Brynn Woods outduels Ayla Gould as Kaneland tops DeKalb 3-1 in extra innings

DeKALB – Both Kaneland and DeKalb were struggling to get runs across the plate Saturday in the final game of the Barbs’ Strike Out Cancer round-robin.

Natalie Naab came through with the game’s biggest hit, a two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth that gave the Knights a 3-1 win over the Barbs.

“I was just like, I need to get a good hit to score my teammates,” Naab said. “It’s just knowing what needs to be done and where the ball needs to go. Just reading the situation correctly and being able to produce.”

DeKalb starter Ayla Gould entered the eighth having set down seven batters for Kaneland (22-12) in a row. Lillyana Crawford legged out a single to third base to start the inning, then beat the throw to second on Maddie Anderson’s grounder to third.

A bunt by Brynn Woods moved them up to second with third, setting Naab up with her single to left to give the Knights the win over the Barbs (15-13).

Woods started in the circle for the Knights and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. She allowed six hits and no walks.

“She kept everything in the zone early,” Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler said. “She started the game with strikes and was able to leave the zone a little bit and get some of these kids chasing. Then she came back into the zone pretty cleanly.”

Three of the hits surrendered by Woods were consecutive in the fifth that led to the Barbs tying the game. Maddie Hallaron blooped a ball into right for a single, then Sydney Myles beat out a bunt for a single to move Hallaron to second. She scored on a single up the middle by Naz Dean to tie the game at 1-1.

Kaneland had taken the lead in the top of the fifth. Crawford smoked a double up the middle as part of a 3 for 4 game to score Riley Cooper, who earlier in the inning singled to left.

Gould finished the game allowing eight hits, a walk and three earned runs while striking out six. DeKalb coach Erica Swan said it was a strong performance from Gould, especially considering she hasn’t pitched much this season.

“She kept them off-balance the entire game and had a great mix of pitches,” Swan said, “She really battled in tough situations. ... I’m really proud of how she did especially since she didn’t come back into the circle until late in the season.”

Both teams also played North Boone, with the Barbs winning 6-3 and Kaneland holding on for a 7-1 win.

DeKalb got a complete game from Jasmine Rodriguez, who crossed over 100 strikeouts on the season. The Barbs had 13 hits, all singles, including three each for Casside Cavazos and Izzy Aranda. Hazel Montavon and Jasmine Rodriguez had two each, while Cavazos and Sydney Myles each drove in two runs.

It was the first win for Swan and assistant coach Tyler Oprins against North Boone in five years, dating back to her tenure at Genoa-Kingston - a conference foe of the Vikings. DeKalb didn’t commit an error in the win.

“It was a great game defensively and we stayed tough mentally throughout the whole game,” Swan said. “We had timely hits and great energy.”

The Knights scored six in the bottom of the second in their game against the Vikings and held off a late push for the win. North Boone scored three in the top of the seventh and had runners at first and second with two outs but Makayla Jonutz escaped the jam.

“We took a decent lead on them and then we kind of sat back on our heels and let them get back into the game,” Kuefler said. “That’s something we’ve been working on and we have to keep working on, literally closing the door on a team and we haven’t been able to do that.”

Kuefler said he’s hoping to pick up a game for the Knights this week. He keeps the last week of the season open for Interstate 8 make-up games, but there weren’t any this year. There are some things he said he’d like to see the team work on before the postseason starts May 28 at the Class 3A Woodstock North Regional.

The Strike Out Cancer event raised $967 this year. It’s held by the Barbs to raise money to help families of cancer patients.