When Kankakee Valley defeated Lowell three weeks ago, Emma Maple did not have her best outing.
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In fact, it was her shakiest of the season.
The cold weather didn’t agree with her. She wasn’t as sharp as usual.
But on a nearly 80-degree Monday, Maple was again in top form. The sophomore right-hander was sharp as the Cougars topped the Red Devils for a 12-3 Northwest Crossroads Conference win.
Maple (9-0) allowed three unearned runs on eight hits for Kankakee Valley (10-0, 7-0). She had seven strikeouts and one walk.
“I feel like this game I was more mentally into it and ready to go,” Maple said. “I feel like it showed.
“I was getting my movement pitches to work, and I’m able to use them to get some strikeouts and some popups, and get key outs when we need them.”
Maple gave up eight runs and seven earned on 10 hits in four innings on Aprill 5, when the Kougars beat the Red Devils (4-9, 1-6) by a 13-12 count in game shortened because of darkness.
This one was different.
“Emma did a really nice job, keeping the ball moving around and changing speeds, and our defense played well,” KV coach Brian Flynn said.
After Maple struck out three of the first four batters, that defense made back-to-back hustle plays to keep the Kougars’ momentum going.
Catcher Maddie Swart made a diving catch in foul territory, getting a face full of dirt, and third baseman Emma Sark hit the fence to make a grab.
“It’s so awesome when you see your defense working for you,” Maple said. “It just lights it up.”
The Kougars also lit it up offensively, scoring at least two runs in each of the first four innings.
They led 4-0 before the Red Devils scored three runs in the third, highlighted by Haley Penman’s two-run single. But KV answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, with Sark, Ashley Fisher and Hannah Cambe opening with three straight doubles.
The Kougars added five runs on four hits in the fourth, batting around.
“They put a little pressure on us, and I was happy with how we responded,” Flynn said. “We scored a ton of runs.”
Swart went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Sark went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Cambe went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs, with Fisher going 2-for-2 with a double and sacrifice fly.
“They continued to hit that well from the last game and we didn’t,” Lowell coach Mike McLindon said. “They hit the ball one through nine in the lineup, and their pitcher did a really nice job mixing in some offspeed stuff and keeping us off-balance.
“They’re clearly good, and their record shows it.”
With 10 straight wins, Kankakee Valley has well surpassed its 6-0 start from 2011, when the Kougars went 24-4 and lost in a sectional final to Andrean.
“We hope we can keep playing well and still be playing well when the tournament comes because that’s really the ultimate goal,” Flynn said. “You want to keep rolling and be playing your best ball at the end of the year.”
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