throw you off your game. But I know she’ll come back strong.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance writer.