Pitching, defense and clutch hits lift Wilmington past Peotone

WILMINGTON – As Wilmington softball pitcher Taryn Gilbert prepared for the Wildcats’ home Illinois Central Eight Conference matchup with Peotone, Gilbert knew she’d have to be solid and that she could rely on a dependable defense in a battle against Blue Devils ace Sophie Klawitter.

And after escaping a first inning in which she surrendered three Peotone singles that loaded the bases with two outs, Gilbert allowed just one hit the rest of the way, guided by an error-free defensive effort and a few timely hits that led the Wildcats (17-5, 9-2) to a 2-0 victory and a four-hit shutout for Gilbert.

“I know I can always rely on my defense,” Gilbert, who walked none and struck out four, said. “They all put in the work, so I know I can always rely on them, especially with good hitters coming up and good teams.”

Wilmington head coach Jack Skole thought that Monday’s game easily could have gone like last year’s matchup with Klawitter, a grueling 14-inning affair the Wildcats eventually won 2-1.

But after Klawitter, allowed her first baserunner on Kelley Walsh’s bunt single to open the fourth, Walsh took second on a wild pitch and stole third before coming home on Nina Egizio’s two-out double.

The Wildcats tallied another run in the fifth when Gilbert singled to open the inning and scored an at-bat later on Madisyn Rossow’s double. And at that point, Skole could sense his dugout feel good about their odds.

“You’ve gotta be disciplined at the plate, gotta be able to put the ball in play when we have the opportunity to,” Skole said. “There were a few times today where we left opportunities we didn’t see and didn’t capitalize on.

“Then Nina coming up with that big hit, that was big, and so was Keeley getting on base for her,” he added. “And then getting that extra insurance run, that just gave the girls that boost of confidence with the way we were playing defense and the way we were pitching.”

Egizio, who also made a handful of vital plays at shortstop, said that while the moment was big when she came up in the fourth against the Louisville commit Klawitter, she just had to lock in.

“I knew going up to the plate I needed to find my pitch, you know,” Egizio said. “I just needed to relax, basically just needed to calm down.”

For the Blue Devils (12-9, 5-6), Monday marked their fourth loss by two runs or less this season. After getting hits from Caelan Farmer, Payton Schnelle and Layla Johnson in the first inning, Peotone head coach Kim Pagliarulo and her team thought they had a shot at pushing together a few runs to have a shot at taking down a Wilmington team that is just a half-game back of Manteno and Coal City for the conference lead.

“The first inning, we thought this was gonna be pretty fun,” Pagliarulo said. “We were hitting, and that’s what we’ve been working on all season, just bat to ball. Not overthinking it, not trying to hit home runs, but just getting the ball in motion, and we’re seeing that (improvement) every game.”

And as they continue to see the lineup making incremental improvements, they’ve continued to get consistency from Klawitter in the circle. The junior hurler now has 266 strikeouts in 125 ⅔ innings and a 1.00 ERA after fanning 15 Wildcats Monday. While she was held hitless Monday, her .400 batting average also leads the team.

“It’s fantastic, it’s amazing, it’s great for the team because it’s reliable,” Pagliarulo said. “She’s consistent, but also she’s hitting, and that’s crazy for a pitcher. She’s just an all-around huge plus asset to the entire program.”