BBCHS shuts out Lockport in matchup of ranked SWSC teams

BOURBONNAIS − Two of the top teams in all of Class 4A met on Thursday in a SouthWest Suburban Conference clash. It was host Bradley-Bourbonnais, ranked 16th in the first Illinois Coaches Association poll of the season released on April 6, that came out on top over ninth-ranked Lockport.

The Boilermakers won 5-0 behind a three-hit shutout from ace Lydia Hammond. After three scoreless innings, they pushed across five runs in the final three innings against Lockport’s ace Kelcie McGraw to improved to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the SWSC. Lockport fell to 6-6 (0-2).

The game was the third straight for the Boilermakers against a ranked 4A team. They fell 7-3 to No. 2 Marist on April 3 and then lost 2-0 in their conference opener against No. 5 Lincoln-Way East on Tuesday.

Head coach Haylee Austell said that these tests against high-caliber opponents are something the team looks forward to.

“I’m a firm believer that to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” she said. “...In the last three games we saw three of the top four [teams in the state] in my opinion, so to battle well, to hang with all those teams and to take this one from Lockport is really fantastic for our kids.”

For the Porters, their first two conference losses have both been close contests against ranked teams, having also lost 2-1 against No. 4 Lincoln-Way Central in Tuesday’s conference opener.

With No. 6 Lincoln-Way West giving the SWSC five teams in the top 16 of the ICA rankings, Lockport head coach Marissa Chovanec said the team needs to focus on steady improvements if they want to follow up on last season’s second-place conference finish.

“We have a really tough conference, so we need to just continue to get better. Learn from each day and get better the next day so that in the end, and in the postseason when it’s going to matter, and that’s when we need to be our sharpest.”

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Bradley-Bourbonnais' Lydia Hammond throws to first base for an out in the second inning of Thursday's game against Lockport. (Nicholas Holstein)

Hammond and McGraw were in command for the first three innings Thursday, allowing just three combined base runners. McGraw led off the top of the fourth with a single, but a smooth 4-6-3 double play turned by the Boilermakers wiped out hopes of a rally. Hammond then ended the inning with a strikeout.

In the bottom of the fourth, Hammond doubled, advanced to third on a single from Olivia Woolman and then scored on a wild pitch. Suttyn Hop drove in Woolman with a single. Then in the fifth, Avery Moutrey reached on a bunt single and scored on a double from Shannon Lee.

The first of the Boilermakers’ two runs in the sixth came when Hop drew a throw to second on a steal attempt which allowed Woolman to steal home. An Alayna Sykes single drove in Hop.

Hammond took care of business in the top of the seventh and finished with nine strikeouts, allowing two singles to McGraw and one to Addison Way.

The Boilermakers played errorless defense behind her, and she said she has faith in them because of all the work the team has put in on defense.

“We’re a really young team this year, so just cleaning up the little things is something that makes a huge difference for us,” she said. “So day in and day out we’re always practicing our defense and offense, just the little things, and today we really showed that.”

Austell also liked the team’s approach at the plate against McGraw, who had allowed just six earned runs and struck out 73 batters in 38 ⅓ innings coming into Thursday.

“The result was 0-0 after three innings, but we really felt like we were getting good swings on the ball and having good quality at bats,” she said. “So the result wasn’t what we wanted but the process was good. We just stayed with the process, stayed confident with the process, and the results started to show up, which was nice.”

Hop and Woolman both had multi-hit games, with Hop going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run and Woolman going 2 for 3 with two runs.